SSDI, America, and You

Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, can appear like an extremely hard concept to understand. If you just take a look at what’s occurring in politics right now, it looks like nobody can understand the social security system. However, the legal professionals at Kassin and Carrow in Edwardsville, Illinois and St. Peters, Missouri have years of experience helping people to navigate the overwhelming SSDI system to obtain the benefits that they deserve.

If you feel that you might be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits in St. Louis, MO, read on to understand more about the program and just how to make an application for benefits.

Social Security Disability Insurance has been in existence since 1956 to help those that cannot make a living because of a physical or mental impairment. Often these people will also have expenditures pertaining to their disability, such as hospital expenses or medication needs. Therefore, it becomes extremely difficult for these people to meet their financial needs. They need to have the income of disability benefits to live.

SSDI is a necessary system in the United States because only 1/3 of employers offer some kind of disability insurance to their employees. In total, eight million Americans depend entirely on SSDI to support themselves and their loved ones. Although the benefits are typically small in amount, they're a life-line for Americans who become hurt and can't work a conventional job because of the injury or illness.

Really, an increasing number of people end up in need of a disability law attorney to assist them to file for Social Security Disability Insurance. That’s because there are more people applying for disability than any other time. This is actually a result of a number of different causes. First off, the baby boomer generation is coming to be of the age where they're able to receive these benefits. Everyone is twice as likely to be disabled at age 50 as they are at age 40 and two times as likely to be disabled at age 60 as they are at age 50. Women are also adding to the number of individuals applying for benefits since increasingly more women are entering the workforce.

If you're thinking about making an application for disability benefits, you will want to do so with the help of a disability attorney. Naturally, you can apply for some levels of disability benefits without the aid of a legal professional. However, attorneys with years of experience such as Kassin and Carrow can improve the speed and efficiency with which your application is processed. If you are thinking about applying for disability benefits in Metro East St. Louis, Illinois or St. Louis proper, give consideration to scheduling a consultation with Kassin and Carrow today.

Social Security Disability Insurance: Your Safety Net

You might be eligible to get benefits for both you and certain people in your family if you are "insured." This means you worked long enough and paid taxes into the Social Security system. Your adult child may also be entitled to benefits under your earnings record if he or she has a disability that began before age 22. The law offices of Kassin and Carrow are happy to provide you with this helpful guidance.

Medical and other info will be collected whenever the government makes a determination about benefits. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration's website, a 20-year-old worker has a 30 percent chance of becoming disabled prior to reaching retirement age.

When determining if somebody is disabled, the federal government uses five questions:

Is the person employed? If you are working and your gross earnings are more than $1,010.00 per month, you usually cannot be considered disabled. If you are not working or your total earnings are below $1,010.00 monthly on account of a medical condition, then the SSA will proceed to the following question.

Would the condition that the individual is suffering from be considered "severe"? Your condition must interfere with basic work related activities for your claim to be considered. If your condition is not severe, then the SSA will not find you disabled. If your condition is serious, then the SSA will go to the next question.

Would the individual’s particular condition be located on the official standardized list of disabling conditions? The regulations list impairment for all of the major body systems that are so severe they immediately mean you're disabled. If your condition is not on the list, then the SSA has to decide if it's of equal seriousness to an impairment on the list. If your condition matches or equals one of the listed impairments, then the SSA will find that you are disabled. If your condition doesn't meet or equal one of the listed impairments, then the SSA will go to the following question.

Is the individual able to continue working the same way in which they did prior to being afflicted with the condition? If your condition is severe, but not at the same or equal severity as an ailment on the list then the SSA will have to determine if the condition intervenes with your ability to do the work that you did formerly. If your condition doesn't prevent you from doing your previous work, then the SSA will not find you disabled. If your condition inhibits you from performing your past work, then the SSA will go to the following question.

Is the person capable of getting some other means of a stable income? If you cannot do the work that you did previously, then the SSA decides if you are able to fully adjust to other work. The SSA views your medical conditions, your age, education, prior work experience, and any transferable skills that you might have obtained. If you can't adapt to other work, then the SSA will find you disabled.

When you withstand this maze of questions, the following are going to be available to you:

• You will be qualified to receive Medicare health insurance or Medicaid, dependent on the type of Social Security benefit
• You may receive annual cost of living increases
• You may receive tax advantages or receive your benefits tax-free
• You may shield any potential future Social Security benefits (with Retirement or Survivors benefits if eligible)
• You may qualify for vocational rehabilitation programs or work incentives to help you get back to work
• Your spouse or children may be qualified to receive benefits on your record

St. Louis, MO SSDI benefit seekers really should turn to the trustworthy law offices of Kassin and Carrow. They’ve got lots of experience ensuring that individuals with disabilities in Belleville, Granite City, Alton, Edwardsville, Arnold, St. Peters, and St. Louis, Missouri get the benefits they deserve.

