EASY WAYS TO GET ON DISABILITY

Individuals often ask, "What is the easiest way to get on disability benefits?"

The real answer is:  There is no easy way.

Social Security makes applying for and getting approved for disability a very difficult, time consuming and frustrating ordeal.

It may be relatively easy to get disability benefits if you.....

1.  Have a terminal illness with less than 1 year to live--

2.  Have one of the 220 catastrophic illnesses listed in the Compassionate Allowance program--

3.  Are blind according to the specific Social Security regulations-- 

4.   Meet or equal a Listing in Social Security's "Blue Book."  This would involve a severe medical impairment with excellent medical documentation.

The truth is, most claimants fight for a long time to get disability benefits approved.  Here are some of the factors that make it a long, difficult fight:

• There's a 5-month waiting period; Social Security does not pay any benefit for the first 5 months of a disability.  That's 5 months after the date disability begins.
  
• A claimant must have a condition that disables him/her for a minimum of 12 straight months, OR will end in death.  There are no short term benefits.
• The proof required of claimants under age 55 is unreasonably difficult.
• If you are able to perform any full-time job, you are not disabled according to the rules.
  
• Around three-fours of all claims are denied initially, usually requiring 2 appeals to have a chance at approval.  This process can take up to 2 years.
  
• Most disability cases end up before an Administrative Law Judge for a hearing.
• Some judges pay as little as 12 percent of cases that come before them at hearings.  Others pay better, but you never know which judge you will get. Going before a judge without a lawyer is the worse idea of your entire life!
  
• Social Security is backlogged and very slow to process applications and appeals, worse since the COVID disaster. (And yes, from a Social Security point of view, it IS a disaster).
• Social Security offices are closed to the public.
• Most employees who process disability applications are "working from home," and impossible to reach.
• It is next to impossible to get a return call from a disability case worker.  You can't call them unless you have his/her personal cell phone number.  they almost never return you call.
  
• The waiting times to hear anything on a Social Security disability claim can be months--even years.
• It does not appear that there is any accountability for Social Security disability employees. They certainly have no time limits on them.
  

Should you still file a claim if you feel you have a disability that is so severe that you can't work?  Yes!  But if you have any idea of a quick, easy claim process, you are probably kidding yourself.

 And while my office has all the work we can do, I must tell you that trying for Social Security disability without an advocate/attorney is a long, long shot.  I am not soliciting new business when I say this; it's simply the truth.

If you commit to fighting for Social Security disability, realize first that it is a long commitment and probably a long legal struggle.  If you give up easily, can't take rejection, or are unwilling to enlist legal assistance--a disability claim can be one of the most frustrating things of your life.  It isn't easy.  It wasn't meant to be.