How to Know If You Qualify for Disability
If a serious medical condition has inhibited your daily activities and left you unable to work, you may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability Benefits. Qualifying for disability is not an easy task, and knowing whether you are eligible to receive benefits can be difficult. You’ll need to know a little about the way the Social Security Administration (SSA) works in order to know if you qualify.
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Instructions
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Understand the Social Security Administration’s definition of disability. The SSA will evaluate your medical history and current health to determine whether your condition complies with their definition of disability. According to the SSA, you may be considered disabled if you are unable to perform the work you did before and SSA decides that you cannot adjust to other work, or if your condition is expected to last for at least 12 months or result in death. While you may believe that you are physically unable to work, the SSA may not consider you disabled if you fail to meet the qualifying criteria.
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Determine whether you have earned enough work credits to qualify for disability. Social Security determines a worker’s eligibility to receive disability through a credit-rating system that allows a worker to claim work credits for years worked and annual income earned if the worker paid social-security tax during his employment. The work-credit threshold increases as you age. You may only claim four work credits per year based on your income. See Resources below for information about calculating your work credits and determining your eligibility to receive Social Security Disability.
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Speak with your physician about your condition. If you and your doctor don’t agree about the severity of your condition, she may not be able to help you qualify for disability benefits. Does your doctor believe that your condition severely affects your ability to work? Does she believe your illness will last for more than 12 months or result in your death? Social Security will require that your doctor submit your medical records to the administration in order to make a decision about your claim. If your doctor doesn’t believe your condition is severe enough to entitle you to disability, SSA may not either.
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Assess your condition and your inability to work as honestly as possible. The Social Security Administration enlists the services of highly trained professionals to determine if your condition meets their definition of disability. If your condition isn’t severe enough, the SSA will deny your claim.
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Think about the reasons you are unable to perform at your current job. Determine whether your condition affects your daily life outside of work. Are you limited physically, mentally or emotionally? Are you unable to work or just unwilling? If you try to fabricate your condition or exaggerate your inability to work, you can be charged with fraud and you can serve jail time. Be honest with yourself, your doctor and the SSA. Don’t allow your frustration with your job, your financial difficulties or your fatigue to influence your actions.
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Apply for Social Security Disability. The best way to know if you qualify for disability is to apply. Visit your local Social Security office and request an application. or use the link below to apply online. Within a few months, you’ll receive notice of the SSA’s decision about your claim.
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Don’t despair If SSA denies your claim. SSA denies most people’s claims the first and second time they apply. You may need to enlist the help of an attorney to begin receiving benefits. Rest assured that if you’re truly disabled, you’ll eventually be able to cut through the red tape and qualify for disability.
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Tips & Warnings
Don’t despair if you think you may qualify for disability and your doctor does not. SSA may require you to meet with another doctor in order to evaluate your condition before a making a decision about your claim.