What Can A Disability Attorney Do For You?

The law offices of Kassin and Carrow are the cutting edge disability attorneys in the Metro East St. Louis, Missouri area. They have over 30 years of experience with managing Social Security disability claims in Edwardsville, Illinois and St. Peters, Missouri. We'll use that same level of expertise to your disability claim. It’s our job as disability attorneys to help our clientele get the Social Security disability benefits that they should have. If you believe that it’s time to apply for disability benefits, you need to consider giving us a call. The sooner you get the help of a disability attorney, the more help that they can be.

The government gives out disability benefits with Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. To receive those benefits, your injury must disable you for not less than a full year. To receive benefits for short-term injuries, there are some other government programs available.

A disability attorney can lead you through the entire process of making an application for disability benefits. That is our purpose for the people of Wentzville, St. Charles, Kirkwood, St Peters, St. Louis, and Collinsville, Illinois at Kassin and Carrow. We can manage everything from the initial application to the appeal to preparation for the questioning. As your disability attorneys, you can expect Kassin and Carrow to:

• Assess your claim and explain it to you
• Gather medical and other evidence
• Take your Social Security Disability file and collect the necessary documents
• Appeal for past benefit applications to be reviewed
• Coordinate with your doctor to make a report that follows Social Security guidelines
• Get you ready to testify at a hearing if need be
• Make the right statements at a hearing
• Give wise counsel about appeals

Although legally some levels of disability application can be filed by non-lawyer individuals, a disability attorney can help you at every level of the process. If you're even considering applying for disability benefits and you reside near Edwardsville, Illinois or St. Peters, Missouri, get a hold of Kassin and Carrow to set a consultation.

Disability Attorney Questions and Answers

The benefits of hiring a disability lawyer are many, and worth covering in some detail. Additionally, it is necessary to consider at what stage of the process a lawyer ought to get involved.

Why Employ A Disability Attorney?

The most crucial reason to hire a lawyer to help with your disability case is that your chances of being approved are greatly increased. While it's certainly true that some people who apply on their own are approved for benefits, statistics show that, everything else being equal, Social Security is more inclined to approve an applicant who is represented by legal counsel than one who isn't.

From the preliminary application to the hearing level and beyond, disability attorneys like Kassin and Carrow understand how to present a case in the light most favorable to their clients. On the preliminary application, your lawyer can offer advice on your "alleged onset date" of disability, argue that your condition meets one of the listed impairments in Social Security's "blue book," and enable you to concentrate on the facts which will be most compelling to Social Security. At the reconsideration and hearing levels (the first and second level of appeal in many states like Missouri and Illinois), your attorney can accumulate and submit relevant medical evidence, obtain an opinion from your physician, draft a detailed brief to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), and get you prepared for the judge's questions at the hearing. Your lawyer will also raise helpful testimony from you at the hearing and may cross examine the Vocational Expert or Medical Expert to demonstrate that you are not able to work.

At the next stages of appeal, the Appeals Council and federal court, your attorney can create sophisticated legal arguments to show that Social Security wrongly denied your case.

When Should I Contact an Attorney?

The general rule of thumb is "the sooner, the better." If you are even thinking about filing for disability, you should call a disability attorney like those at Kassin and Carrow for a consultation. The law offices of Kassin and Carrow in St. Louis, MO can help you evaluate the strength of your case and assist you with your initial application. While some people choose to navigate this stage without legal representation, you're more likely to get approved if you have a lawyer helping you.

If having an attorney to help with your preliminary application is a good idea, employing a lawyer after you've received an initial denial ought to be a no-brainer. Along with improving the likelihood of success, a disability attorney can sometimes move your case more quickly through the system, especially if your medical condition is terminal or your financial situation is especially dire (for example, you're homeless or your home is being foreclosed on). Furthermore, your Arnold, St. Charles, Union, or Farmington, MO lawyer can send the judge a request for an "on-the-record" (OTR) decision, which means that you can be approved for benefits without a hearing.

If you're in the St. Louis, Missouri area and would like to explore your options with Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance, get a hold of the law offices of Kassin and Carrow. They're disability attorneys with years of experience that may be used to benefit you and your case.

Understanding the Social Security Disability Insurance System

Social Security reaches virtually every family in St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Edwardsville, Granite City and Clayton, and sooner or later, touches the lives of virtually all Americans. Social Security helps older Americans, workers who become disabled, and families in which a spouse or parent passes away. Nowadays, about 168 million people work and pay Social Security taxes and around 60 million men and women receive regular monthly Social Security benefits.

