How Long Can I Get Disability Benefits?

There are a few things that any experienced SSI/SSDI attorney will say to you. First, most claimants who get approved are able to keep their benefits after each sequent review of their claim. Second, it's more difficult to ascertain that someone has had medical improvement if he or she was approved for disability benefits through an administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing as opposed to being approved at the initial claim or reconsideration appeal levels.

There's a reason for this: ALJs have more flexibility in formulating their decisions than disability benefits examiners, which means that many individuals who received their disability approvals at the ALJ hearing may not really have been awarded disability under the rules and guidelines used to make decisions at the state disability agency (DDS, or Disability Determination Services). Even though a claims examiner might not agree that a recipient is disabled, unless there's proof of medical improvement in the medical record, disability benefits cannot be continued -- except in specific exceptions.

Other Reasons Benefits May Be Discontinued

There are other reasons you might lose your disability benefits, dependent on whether you have SSDI or SSI. While nobody is assured a lifetime of disability benefits, in all likelihood, once a person has been awarded disability benefits, they will continue to get disability benefits until the age of retirement, at which point their benefits will change from the disability category to the retirement category. That said, if you try to keep your benefits by not informing Social Security whenever your condition has improved or when you begin earning an income, you may be accountable for repaying disability overpayments.

For a complete examination of your case, whether you could lose your payments, or if you need to report a change in income or condition, contact Kassin and Carrow and get the answers that you need!

Can You Qualify for Both SSDI and SSI Disability Benefits?

Some people who are eligble for SSI get a modest amount of Social Security disability benefits, if they worked. Making an application for both benefits is called a "concurrent claim."

In particular circumstances, you can collect SSI and SSDI at the same time (called "concurrent benefits"). This takes place when a disability applicant is approved for Social Security Disability (abbreviated as SSD or SSDI) but gets merely a low monthly payment. (A low SSDI payment can be brought on by not working a great deal in the past few years or making low wages.)

Qualifying for SSI

To qualify for an SSI payment in addition to an SSDI payment, your unearned earnings must be less than $721 per month. The SSI income limits are relatively confusing, however; this limit is greater in certain states, and if you are working and making some cash, another limit is applicable. The SSI program also offers asset limits.

If your revenue and possessions are low enough to be entitled to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and you worked long enough in a job that paid taxes into the Social Security system to qualify for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI), it is not unlikely you'll receive both types of benefits at once. (However, remember your SSDI payment is included in determining your eligibility for SSI. Quite often, your SSDI payment is going to be so high you simply won't be considered for SSI.)

Monthly Payment of Concurrent SSDI and SSI Benefits

You will not get a higher monthly combined benefit than you would under the SSI program by itself. Your SSI payment will be lowered by your SSDI payment to suit the absolute maximum SSI payment. If your SSDI benefit is underneath the current SSI monthly payment amount and you qualify for SSI, you'll receive an SSI payment. Simply put, if your SSDI benefit is below the set maximum per month, you are able to receive both SSI and SSDI benefits at once.

How You Apply for Concurrent Benefits

Whether you apply for SSI, SSDI (often known as SSD), or both, the Social Security office will choose whether your claim is concurrent, depending on your income and assets. The category of your claim will make no difference as to the way the claim is processed. In other words, an SSI claim will be completed in much the same way as an SSDI claim. The same definition of disability and the same disability review process is used for both programs.

The Benefits of a Concurrent Claim

The benefit to getting SSI when you are collecting a lower monthly SSDI benefit is that the SSI payment will lift up your benefit up to the maximum per month.

The benefit to having the capability to collect SSDI when you're eligible for SSI is that you may be eligible to get on Medicare as an SSDI recipient (although you must wait two years from when your SSDI eligibility begins).

In contrast, SSI recipients are eligible for Medicaid alone. Although Medicaid does provide payment for more services than Medicare, more physicians acknowledge payments from Medicare, so it may be much easier to find a provider.

Kassin And Carrow are ready and willing to help you receive all of the benefits that you deserve, whether SSI, SSDI, or both!

Is My Child Eligible To Receive Disability Benefits?

SSI makes monthly payments to individuals with low income and limited resources who are 65 or older, or blind or impaired. Your child younger than age 18 can qualify if she or he meets Social Security’s definition of disability for kids, and if his or her income and resources fall inside the eligibility limits. The amount of Missouri's SSI payment is distinctive from other states since some states add to the SSI payment.

When it is decided if your child may get SSI, they consider your child’s income and resources. We also look at the income and resources of family members living in the child’s residence. These rules apply if your child lives at home. They also apply if he or she is away at school but comes back home from time to time and is susceptible to your control.

If your child’s income and means, or the income and resources of family members residing in the child’s household, are greater than the total authorized, they'll deny the child’s application for SSI payments.

SSI rules about disability:
Your child must meet all of the following requirements to be considered disabled and therefore allowed SSI:

The child ought not to be working and earning greater than $1,070 per month in 2014. (This earnings amount usually changes each year.) If he or she is working and earning that much money, it will be found that your child is not handicapped.

The child will need to have a physical or mental condition, or a mixture of conditions, that causes “marked and severe functional limitations. This means the condition(s) must very greatly limit your child’s activities.

The child’s condition(s) must have been debilitating, or be anticipated to be debilitating, for a minimum of twelve months; or needs to be likely to cause death. If your child’s condition(s) leads to “marked and severe functional limitations” for a minimum of twelve continuous months, it will be found that your child is disabled. But if it doesn't trigger those limitations, or doesn't cause those limitations for at least twelve months, it will likely be found that your child is not disabled.

The process and qualifications can be complex and frustrating to have to go through in great detail. Visit the offices of Kassin and Carrow and see what we can do to help you receive the benefits that you need!