A few tips to help you get past the starting gate in regards to SSDI benefits applications.
The sad fact is this: many people that both qualify for and are in desperate need of social security disability insurance benefits do not receive them. This is either because they know about the program but feel that it is too difficult or cumbersome to apply for, have applied and been denied (which happens to 70% of applicants initially), or because they do not have information on the program to begin with.
It truly is disheartening that a large swathe of the most economically disadvantaged people in American society remain that way due to a palpable lack of information. That is what this article is going to address. Here, we are going to take a brief look at the SSDI program, understand its benefits, and discuss a few tips that will help deserving individuals get the financial assistance that they so desperately need.
First things first, the Social Security Disability Insurance(or SSDI) program is an initiative of the US department known as the Social Security Administration (or SSA). This program seeks to identify American citizens that due to one incident or another, have been left severely disabled and as such, unable to engage in income-earning activities. The benefits paid out as part of this program are done so in order to offset the financial loss incurred by the individual because of their disability.
The program and its concomitant benefits are made available only to severely disabled individuals. Paraphrased, the SSA’s definition of disability refers to a situation of severe impairment, preventing the individual from adequately engaging in their chosen employment and as such, depriving them of earnable income.
Because the benefits of a process like this can stretch on in perpetuity, getting approved for SSDI benefits can take quite some time to process. If you feel like you qualify and you want to apply, it is indeed best to do so the moment the disability-causing event takes place. When it comes to securing a stable income post disability, time is indeed a sensitive result. There is a government-mandated six-month waiting period that begins on the first full month after the department decides as the beginning of the disability. This means that one can only begin to receive their SSDI benefits six months after their disability, at the earliest.
The initial application is the first part of the SSD benefits application process. If you want to apply for social security disability insurance benefits, you will first have to go through this process in its entirety. As part of the process, some bits of information that will be required include:
- email address
- phone number
- Social Security number
- physical address
- mailing address
- any other Social Security numbers used in the past
- place of birth
- date of last day worked
- prior names used (for example names from any previous marriages and maiden names)
- spouse’s name, birth date, Social Security number, and date of marriage for any marriages that lasted at least ten years (if married)
- date of any divorces
- name and age of children
- information about military service prior to 1968
- dates of employment and employers’ names
- type of work you performed
- your total income for the each of the last three years
- copy of most recent Social Security earnings statement
- information about any income on which you didn’t pay Social Security taxes
When going through the initial application process, it is diligent to fill in the required details as accurately and as truthfully as possible. Any perceived discrepancies and falsities may result in the entire process getting delayed and worse still, rejected.
Application numbers are issues the moment an individual submits the initial form. This number is crucial to the success of the application and has to be kept safe throughout the duration of the application. The SSA has no way of retrieving the number and so in the event that it gets missing, the application has to be restarted.
As opposed to mailing checks, the SSA prefers potential recipients to have a United States bank account into which the payments can be deposited every month. As such, it is advisable for anyone applying for the benefits to have a bank account that is in good standing ahead of when the payments begin.
Once the prospective recipient submits the application, it has tobe printed, signed, and submitted to the relevant SSA office within six months or the process will have to be redone. Furthermore, as long as the signed application is submittedwithin the stated six-month period, the date in which the application began will be used as the official application date.
Make no mistake, applying for ssdi benefits or government benefits of any kind isn’t easy, and this one is no different. In fact, many reputable resources strongly suggest that individuals looking to qualify for the benefits consult with a lawyer throughout the process.
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