Published on: September 25, 2014
If you’re one of millions of Americans who find themselves unable to fully perform in the workplace every year due to the onset of a disability or medical condition, know that there are options available to help keep your income and standard of life afloat. Despite whatever your unique circumstances may be, disability benefit programs through the Social Security Administration (SSA) may be able to help.
But just what are these benefits? What determines if you qualify for these benefits, and their amount? There are a couple of factors that come into play here, some of which may overwhelm applicants or be cause for frustration down the line.
That’s why we’re here: to provide professional guidance for getting the crucial benefits you need. The onset of disability is enough of a struggle in itself, you don’t need the frustrations of applying for benefits compounded on top of your existing circumstances. In this blog, we will provide an introduction to disability benefits, and point you in the right direction for receiving maximum benefits for your situation.
What Exactly are Disability Benefits?
Disability benefits are compensatory insurance for hard-working Americans who become diagnosed with qualifying disabilities and perform work on a full time basis. It’s financial support for those who can no longer earn an income as they had before the onset of their disabling condition.
The SSA recognizes that, with some disabilities, the ability to support oneself and one’s family may decline, and makes up for this loss with benefit payments based on your previous contributions to Social Security through taxes.
At its base, it can be helpful to think of disability benefits as salary replacement income, making up for either your direct income or the income of a primary wage earner in your family. It’s a fallback safety net for working Americans who find themselves in unanticipated disabling circumstances; circumstances in which they can no longer work to their fullest ability, and thus earn the wages they require to maintain a standard of living.
How Are Benefits Calculated?
Disability benefits through Social Security are calculated by one’s lifetime contributions to Social Security by taxes, in the form of work credits (credits earned through years of regular work, often taken out of paychecks automatically by employers).
To be eligible to disability benefits, you will have had to pay Social Security taxes on your earnings for at least half of the 10-year period leading up to the onset of your disability. Typically, the SSA determines whether or not you meet the requirements for benefits through two tests; the recent work test and duration of work test.
The SSA’s recent work test will take into account how much work you have completed (via Social Security credits) in a period of years leading up to your disability; this amount of years will vary from case to case, dependent on the age of applicants. In general, to pass this test, you will have had to have worked at least 50% of this time to be eligible for benefits. The older you are, the longer you will have had to work before the onset of disability (the larger the “window,” or time frame, the SSA will evaluate).
The duration of work test, on the other hand, will assess how much time you have put into your work throughout your entire life. If you are able to pass the duration of work test, you will be considered “fully insured” under Social Security disability.
How Do I Know if I Qualify?
Your qualification for disability benefits is determined by a collective grouping of factors, including the extent of your disability, its anticipated length, its effects on your occupational performance and your condition’s qualification based on the SSA’s criteria.
First off, your condition must be classified as an official disability in the Social Security Administration’s Blue Book, which catalogues all eligible disabilities in the U.S. This is important, as not all conditions will be listed in the Blue Book, so it’s important to determine whether or not yours is included before applying for benefits.
Further, your disability must be either a permanent condition, or be expected to last at least one year or have already lasted one year.
And finally, you’ll only be able to qualify for disability benefits in the United States if you come equipped with sufficient evidence of your disability; this includes all paperwork, medical treatment records and official documentation regarding your condition and its effects on your ability to work. You must be able to prove not only that your condition exists, but that it also affects your performance in the workplace, and ability to support yourself and your family financially.
