There is preparation that I suggest you do before ever filing your claim. Even though you can file on the internet and over the phone now, I don’t recommend doing this unless you already have in front of you, all your documents, your medical records and relevant information to complete your forms. Your medical records are the meat of your disability claim process. I will discuss this matter in great detail later.

Your application will go through the social security office. It requires certain information. Then your file is sent to the disability examination office which is operated by the State in which you live. This office could be several hundred miles from your home. The disability office will proceed with your claim and send you more forms to complete. Having the needed information and completed forms prior to your filing your claim, will greatly speed up the process. Forms and records always get lost or delayed in the mail system. Whatever you do, make copies of your forms before you mail them. I know you will say, “I don’t have the money to make copies.” But. find a way, a friend, last employer, someone who will do this for you. If you can’t possibly do this, fill out the forms in duplicate or keep a copy of the exact information you put on the form in a safe place. If the original is lost, you will have the correct information in your possession. This will save time if you have to fill out the forms again.

Contact your local social security office and request that a disability application be mailed to you. With the forms it sends, you will receive a list of all the documents you need to submit with your application. Some of these include an original birth certificate, your social security number, the social security numbers of any dependent adults or children who would be recipients of your benefits, wage earnings, marriage license, etc.

You can contact the general social security office hot line for forms at 1-800-772-1213.
You can download many of the forms from SSA website at http://www.ssa.gov.
The disability report forms for adults are SSA-3368-BK, SSA-16-BK and SSA-8000-BK.

The social security office will determine your eligibility for Title II and /or Title XVI. You may be determined eligible for one or more of these programs, but your disability still has to be proven for you to receive benefits.

You need to talk to a field representative in the social security office to learn about the differences in these programs and your eligibility. I will tell you that basically you have to have worked a certain number of quarters to be eligible for Title II. In order to receive Title II (SSD) and Title XVI (SSI), your family income has to be in a certain category. Those eligible for Title XVI only, are children or adults who have never worked or only have a few hours of work history. There are of course exceptions to these that I will not attempt to cover. Accuracy and completeness of the forms is very important. On your next visit, I would like to go into more detail how to complete the forms to ensure that your disability claim will not be delayed due to incomplete information.

My heart went out to all the claimants, as they are called, whom I knew would be denied benefits. My hands were hopelessly tied by a legal system. I was limited in what I could say to the claimants due to office policies. I had vowed that I would make it my mission, once I was out of the system, to offer assistance concerning the disability program to anyone who was interested. It is my goal to offer that assistance on the Disability Tipoff website and have the positive influence that I could not have as an examiner.

I will tell you how to apply for social security disability benefits and give helpful information to avoid mistakes and pitfalls which could cause your claim to be denied.

I will close with the definition of disability as defined by social security. To be disabled (for adults) you must be unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment, which has lasted or is expected to last for one year, or result in death.

What a mouth full!! Most of the terminology of the social security program is complicated. To break this down in layman’s terms, your illness must be fully documented with a diagnosis by a qualified MD, DO, psychiatrist or a PhD graduate psychologist. Social security does not consider you disabled, if, the diagnosed condition which prevents you from working has not lasted for one year, your condition is not expected to improve for one year, or that condition is expected to result in your death. Substantial gainful activity refers to the ability to work some kind of job on a full time or part time basis which grossly pays more than $900 per month. It does not matter that you may not be able to work the job of your profession or skill level. It means if you can work any job that brings income greater than $900. All of these conditions have to be in place. With this definition alone, you can see why disability claims have a high rate of denials.

I will discuss disability as it pertains to children at a later time.

Thank you for visiting my website. Please return for more disability tips.