The majority of our beneficiaries are retired persons and their families — around forty two million people. But Social Security wasn't supposed to be the only income source for folks whenever they retire. Social Security takes the place of around 40 percent of the average wage earner’s income after retiring, and most financial advisors suggest retirees need seventy percent or more of pre-retirement earnings to live comfortably. To enjoy a comfortable retirement, Americans need more than Social Security. They also need private pensions, savings, and investments.

The law offices of Kassin and Carrow would like you to know what Social Security could mean to you and your family’s financial future. That’s why this blog clarifies the basics of the Social Security disability insurance program.

The current Social Security system works like this: whenever you work, you pay taxes into Social Security. We use the tax money to cover benefits to:

• People who already have retired
• People who're disabled
• Survivors of workers who've died
• Dependents of beneficiaries.

The money you pay in taxes isn’t held in a personal account for you to utilize whenever you get benefits. We use your taxes to pay individuals who are getting benefits right now. Any unused money goes to the Social Security trust funds, not a personal account with your name on it.
Many people think of Social Security as simply a retirement program. Most of the people receiving Social Security do get retirement benefits, but others get Social Security because they’re:

• Disabled
• A spouse or child of somebody getting Social Security
• A spouse or child of a worker who died
• A dependent parent of a worker who died

Dependent on your circumstances, you may be eligible for Social Security at any age. Actually, Social Security pays more benefits to kids than any other government program.

If you reside in Edwardsville, IL, or St. Louis, MO and you believe that you or somebody you love might qualify for SSDI benefits, the law offices of Kassin and Carrow are here for you. They are experienced disability attorneys who'll answer all of your disability law questions.

Appealing A Decision

If you've previously been refused a claim by the Social Security Administration, the law offices of Kassin and Carrow in St. Louis, MO can help you with the appeals process. There is a four-step process the SSA uses in the appeal. Each step should be completed in order, and we'll help you each step of the way.

1.    Reconsideration. Upon sending the form, your case is delivered to the State Disability Determination Services office. There, someone aside from the initial reviewer will take a look at your medical records and make a new determination about your disability.

2.    Hearing. If the reconsideration is refused, the next step is for us to send a request to the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review. At this point, you may possibly meet face-to-face with the judge. After the meeting, the judge will alert you in writing of the decision concerning your case.

3.    Appeals Council Review. The third step is similar to the disability hearing. Your request will once again be taken to the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review. Somebody there will again review your medical records and notify you in writing of the decision on your case.

4.    District Court Case. At this level of appeal, you need to have an attorney. Your case must be filed against Social Security in a District Court. From there, your case will be heard by a district court judge, who'll notify you in writing of the decision on your case.

The law offices of Kassin and Carrow are St. Louis, Missouri’s disability law professionals. If you're disabled and live in St. Louis, St. Charles, Kirkwood, St Peters, or Litchfield, MO, give consideration to scheduling an appointment to see what benefits you might be entitled to.

A Word About Our Fees

In the economy today, many household budgets are exhausted. At Kassin and Carrow in St. Louis, MO, the last thing we want to do is to add further financial burdens to you and your family. We feel that if you don't win your case, you should not pay our fee.

For many cases, we work on a contingent fee basis of 25% of past-due benefits or $6,000.00, whichever is less. Any fee ought to be approved by the Social Security Administration. Should you not win your case, then you will not pay any fee.

We will ask you to repay us for cost of getting medical records, and for whatever your physician charges for writing reports to help us win your claim. Total expenses tend to be under $100.00.

If you don't win your case, then you do not pay any fees. If you think that you may be entitled to SSI or SSDI benefits, contact the law offices of Kassin and Carrow today. They help people in St. Louis, MO and the Metro East St. Louis Illinois area.

The SSI Basics

Signed into law by President Nixon in 1972, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) operates in conjunction with Social Security to shield low-income seniors and individuals with serious disabilities against the worst effects of impoverishment. The modest income support from SSI gives senior citizens and people with disabilities who have constrained income and resources the capability to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, and pay for required, often life-sustaining medications. That’s why the law offices of Kassin and Carrow in St. Louis, Missouri concentrates on SSI and disability law.

Key Facts

• SSI provides crucial income support to more than 8 million Americans -- including 1.2 million children with extreme disabilities.
• There are reasonable requirements to be eligible for SSI. Assistance is available for those who are blind; age sixty-five or older; or have a disability -- and who meet very reasonable income and asset limitations.
• Benefits for SSI are really modest, and average around $509 per month, or just $6,108 each year -- just half the federal poverty level.

