DISABILITY SURVIVAL GUIDE: NORTH ALABAMA EDITION

Receiving Social Security disability payments depend on one thing:  Proving that you are not able to work. The one and only thing that SSDI pays for is the physical and/or mental inability to work for a period of at least 12 months.  Who decides if you are able to work?  The Social Security Administration (SSA) will decide.--according to their own strict rules and regulations. In reaching that important decision, are you disabled or not, Social Security must use a 5-step examination process.  It's important to understand these 5 sequential steps. STEP 1:  The work Test .  Is the claimant now engaged in Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)?  If yes, the claim is denied at Step 1.  They look no further.  You cannot be eligible for SSDI benefits if you are working at SGA, regardles of your medical condition.  (In 2026 you are working at SGA if you earn at least $1,690 per month from work or self-employment). STEP 2.  The Medical Requirem...

In Social Security disability cases, the term "Past Relevant Work" or PRW is used to mean:  Work you have performed within the past 5 years Work you performed at Substantial Gainful Activity (substantial earnings) Work you did long enough to be proficient. Social Security once "looked back" 15 years at past work.  Now they only consider jobs you held within the past 5 years prior to disability. Why is 5 years better than 15 years?  Most claimants will have fewer jobs in the last 5 years than in the last 15.  Each past job is an opportunity for Social Security to deny your claim--by saying you are still able to perform one or more of the past jobs.  (We call this a "Step 4 denial"). In the mandatory five-step decision making process, Social Security must determine whether the claimant can perform any past relevant work. If they can, the claim will be denied. They will consider Age Education Residual Functional Capacity (How much function you still retain). ...

WHAT IS "FULL RETIREMENT AGE"? By Charles W. Forsythe, The Forsythe Firm, Huntsville, AL      When dealing with Social Security matters, you hear the term "Full Retirement Age" (FRA) kicked around a lot. But what is Full Retirement Age ? Under Social Security regulations, FRA is the age at which you can receive a full old age pension (retirement benefit).  It is also the age at which you can work while receiving Social Security and earn as much as you want with no Social Security penalty. Your FRA depends on your birthday.  The following chart gives Full Retirement Age based on when you were born.  This is what Social Security uses. YR. OF BIRTH / YOUR FRA 1938 – 65 years and 2 months ·   1939 – 65 years and 4 months ·   1940 – 65 years and 6 months ·   1941 – 65 years and 8 months ·   1942 – 65 years and 10 months ·   1943 through 1954 – 66 years ·   1955 – 66 years and 2 months ·   1956 – 66 years a...

  By Charles W. Forsythe The Forsythe Firm Huntsville, AL The hardest disabilities to get approved (for Social Security) are fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and mental health disorders like severe depression or anxiety. These conditions are difficult to get approved through government agencies like the Social Security Administration (SSA) because they rely heavily on self-reported patient symptoms rather than hard, objective laboratory tests.  Why Invisible and Subjective Conditions Face Denials Lack of Objective Markers:  Conditions like fibromyalgia or mental health issues do not show up on standard blood tests, X-rays, or imaging scans.  Inconsistent Treatment Records: Claims are frequently denied if applicants miss doctor appointments, skip therapy, or fail to follow prescribed treatment plans over a long period.  Proving Functional Limits:  ,A diagnosis alone is not enough; applicants must prove through detailed medical files and doc...

                                           TIPS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY'S CONSULTATIVE EXAM                                     By Charles W. Forsythe     The Forsythe Firm     Huntsville, AL In the process of a disability application, Social Security may send the claimant for a "Consultative Exam" (CE).  This is an examination performed by a doctor who does exams for Social Security for a fee.  The fee is paid by Social Security. You might be asked to have a physical CE or a "mental status exam."  In this article, I want to discuss the Physical CE. SHOULD Y...

  I just came across a new term (to me).  It's Annoyance Economy .  I looked up the meaning of the term.  Annoyance economy refers to business practices that intentionally waste time and money to benefit a company:  robocalls, difficulty cancelling subscriptions, unnecessary or excessive paperwork, massive delays, etc. For example,  you call your insurance company about a nixed claim, get routed through a phone tree, wait on hold 40 minutes, explain your problem to a chatbot that can't help, then start over with a human agent who asks for the same information again. By the time you hang up, you've burned an hour on what should've been a two-minute fix—and you might have to call again. The Annoyance Economy wastes $165 billion per year. And that's just counting costs in the private business sector.  If you add government annoyance, the cost is incalculable. I work with the Social Security Administration every day as a claimant's representative.  M...