Social Security Disability Programs
- According to the Social Security Administration, a 20-year-old working individual has a 30-percent chance of being disabled before he reaches retirement age. SSDI is a U.S. federal program that helps adult individuals who have not worked or are expected to not be able to work for at least one year because of a disability by providing monetary assistance.
SSI is an income supplement program that receives funding through tax revenues that do not include Social Security taxes. It provides individuals with cash assistance if they are aged (over the age of 65), blind or disabled. Children and young adults who have never had a job covered by Social Security may also receive SSI benefits. - To qualify for SSI, an individual must be a U.S. citizen or residential alien and have a limited income and limited access to resources. Additionally, an individual must be over the age of 65, disabled or have a statutory blindness where one's central visual acuity is 20/200 or less in the better eye, even with the use of corrective lenses. Those who wish to receive SSI program benefits must meet the same medical criteria as the SSDI program.
An adult applying for SSDI must be a U.S. citizen or residential alien at least 18 years old, and must have paid Social Security taxes and worked for a specific period, which varies by age and income. Additionally, to qualify for the SSDI program, one must be unable to perform substantial gainful activity (like hold a job), must have a condition that is expected to result in death or must have a qualifying medical condition that is expected to continue for at least 12 months. Qualifying medical conditions include those that affect the musculoskeletal, respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological and/or immune system. Additionally, those with genitourinary impairments; hematological, skin, mental or neurological disorders, and/or those with malignant neoplastic diseases may qualify. - Children under the age of 18 may qualify for SSDI even if they have not worked or paid Social Security taxes. A child's mental or physical disability must cause obvious and serious functional limitations, must be expected to result in the child's death or must have lasted for at least 12 months.
- To apply for SSDI or SSI, you can set up a telephone or in-person appointment with a local Social Security representative, fill out an application and mail it your local Social Security office, or fill out an application online.
No matter how you choose to apply, you will need to provide the same information for either application. You must provide military service discharge information (if applicable), W-2 tax forms from the previous year, your Social Security number and detailed information about your condition. Other information needed includes the date your condition began, contact information for your doctors, the types of prescription medication prescribed for you, the dates of medical tests and your employment history. - If you are denied SSDI or SSI, you can appeal the decision within 60 days of receiving the written notice by filling out the Request for Reconsideration form. You can get this form mailed to you from your local Social Security office.
