DISABILITY SURVIVAL GUIDE: NORTH ALABAMA EDITION

COMMON SOCIAL SECURITY TERMS AND WHAT THEY MEAN      When you file or consider a Social Security disability application there are dozens of unfamiliar terms that you will encounter.  Most of these terms have an three-letter initials to shorten the term.  For example:  DLI for "Date Last Insured." Here are some common Social Security terms and their meaning: Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA):  Work that pays over a certain dollar amount per month.  If your earnings are at or above SGA, you cannot get SSDI benefits because you are gainfully employed.  SGA for 2023 is $1,470 per month for non-blind claimants, and $2,460 for blind claimants. __________________________________________________________________________________ Past Relevant Work (PRW) :  Any work that the applicant has done within the past 15 years, was performed at SGA level, and lasted long enough for the claimant to learn how to perform the work. Alleged Onset Date (AOD) :...

  SSI and SSDI are different programs, however, both are administered through the US Social Security Administration.  Thus, they are often confused. SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) SSDI is based on earnings and having payroll taxes deducted from those earnings.  Persons who have earned sufficient work credits may apply for SSDI if they become unable to work due to a medical condition that has lasted or is expected to last 12 straight months or more--or is expected to end in death. A qualifying claimant may get SSDI benefits even if they have wealth or high family income. Persons who have never worked, or who have not recently worked, may not be able to get SSDI even if they are severely disabled. SSI (Supplemental Security Income) Is based on financial need + disability or advanced age--not on earnings. Requires no work history and no payroll tax withholding. Requires that an individual be disabled or elderly (65 or above). Is for individuals with very restri...

A denial of your Social Security disability application does NOT end your prospects of getting benefits.  In fact, it is the beginning of the most important process--the appeal. You have filed for disability benefits which you desperately need.  You have filled out tons of forms and waited for months.  Finally, a denial letter arrives stating that "you are not eligible for benefits under our rules."  About 7 out of 10 applications will be denied, so it's all too common. This letter can be extremely disappointing but it is only the beginning of the process to get your benefits.  There are important and vital steps that you must take right away. STEP 1:  Within 60 days , file a written appeal with the Social Security office. Phone calls do not count.  This appeal will put into a stage called "Reconsideration."  Social Security will re-examine your claim to be sure their decision was correct.  This process may take a few months, but it keeps yo...

The average Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit is $1,358 per month.  However, if you had high earnings the last several years, your benefit could be as much as $3,345 per month. In addition there are 2 other important benefits with SSDI .   1. Each eligible dependent may receive additional benefits.  For example, dependent children under age 19 who have not graduated high school, can get their own benefit.   2.  Medicare health insurance is provided to individuals who receive SSDI benefits. This puts affordable health care within reach of disabled persons. Is it difficult to qualify for SSDI benefits?  Yes, it honestly is for many people.  The government has set very high standards that must be met to prove disability.   Are there only certain medical conditions that qualify?  No.  Almost any medical or mental condition may qualify for benefits--if it is so severe that it makes you unable to work.   Many claimants choose to h...

 T he average wait time for disability benefits is three times longer than a decade ago according to an CNBC article . An initial decision takes an average of six month and a final decree typically takes two years or more.  From 2010 to 2021 the operating budget of the Social Security Administration (SSA) was reduced by 14%. Meanwhile the number of recipients climbed by 22% over the same period. This has put a strain both on those waiting for news about their applications and the employees working to ease the pressure. The average wait time for a call to an SSA office is roughly thirty-one minutes.  The 2020 COVID pandemic closed all Social Security offices from March 2020 to July 2022.  The effects of COVID left Social Security crippled with a smaller workforce, high employee turnover, inadequate funding and other problems that spell excessively long wait times for those served by the agency. It now takes 3 times longer to get an initial disability decision c...

  Get your Social Security application right - get paid.   There are hundreds of ways to mess up a Social Security disability application.  One of the most common ways that I see?  Blank lines.  Questions left blank.  One way or another, these questions will get answered before a decision is made on your claim.  They may get answered 6 months later when the Social Security office calls you--but you have just wasted 6 months.   Worse yet, Social Security may assume that since you didn't answer the questions, all the answers are "no," so nobody bothers to call you. This will lead to a negative action on your claim.   The complete disability application will consist, not just of the basic application, but several forms.  Many of those forms will be mailed to you AFTER you file the claim.  The following is always required for a complete application: The basic disability application (5 pages)  Disability Report (14 p...

