WHAT SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY DOES FOR YOU! AMAZING BENEFITS

 

Getting Social Security disability can change you life--for the better. Many people are reluctant to apply for disability benefits because they don't want to admit they are disabled. But being unable to work often produces a downward spiral that greatly reduces qualify of life. The individual may be struggling financially, with no source of regular income. If there is no health insurance to pay for treatment, then effective medical treatment can be out of reach. This produces more pain and discomfort and may cause or exacerbate depression, anxiety or other mental disorders.

Receiving Social Security disability benefits can do several things to improve quality of life.

1. A regular monthly payment up to $3,011 per month (deposited right to your bank).
2. A lump sum payment to cover months you were entitled to benefits before applying.
3. Medicare health insurance to pay doctors, hospitals or other providers.
4. Availability of prescription drug coverage to pay most or all of your prescriptions. 
5. The possibility of getting dental and vision insurance for little or no cost.
6. Coverage for mental health visits or treatment, as needed.
7. A monthly benefit that automatically converts to retirement benefits when you reach full retirement age.

These are some of the important benefits available under SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance). But you must reach out for them and take the first step.

The Forsythe Firm in Huntsville and Franklin, TN has been helping disabled individuals get these benefits for two decades. We have a high success rate. Data shows that you are more than twice as likely to be approved when using a highly qualified attorney or advocate to help you.

You may speak to one of our counselors or advocates for free. We will never charge for anything we do. If you win your benefits and receive back pay, the government will withhold our pre-approved fee and pay us directly. It costs you nothing to adjudicate your claim--even if it must go before a judge. Call the Forsythe Firm at (256) 799-0297 today.

# 1 REASON SOCIAL SECURITY DENIES DISABILITY CLAIMS

 

Only about 27 percent of Social Security disability (SSDI) claims get approved at the application stage. While there can be several reasons for a denial, the number one reason is

Your impairment is not severe enough to qualify for disability

Basically, the Social Security rules require you to have a severe disability which makes you totally unable to work (at any job). Unlike many other programs, Social Security has no partial disability benefit. It is 100 percent disability or nothing.

It is rather difficult to prove that you are totally unable to perform any full-time job.

Also, a doctor is not allowed to certify that you are disabled or that you cannot work. These decisions by law are reserved for the Commissioner of Social Security. So, only Social Security can determine who is disabled or who is unable to work.

It's common for denial letters to state something like this: "We have determined that you have some severe impairments. You cannot perform the work you have done in the past. However, based your age, education and functional capacity, you are able to perform certain types of work."

 

Also, Social Security offers no short-term benefit. They only consider a "disability" to be a severe impairment that will last at least 12 straight months. So, any condition that keeps you out of work less than 12 straight months is not a disability, according to them. 

Thus, Social Security's definition of 'disability' is very difficult to meet.

Individuals who are at least 50 years old have a better chance of being found 'disabled' by Social Security. Claimants age 55 and over have an even better chance. However, even these older claimants often have to "fight" through the long appeals process to get approved.

 

At the Forsythe Firm we fight for claimants rights every day. Our pledge is, IF WE DON'T WIN YOUR CASE, YOU PAY US NO FEE. NOT A CENT!

 

Contact us at (256) 799-0297 in Alabama or Tennessee. The call is free. 

DO YOU KEEP DISABILITY BENEFITS WHEN YOU REACH RETIREMENT AGE?

What happens to your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits when you reach full retirement age? Do benefits stop, continue as is, or change?

When you reach your full retirement age with Social Security, your disability benefit will continue. The benefit automatically converts from a disability benefit to a retirement benefit. You don't have to do anything because the Social Security Administration does this for you.

Will your benefit amount change? No. You will receive the same amount as before. You really won't notice any difference. The check will still be sent to you from the US Treasury. When you reach full retirement age, your check will come out of the Retirement trust fund, not the Disability trust fund. The checks even look the same.

What is your full retirement age with Social Security? It depends on your birthday. If you were born between 1943 and 1954, your full retirement age is 66.

