Social Security Disability Resources

We have compiled an extensive list of Social Security Disability topics that can aid you in your search for answers to your social security disability questions. Please feel free to browse our topics below and follow the links to the full articles.

Use the links below to navigate to a corresponding section.

• Part I    - Disability Resources
• Part II   - Disability Process
• Part III  - Why Should I Use a Lawyer or Advocate?

If you can't find answers to your questions, complete the Free Case Evaluation form below and a Social Security Disability advocate will contact you to discuss your case.

Disability Questions

• What Is Social Security?
• What are the major categories of Social Security disability benefits?
• What is Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?
• How Many Credits do I Need to Qualify for SSDI? How Much Did I Have to Make to Earn A Credit?
• What is the Definition of "Disability" Under the Social Security Act?
• Do You Have to be Permanently Disabled to Qualify for Social Security Disability?
• Can Numerous Health Problems Collectively be Considered a Disability for Social Security Disability Purposes?
• How Does Social Security Determine If Someone is Disabled?
• Can I Receive Worker's Compensation and Social Security Disability?
• Can Alcoholism or Drug Addiction be Considered a Disability?
• Why is Social Security Denying My Social Security Disability Claim When My Doctor Tells Me I'm Disabled?
• Why is Social Security Denying My Social Security Disability Claim When the VA Tells Me I'm Disabled?
• Can Mental Illness be Considered a Disability?
• Can I Receive Social Security Disability Benefits and Still Work?
• How Long Will My Social Security Disability Benefits Last?
• Can I Still Receive Social Security if I'm Disabled but Not Poor?
• I'm Not Sure If Social Security Will Consider Me Disabled, Should I Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits?
• I Worked In the Past, But I Have Become Very Sick After Being a Stay-At-Home Mom for Some Time. Am I Eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits?
• I am disabled, but I have never worked. Can I get Social Security disability benefits?
• I am a Widow and Have Not Worked In the Last Ten Years, But I am Disabled. Am I Eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits?
• My Child Is Disabled and Cannot Work; Can My Child Receive Disability Benefits from Social Security?
• Can I Receive a Percentage of a Social Security Benefit if I Am Disabled by That Amount?
• Can I Collect Social Security Disability Benefits and Collect Early Retirement?
• Can I Return to Work After Collecting Social Security Disability Benefits? What Are the Consequences if I Do?
• Can My Family Receive Social Security Benefits If I'm Disabled?
• Additional Advantages of Receiving Social Security Benefits
• Disability Rules for the Blind

New miscellaneous articles

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6. Disability Act
7. Disability lawyer
8. SSI application
9. How to apply for disability
10. SSI eligibility
11. SSDI insurance qualifications
12. Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
13. SSDI insurance
14. Definition of disability
15. Disability benefits
16. SS disability
17. Disability
18. How Does SS Determine If Someone is Disabled?
19. Newly Disabled, Now What? 13 Activities for the Mobility Challenged

 

• What Is Social Security?

  • At its heart, Social Security is founded on a simple principle – you put money in when you work, and when you cannot work you take money out...

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• What are the major categories of Social Security disability benefits?

  • Social Security Disability benefits pay money to disabled individuals if the individual meets other qualifications. Overall, Social Security has five major benefits, each with different requirements...

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• What is Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?

  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is designed for those individuals who do not meet SSDI’s FICA contribution requirements, or have limited income and resources. SSI is available for disabled children and adults, though SSI is determined differently for both groups...

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• How Many Credits do I Need to Qualify for SSDI? How Much Did I Have to Make to Earn A Credit?

  • To qualify for SSDI you must meet specific work requirements. Social Security requires you earn a specific number of credits depending on your age. Though the rule of thumb is that you must work five out of the last ten years to qualify, Social Security is actually interested in the number of credits you earn, not the number of years you work...

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• What is the Definition of "Disability" Under the Social Security Act?

  • As defined in the Social Security Act, a "disability" is the "inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months..."

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• Do You Have to be Permanently Disabled to Qualify for Social Security Disability?

  • No. In order to qualify for Social Security the disability must actually last or be expected to last for longer than twelve months, or have a disabling condition that will cause death within a year.

• Can Numerous Health Problems Collectively be Considered a Disability for Social Security Disability Purposes?

  • Yes. Social Security considers whether you are disabled overall and not whether a single disabling condition is present. Many Social Security claimants possess multiple conditions and are successful because Social Security will consider the cumulative effect of numerous impairments.
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• How Does Social Security Determine If Someone is Disabled?

  • Overall, to determine if you are disabled Social Security decides if you are able to still complete your past work or, if not, any other work. Generally, Social Security will collect all of your medical records and determine if you are able to do your past work...

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• Can I Receive Worker's Compensation and Social Security Disability?

  • Yes, though your Social Security Disability benefits or worker's compensation benefits will likely be reduced...

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• Can Alcoholism or Drug Addiction be Considered a Disability?

  • No. At one time a few claimants received Social Security Disability benefits on account of alcoholism or drug addiction, but the Social Security Act now prohibits disability benefits for such reasons.
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• Why is Social Security Denying My Social Security Disability Claim When My Doctor Tells Me I'm Disabled?

