Posted by: Wilson & Parlett
Social Security Disability Lawyers
Maryland/District of Columbia/Virginia
Disability Benefits Available Through the Social Security Administration:
What Social Security Benefit is Right for Me?
When individuals finds themselves in the unfortunate position of having an injury that prevents them from working, one of the options that may be available to them is to seek disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration is an agency of the federal government that provides retirement, social security disability, and dependant benefits to the population at large. Although these benefits are broadly available, many people wrongly assume that Social Security is only a retirement benefit and fail to realize that they may be entitled to social security disability income if they are unable to work.
Among the many different benefits available through the Social Security Administration, there are two different types of benefits that are specifically designed to assist individuals who are unable to work. The first of these is known as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI or SSD) Benefits, and the second is known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Because both of these benefits are designed to help individuals who are disabled, they are not typically available to people who have substantial monthly income. When either one of these benefits becomes available to an individual, they become entitled to monthly disability payments from the federal government and medical coverage under the disability system. In many cases, the disabled person is also entitled to a lump sum that represents the money that the government should have paid them since the time that they had actually become disabled. Depending on an individual’s situation at the time of their disability, they may be eligible for one or both SSD or SSI benefits.
In most cases, Social Security Disability Insurance, when available, provides a better benefit to an injured person. The reason that it is often considered the superior benefit is that it has less stringent requirements and usually pays a higher disability award. SSDI benefits are generally accessible to an individual who has an established history of working. At its heart, Social Security Disability Insurance is essentially an automatic insurance policy that is paid for by the mandatory deductions that are taken from every “on the books” employee’s salary each pay period. Unfortunately, like all insurance policies, these benefits are not available indefinitely and will become inaccessible if too much time passes between the date you last work and the date you become disabled.
Although there are many complex rules involved in determining how long a person has to claim Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, a good rule of thumb is that a person who has worked regularly will typically have five (5) years to claim disability benefits. The Social Security Administration refers to the last date that you can claim Social Security Disability Insurance benefits as your “date last insured.” This is an important date to know and may prove very useful to you and your attorney when making a claim for Social Security benefits. In cases where an individual has an annual income under $5,000.00, or where they have an uneven work history with many gaps in their employment record, or have not worked for many years, this type of benefit is often more difficult to obtain. When an individual claims Social Security Disability Insurance benefits within their date last insured, then it is their burden to prove that that or incapable of performing any substantial gainful activity in the national economy in order to receive benefits. Wealth and assets will not generally affect a person’s claim for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. Retaining a competent lawyer who regularly represents claimants before the Social Security Administration can be very helpful to security social security disability benefits.
Supplemental Security Income is similar to Social Security Disability Insurance, with the notable exception that it is designed as a hybrid between welfare and disability coverage. I often advise my clients that Supplemental Security Income should be viewed more as a safety net than an alternate disability coverage. The reason for this is that SSI benefits are typically not as high as SSDI benefits, and are only available to people who do not have any substantial assets or sources of income. If a person has assets worth more than $2,000.00 or lives with a spouse who receives regular income, then they may be eligible for SSI. Since these situations are often complex, they frequently require case by case review by a qualified attorney who regularly handles SSD and SSI cases. However, the benefit to Supplement Security Income is that once these stringent income requirements are met, the person’s date last insured becomes irrelevant. Since Supplemental Security Income is partially a welfare based system, it can be claimed at any time, regardless of whether a person has any established work history.
Choice of Social Security benefits and eligibility for Social Security benefits are crucial issues that millions of Americans must consider each year. If you or a loved one becomes disabled and believe that you may be entitled to these benefits, we highly recommend that you speak to your local social security office or contact a qualified attorney to assist you making the right decisions.
About the Author:
Scott Sanford is a senior associate at Wilson & Parlett. The firm represents only injury victims, such as auto accidents, worker compensation, and social security disability claims. Mr. Sanford regularly appears before the Social Security Administration, Office of the Hearing and Appeals, and is licensed to practice law in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, and the District of Columbia.