The retirement age increases if you were born later. For example:

If you were born in 1955 - Full retirement age is 66 + 2 months.

If you were born in 1956 - Full retirement age is 66 + 4 months.

When you are awarded SSDI (disability) benefits prior to your full retirement age, you actually receive your retirement benefit early. So, when you reach your full retirement age, the benefit amount does not change. (You are still eligible for annual Cost of Living Adjustments).

 

Getting approved for SSDI in the first place is tricky. It can be difficult to convince Social Security that you are disabled according to their rules. That's why most claimants trying to get disability benefits turn to a trusted advocate like the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville. We understand the law and the process and work for you to help you get approved. Get a free consultation by calling (256) 799-0297 today. 

 

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INSURANCE: HOW DOES IT WORK?

If you work and earn wages, you are required to make a mandatory contribution to Social Security.  Your employer is required to match your contribution from each check.

The current rate of contribution is 7.65 percent of wages from the employee, plus 7.65 percent from the employer - for a total of 15.3 percent of your pay.

The federal law requiring these contributions (taxes) is the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).  On each payroll stub you will see FICA as one of the deduction items.  Your contributions go into a federal government trust fund.

As you work and contribute to FICA, you earn credits toward Social Security disability insurance (SSDI).  You may earn up to 4 quarters per year--one credit for each calendar quarter of work.  Most individuals need at least 20 credits (5 years of work) to earn SSDI coverage.

After you have earned the minimum number of work credits, you may file a claim for a covered disability.  If approved, Social Security will pay a set monthly benefit.  But it isn't quite that simple.

Federal regulations dictate the eligibility requirements to receive SSDI payments.  Here are some of them:

1.  You must have a medically determinable impairment (MDI).  You need medical tests to prove the type, severity and duration of the impairment(s).

2.  Your condition must be so severe to keep you from working for a period of at least 12 straight months OR to end in death.  Shorter term impairments are not covered. There's no "short term" disability benefit. 

3.  You must have medical evidence to prove you are totally disabled according to Social Security rules.   There is no such thing as "partial disability."

Honestly, most disability claims are denied on the grounds that "You are not disabled according to our rules."  On reason for denial that we see a lot is stated this way:

"The evidence shows that you have some limitations and that you are not able to perform your past work.  However, you are able to perform certain types of work."

Simply put, "We think you could do some kind of work, so go find yourself an easier job."

What do you do when you get a denial letter but you know you are not able to work?

You file an appeal.  The first step is to file a written request for "reconsideration."  This will be denied, also, in most cases.  You appeal again, this time asking that your case go before an administrative law judge (ALJ) for a hearing.  The hearing is where you have the best chance to be approved and paid.

The government has made getting Social Security disability benefits difficult.  They purposely make it take a long time.  The appeal process can drag on a year or more. We who are familiar with Social Security disability call it "THE ORDEAL" because it is a purposefully slow, uncomfortable process.

 I often hear the question, "How am I to make ends meet while I am waiting?"  That's a different question altogether.  Your best bet is to get with a good Social Security disability advocate or attorney and dig in for the long haul.  Fortunately, the attorney cannot charge you a fee or any upfront money to handle your case.  He/she is paid AFTER you are paid, and only if you recover past due benefits.

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The Forsythe Firm      Huntsville, AL      PH (256) 799-0297

 

 

 

DENIED DISABILITY BENFITS? A HEARING MAY HELP

It's no secret that the Social Security Administration (SSA) denies most disability applications.  

What can you do when you're unable to work and Social Security denies your claim?

A hearing may help.  

What is a hearing?  It is an appearance before a federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to ask for a new decision.

Who appears before the judge?  You (the claimant), your attorney, a vocational witness, and sometimes a medical expert (doctor).  A hearing clerk attends the hearing as a record keeper who will record the proceedings.

At the hearing, new evidence may be submitted.  All the evidence can be explained by your attorney.  The judge will ask a lot of questions.  The judge considers all testimony and all the evidence without being bound by any previous decisions.  He/she will give you a totally new decision--often fully favorable.

