If you’re disabled and can’t work, you might need to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments. But if you aren’t 62, it may be difficult to qualify for benefits. Social Security uses a strict definition when it comes to approving disability. The approval is referred to as a “compassionate allowance.”
Only Total Disability Paid
If you are partially disabled, you don’t qualify for SSDI. You must be totally disabled, and it must be a medically determinable impairment.Disability is the inability to engage in “substantial gainful activity” due to a medically determinable physical or mental impairment. This impairment must be expected to result in death or to last for a continuous 12-month period.
Medically determinable mental or physical impairment must result from anatomical, psychological, or physiological abnormalities. Acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques can show these abnormalities.
Need to Have Worked to Qualify
To qualify for SSDI, you must have worked jobs covered by Social Security and met the strict definition of disability.Social Security work credits are assigned and based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income.
Incapable of Working
An inability for “gainful activity” means that you cannot work. Your medical or mental disability prevents you from doing your previous job. You cannot adjust to other work, either.Your condition has lasted for the last full year and is expected to last at least a year or result in death.
Traditional Disabilities That Were Covered
There are several types of impairments for adults aged 18 or older. They may also apply to the evaluation of children under 18.- musculoskeletal disorders
- special senses and speech
- respiratory disorders
- cardiovascular system
- digestive disorders
- endocrine disorders
- congenital disorders
- neurological disorders
- mental disorders
- cancer (malignant neoplastic diseases)
- immune system disorders
Some non-medical sources include, but are not limited to, public and private social welfare agencies, caregivers, neighbors, employers, family members, etc.
New Disabilities Covered
In August 2023, the SSA announced 12 new compassionate allowances. Some included anaplastic ependymomo, leber congenital amaurosis, childhood pineoblastoma, sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung (stages II–IV), etc.Due to the severe nature of these conditions, these claims are often approved based on medical confirmation.
Waiting Period for Social Security Disability Benefits
There is often confusion on how long you must wait to apply for and receive Social Security benefits. Often referred to as the “five-month rule,” you must wait five months once the SSA deems you disabled to receive benefits. You will receive benefits in the sixth month.But this doesn’t mean you must be off work for five months. It means that once the SSA has determined you’re disabled, you wait five months.
You still must be out of work for 12 consequent months before you are eligible to apply for SSDI. So, in reality, you are waiting 17 months for benefits.
There is an accelerated program for the compassionate allowance. The SSA incorporates leading technology to identify compassionate allowance cases. This allows the SSA to make quick decisions. Social Security’s health IT brings the efficiency of electronic medical records and speed to the determination process.
Monthly Payment for Social Security Disability
The annual federal yearly SSDI payment for an individual in 2022 was $10,092.40. The payment received an 8.7 percent cost-of-living increase for 2023. This brought the annual amount in 2023 to $10,970.44. The 2023 monthly maximum payment is $914.- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Mississippi
- North Dakota
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