  Helping Social Security to define your "residual functional capacity" (RFC) will help you get approved for disability benefits. Your RFC is an estimate of how much work you are still able to do, in spite of your impairments.  Social Security is required by law to come up with an RFC before approving or denying your claim.   Your residual functional capacity (RFC) estimates such things as how much you can lift, how long you can sit, stand or walk--and many other physical demands of work.  Your mental RFC will estimate how long you can concentrate, your ability to remember instructions, your ability to work around coworkers and supervisors, etc. Important Rule:  You Always Want to Help Social Security determine your RFC How do you help influence the RFC that Social Security assigns to you? The best way is to get your doctor to provide a detailed statement about what you are able to do.  This statement must be very specific and very detailed.  Here...

After 20 years in disability practice I firmly believe that Social Security hearings are won in preparation for the hearing, not so much in the hearing itself.  It's important to know how to prepare and what to prepare for .  I always prepare my clients to discuss the following areas in their hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ): PERSONAL LIFE.  Your family, where you live, your education, what your daily routines are--and what your life was like before you became disabled. YOUR PAST WORK.  The judge needs to understand your past work--what you did--was it a standing job  or sit-down job, and how much did you lift on each job?  What struggles did each job present physically or mentally that made it difficult for you to keep working? Why did you stop working?  YOUR MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IMPAIRMENTS) - When did each impairment begin?  What symptoms do your conditions present?  How severe is each impairment in terms of pain, mobility,...

Every Social Security disability hearing is different and every hearing is also alike.  Every hearing tends to follow a familiar, predictable pattern: Opening remarks by the judge and then remarks by the claimant’s lawyer, the claimant’s testimony, and then testimony of a vocational witness regarding the claimant’s past relevant work, and whether certain functional limitations would preclude that past relevant work and/or other work.  Before the claimant gives testimony he/she will be placed under oath by the judge.  The claimant pledges under penalty of perjury to tell the complete truth.  The judge will usually swear in the vocational witness at the same time as the claimant. A typical hearing will last 45 to 60 minutes.  At the end the claimant's lawyer is usually offered a chance to make a closing statement or final argument. The judge typically doesn't announce a decision at the close of the hearing.  Typically, the judge says something like, "I app...

After your Social Security disability hearing the judge may issue a Fully Favorable decision.  This is, of course, what you want.  You open the envelope and on the first page it reads.....                         NOTICE OF DECISION - FULLY FAVORABLE But what exactly does this mean? It means that the judge agrees with the date on which you claim to have become disabled and has agreed to pay benefits back to that date.  The judge has allowed your alleged onset date (AOD) to stand unchanged, which will probably pay you more back pay. It's possible that the judge might disagree with your disability onset date and change it from the date you allege.  This would result in less back pay or possibly no back pay at all. How do you protect your alleged onset date to get the most back pay?  You do it by collecting objective medical evidence showing that your impairment was severe and disabling on that date.  ...

Social Security disability (SSDI) does not pay a benefit during the first 5 full months of disability.  For example, if you are found to be disabled starting January 5th, you won't be eligible for a payment until July.  You lose February - June to the waiting period, which is actually an elimination period. Even if you receive back pay, 5 months of benefits will be deducted beginning with the date your disability began.  Note:  This is usually NOT the same as the application date. Usually, it takes more than 5 months to get a claim processed,anyway.  By the time your claim is approved the waiting period may already have passed. The waiting period is just one more reason you need some savings to tide you over if you become disabled.   In a best case scenario, a Social Security disability payment will not be made for at least 6 months after the disability begins.  There is a 5-month wait to satisfy the waiting period.  Then, Social Security iss...