So, just because your benefits have been denied, that doesn't mean that no benefits are available to you.  You just have to go a little further into the process.

At the hearing, you will have the first opportunity to sit down with a high level decision maker and explain your disability.  

Claimants who take an attorney with them to the hearing win about three times as often as those who go unrepresented. Your attorney will feel right at home in the hearing and can guide you through it successfully.

Can you afford an attorney?  Yes.  Your attorney will sign a "Contingency Fee Agreement."  This means you only pay a fee if you win your case and receive past due benefits.  The fee will be a percentage of the past due benefits that you get.  (Your monthly check is all yours -- 100 percent).  By the way, fees must be approved by the Social Security Administration.  The claimant is protected.

Contact the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL.  You can get a free consultation and case evaluation at no cost, no obligation.  Simply call us at (256) 799-0297.

 

WHEN A PERSON UNDER 50 NEEDS DISABILITY BENEFITS

Social Security has 3 sets of rules for disability determination, depending on the age of the claimant.

ADVANCED AGE: 55 or older.  The easiest cases to get approved.

CLOSELY APPROACHING ADVANCED AGE:  50 - 54.  

YOUNGER INDIVIDUAL:  Under 50.  Very difficult to approve.

Younger individuals (under 50) are hard to get approved for disability benefits.  This is because the younger claimants cannot meet one of the "grid rules" or Medical-Vocational Guidelines.

The basic burden of proof for claimants under 50 is this:  You can document with objective medical evidence that you are unable to perform any full-time job which exists in the national economy.

This, of course, makes the claimant vulnerable to the easiest jobs in the national job market, which are sedentary and unskilled jobs.  Sedentary means that the job is performed mostly while seated with no more than 2 hours per day of standing/walking.  Sedentary work only requires lifting up to 10 pounds occasionally.  Unskilled means the jobs require no special education or training.  Anyone can walk in off the street and perform the job with just a few hours of instruction or training.  A lot of these jobs pay minimum wage.

For example, let's say a 35 year-old individual with a high school education applies for disability.  The judge finds that this individual could would be restricted to a sedentary, unskilled job.  If the vocational expert testifies that there are 2 or 3 of these jobs being performed in the national job market, the claimant will be denied. 

Of course, a few medical impairments prevent all work, even at the sedentary, unskilled level.  But these impairments are very severe, very debilitating.  The types of impairments that we normally encounter at this age category would not prevail.

As a claimant ages, however, Social Security sees him/her as less likely to adjust to new types of work.  So, starting at age 50 older workers are given some breaks not available to younger workers.

Many younger workers who get denied complain, "I know someone who isn't as disabled as I am--and he got his benefits on the first try."  However, he may have been older, may have had better medical records, could have a doctor supporting the claim, may have a different work history, might have had an easier judge--any number of factors that could make a difference.  

So, what do you need to get disability benefits if you are under 50?

1.  A severe impairment that won't permit any type of work.

2.  Good and current medical records, including tests or images.

3.  A doctor who is willing to complete a residual functional capacity (RFC), detailing exactly why you are not able to work.

4.  An attorney/advocate who is willing to work extremely hard and go the second and third mile to win your case.

Cases of persons under 50 do sometimes win but they require a lot more work than is required for a claimant who is 50 or older. This is why many attorneys will not accept cases of "younger individuals."  They require more work and there is also more risk of no pay.

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The Forsythe Firm   *  7027 Old Madison Pike * (256) 799-0297

Free case evaluations

Pay no fee unless you win

 

 

IF I CAN'T PERFORM MY PAST WORK AM I DISABLED?

A judge finds that you are not physically or mentally able to do your past work?  Does that mean you are disabled?

It really depends on your age.

If you are 55 or older, and you can't perform any of the jobs you've held in the past 15 years, then you are disabled according to the regulations.

However, if you are under age 50 (a "younger individual") - you would not necessarily be disabled.  The next question will be:  "Is there some other work you are able to do."  This is a "Step 5 question."  If you are able to perform an easier job, you will not qualify for a benefit.

So, age plays a very important role in qualifying for Social Security disability benefits.