  • Social Security has a very technical definition of what constitutes a "disability" and a very specific and objective method to determine if you are disabled. Social Security determines if you are disabled independently of your doctor's position and requires that your diagnosis be objectively obtained through "medically acceptable clinical and laboratory findings". Many disabling conditions are difficult to diagnose through objective assessments. Further, your doctor probably does not define "disability" in the same technical manner as the Social Security Act.
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• Why is Social Security Denying My Social Security Disability Claim When the VA Tells Me I'm Disabled?

  • Social Security independently determines if you are disabled, and VA decisions are not binding on Social Security. More importantly, VA and Social Security may have different definitions of what constitutes a "disability." It is possible for a condition to be considered a disability under the VA's definition and not a disability under the definition used by Social Security.
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• Can Mental Illness be Considered a Disability?

  • Yes, it is possible for Social Security to consider your mental illness a disability. In fact, many claimants receive Social Security Disability benefits on the basis of their mental illness. Social Security will determine whether you are capable of doing your past jobs or any jobs based on your specific mental illness.
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• Can I Receive Social Security Disability Benefits and Still Work?

  • Possibly, though it's very unlikely. Remember, to receive disability benefits Social Security must determine that you are not capable of working. However, in a few limited situations individuals may work highly reduced schedules and still receive Social Security Disability benefits.
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• How Long Will My Social Security Disability Benefits Last?

  • Your Social Security Disability benefits will last as long as you are disabled and unable to return to work.
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• Can I Still Receive Social Security if I'm Disabled but Not Poor?

  • Yes. The only type of Social Security benefit that considers whether you are poor is Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The other types of Social Security benefits, Social Security Disability, Disabled Widow's or Widower's benefits, or Disabled Adult Child benefits, do not take into account how much money you have in the bank or how much money you make every year.
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• I Worked In the Past, But I Have Become Very Sick After Being a Stay-At-Home Mom for Some Time. Am I Eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits?

  • Perhaps. There are a number of ways you could be eligible for Social Security benefits. First, you could qualify if you have worked five out of the last ten years prior to becoming disabled. Second, if you are under 31 and worked prior to becoming disabled, you could qualify for benefits. Third, if your earnings are low enough since you have been staying home, you could qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
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• I'm Not Sure If Social Security Will Consider Me Disabled, Should I Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits?

  • It is never easy to tell if Social Security will consider you disabled. Ultimately, however, your decision to apply for Social Security benefits should not rest on whether Social Security will consider you disabled. Your decision to file should rest on your own belief about your condition. If YOU think that you cannot return to work anytime soon and are disabled, then you should file for Social Security Disability benefits.
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• I am disabled, but I have never worked. Can I get Social Security disability benefits?

  • Perhaps. You could qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is different from other Social Security Disability benefits because SSI requires that the claimant be poor and does not take into account an individual's work history or earnings record. SSI is available for disabled children and adults, though SSI is determined differently for both groups.
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• I am a Widow and Have Not Worked In the Last Ten Years, But I am Disabled. Am I Eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits?

  • Perhaps. There are a few ways you may be eligible. First, if you are over 50 and became disabled within seven years of your spouse's death, you may qualify for Disabled Widow's or Widower's benefits. Second, if you are over 50 and became disabled within seven years of your last check from mother's or father's benefits from Social Security, you might be eligible for Disabled Widow's or Widower's benefits. Last, if your earnings and possessions are low enough, you might be eligible for Supplemental Security Income regardless of your age, work history, or the date your disability occurred.
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• My Child Is Disabled and Cannot Work; Can My Child Receive Disability Benefits from Social Security?

  • Probably. There are few ways your child may qualify for Social Security benefits. First, if your child is under 18, disabled, and the household he or she resides in meets Social Security's poverty requirements, the child could qualify for child's Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Second, if your child is 18 or older, he or she might qualify for regular SSI, which would not take the parents' income into account. Last, if the child's parents are deceased or disabled, the child could be eligible for Disabled Adult Child Benefits.
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• Can I Receive a Percentage of a Social Security Benefit if I Am Disabled by That Amount?

  • No. If you are 75% disabled, you cannot receive 75% of a full Social Security Disability benefit. Social Security only considers whether you are capable of working with your present condition, and it does not concern itself with disability percentages. For Social Security purposes, you are either entirely disabled or not disabled.
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• Can I Collect Social Security Disability Benefits and Collect Early Retirement?

  • Yes, so long as your disability commenced before you elected to retire early and the other Social Security Disability requirements are met.
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• Can I Return to Work After Collecting Social Security Disability Benefits? What Are the Consequences if I Do?

  • Social Security encourages disabled persons to reenter the workforce and its policies give incentives to disabled persons who are trying to make the transition back to work, especially after the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999...

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• Can My Family Receive Social Security Benefits If I'm Disabled?

  • It's very possible. Social Security provides for family members of disabled individuals only in certain situations...

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• Additional Advantages of Receiving Social Security Benefits

  • The primary reason people submit a claim for Social Security benefits is for the cash benefit itself. But, the cash benefit is not the only reason to submit a claim...

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• Disability Rules for the Blind

  • Social Security considers you blind if either your best eye cannot be corrected to better than 20/200, or your visual field is less than or equal to 20 degrees with the aid of corrective lenses...

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