Getting approved for Social Security disability benefits in Alabama is difficult and complex.  Here are some things you need to know when applying for disability in Alabama. 1.  It will not be fast.  The average time required for an initial decision is 292 days. Appeals, if required, can take 18 additional months or longer. 2.  Expect to get denied once or twice before you get approved.  About 7 out of 10 new claims are denied initially.  At the first appeal (called "Reconsideration") over 90 percent are denied.  Appeal and keep moving up the chain of command. 3.  Your best chance is going before an administrative law judge (ALJ) for a hearing. This comes after the "Reconsideration" stage. 4.  Claimants with a lawyer or professional advocate will win almost 3 times more often than claimants who represent themselves (no lawyer). 5.  You cannot be charged an attorney's fee unless you win your case and collect past due benefits (called "bac...

  Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) is the amount of money you can earn from work and still be eligible for Social Security disability benefits. SGA is adjusted every year for inflation.  In 2023 the SGA amount is $1,470 per month. If you have personal earned income (from work or self-employment) of at least $1,470 per month you are not eligible for disability benefits.  Individuals who are blind have higher SGA amounts. The following chart shows SGA amounts over the years.   Year Blind Non-blind 1975 $200 $200 1976 230 230 1977 240 240 1978 334 260 1979 375 280 1980 417 300 1981 459 300 1982 500 300 1983 550 300 1984 580 300 1985 610 300 1986 650 300 1987 680 300 1988 700 300 1989 740 300 1990 780 500 1991 810 500 1992 ...

  Disabled veterans may receive both VA and Social Security benefits.  The two agencies have different rules for evaluating disability, however. Veterans with a 100 percent VA disability rating will qualify for expedited processing at Social Security.  This may cut the wait time from a year or more to a few months. Unlike the Veterans Administration, Social Security does not award benefits for partial disability.  With SSDI, it's all or none. A veteran who has a 100 percent disability rating with the VA can be denied benefits by Social Security.  This is because Social Security has such a strict definition of disability . Disability with Social Security means that the claimant cannot work at any full-time job.  More technically, SSDI requires a severe impairment which will last for at least 12 consecutive months or end in death, resulting in the claimant's inability to work. There are no restrictions on working while receiving VA disability.  However, ...

  You must be disabled under the rules of the Social Security Administration (SSA) in order to receive a monthly disability benefit.  And their rules are many and complex. Here are some of the most important factors Social Security will consider in making a determination on whether you are disabled: 1.  YOUR AGE.   The rules actually change with your age.  Look at the age categories with SSA: Younger Individual -  Under age 50.  May adjust to other work. Ages 50 - 54.  Closely Approaching advanced age.   Age + severe impairment(s) + limited work experience results in the inability to adjust to other work.  Age 55 and above.  Advanced Age .  Significantly affects a person's ability to adjust to other work. Age 60 and above.  Closely Approaching Retirement Age .  Special rules apply. Simply put, older person's have an easier time being found "disabled" compared to younger persons.   2.  YOUR RESIDUAL FUNCTIONA...

In 2017 the US Government Accountability Office conducted a study concerning how Social Security disability benefits are decided and what factors affect those decisions. Here is part of that GAO report:   Allowance rates—the rate at which Social Security Administration (SSA) administrative law judges allowed disability benefits to be paid when claimants appealed—varied across judges, even after holding constant certain characteristics of claimants, judges, hearing offices, and other factors that could otherwise explain differences in allowance rates. Specifically, GAO estimated that the allowance rate could vary by as much as 46 percentage points if different judges heard a typical claim (one that was average in all other factors GAO analyzed). SSA officials said that this level of variation is not surprising, given the complexity of appeals and judicial discretion. Nonetheless, the variation declined by 5 percentage points between fiscal years 2007 and 2015 (see figure)...

  Almost everyone who gives advice about Social Security disability recommends an attorney or non-attorney advocate to help with the process. That is because the disability process is so difficult.  It is also confusing, time consuming and frustrating.   Here is what AARP says about Social Security representation: A lawyer or advocate can fill out the SSDI or SSI application on your behalf and help gather medical records and other evidence for your claim. They can review your application for mistakes or omissions that could hurt your chances of success and can join you for meetings or conferences with Social Security officials. The SSA will work directly with your representative and provide access to information from your Social Security file. Having an attorney or advocate can be especially important if you disagree with Social Security's initial decision on your claim and   file an appeal . Your representative can prepare you and any witnesses on your side to ...