You will need to take or have available lots of information to get your claim started.

• You need to have a list of all the doctors you have seen in the past 5 years, all the hosptials/clinics you have visited and all the medications you are currently taking.
• You will need addresses and phone numbers for these physicians and clinics.
• You will also need a list of all the places you have worked in the past 15 years and details about what kind of work you were doing.

This can all be entered by computer or taken to your local Social Security office where staff there will help you get this information entered into your record.

After you have filed your application, you will recieve a letter from Social Security advising you whether your claim has been approved or denied. Only about 36% are approved at this level. The letter will tell you that you may appeal this decision, but it must be within 60 days. Pay close attention to that date and appeal on time. In Alabama, your next step will be to request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. At this point you will need to update your file with any new medical records and medications.

We can help you stay on top of these important steps to make sure your claim is processed as soon as possible. There is a significant backlog of claims and this process can take up to 18 months or longer. We can help you stay on track.

Basically, you qualify for SSDI if you have worked 5 of the past 10 years and had Social Security withheld from your paycheck. Part of that withholding goes into an insurance fund for disability so that ,if you  have paid into the fund, you can then draw benefits from the fund if you qualify.

SSI benefits apply to someone who has not worked and earned substantial gainful wages in the past 5 of 10 years. This means you do not have the disability insurance coverage. However, you also can not have “assets” to qualify for this program. In most cases you will not qualify for SSI if you own a house, car and/or other substantial property.

You can look on your annual Earnings Statement, sent to you by SSA, to see if you have had earnings reported in the past 5 of 10 years. The Social Security Office near you will evaluate your application to determine if you qualify for SSI or SSDI.

The Social Security Administration defines disability as “ inability to do any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months”.

Have you been considering whether to apply for

Social Security Disability Benefits or not?

Has someone told you that you should apply for benefits?

If so, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have serious medical conditions that interfere with my ability to do normal daily activities?
2. Am I having trouble attending work regularily or have stopped working altogether due to my medical conditions?
3. Do I need medical treatment that I cannot afford?
4. Am I having trouble keeping up with my bills because I have no income?

If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. Visit www.ssa.gov to read more about Social Securtiy Disability or contact an experienced Disability Advocate to find out if you might qualify for benefits and how to apply.

Contact us today for a FREE consultation 

256-895-0008 

spectrum@knology.net.