Supplemental Security Income addresses an important need in our country. Disability can strike any time. As part of our nation’s Social Security system, Supplemental Security Income has a key role in assisting millions of Americans and their loved ones maintain dignity and independence.

With regards to resources, or things that you have, Social Security will look at things like real estate, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and cash.  If your resources are worth a maximum of $2,000, you might be able to get SSI.  For couples, the resources may be worth no more than $3,000.

Social Security doesn't count everything you own. Things that aren't considered are:

• Life insurance policies with face value lower than or equal to $1,500
• Your vehicle in most cases
• Burial plots for  you and members of your immediate family
• Burial funds up to $1,500 for you and $1,500 for your spouse
• Your residential home you reside in and the land it is on

If you feel that you might qualify for SSI disability income and you live in St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Missouri or Metro East St. Louis or Edwardsville, Illinois, get in touch with the law offices of Kassin and Carrow. They can help you get the benefits that you deserve because they are experienced disability benefits attorneys.

The SSDI Basics

Since 1956, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has been a very good social insurance program that helps people whose physical or mental disabilities are so severe that they are unable to do substantial work. Not being able to work, along with disability-related expenditures, can make meeting basic monetary needs extremely difficult. That’s why the law offices of Kassin and Carrow are here in the St. Louis area to help the people of Wentzville, St. Charles, Kirkwood, St Peters, St. Louis, Collinsville, Litchfield, and Edwardsville.

Key Facts

• Our Social Security system guards American workers and their families against death, disability, and retirement.
• Few workers have other options; only 1 in 3 private sector employees has employer-provided disability insurance.
• SSDI provides vital economic security to over 8 million disabled workers.
• Workers must have paid in to Social Security via payroll taxes to be entitled to benefits.
• They need to also satisfy the rigid Social Security disability standard to qualify.
• Average disability benefits are small: Individuals, $1,132 per month; for a family, $1,919 per month.
• Benefits replace half or less of pre-disability earnings for the majority of disabled employees.

By continuing to keep this program strong for individuals that have paid into the system, it prevents significant burdens such as homelessness brought on by foreclosures, evictions, and bankruptcies in the St. Louis, MO area.

Growth in Social Security Disability Insurance

Although the growth in the number of individuals receiving SSDI was expected, it is leveling off. What explains the rise in the past few years?

• Baby Boomers: aging and getting “high disability years.” People are two times as likely to be disabled at the age of 50 as they are at age 40 and two times as likely to be disabled at the age of 60 as they are at age 50.
• Women: increasing numbers of women in the workforce in recent decades who are now themselves eligible to receive benefits.
• Raised Retirement Age: as the Social Security retirement age rises, disabled workers get SSDI for longer before converting to retirement benefits.

Regardless of your situation, the law offices of Kassin and Carrow are available to the people of St. Louis, Missouri and the Metro East St. Louis area to assist those who're in need of benefits.

Employment Issues Questions

There are a lot of questions that can come to mind concerning Social Security disability income, or SSDI. Kassin and Carrow in St. Louis, Missouri has clarified a few of these questions below to assist you as you take on the SSDI process.

My daughter hasn't ever been able to work since she has been disabled from birth by cerebral palsy. Can she get disability benefits from Social Security?

Possibly. If the child is less than 18 and you've got limited income and resources, the child may be able to be eligible for SSI disability benefits. If the child is above eighteen, she may be able to be eligible for SSI disability benefits without regard to the earnings of her parents. If either of her parents is drawing Social Security benefits of some kind or is deceased, and the child's disability started before age 22, the child may be eligible for Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits.

I used to work, but lately I've been staying home taking care of the kids. I recently became sick. Can I get Social Security disability benefits?

Potentially. If you worked five out of the last ten years before being disabled, you may have enough earnings to be eligible for Social Security disability benefits. For people 31 or less, the requirements are a bit different, since such individuals have not had such a long time to work. Unless an individual has been staying home and taking care of their kids for quite a long time, it is very possible that they'll be eligible for Social Security disability benefits based upon their own earnings. A homemaker, depending on their financial situation, may be able to be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) whether or not they have worked previously.

I'm disabled, but I have never been employed. Can I get Social Security disability benefits?

If you have got very restricted income and resources, you may qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) if you're disabled, even if you haven't worked previously. It is also possible to qualify for Disabled Adult Child benefits on a parent's work history if you became disabled prior to age 22, or for disabled widow’s or widower’s benefits on the work history of a late wife or husband.

I am a widow. I've not worked in years, but I'm disabled. Can I get Social Security disability benefits?

If you're over 50 and became disabled within seven years after your husband or wife passed away or within seven years after you last drew mother's or father's benefits from Social Security, you can get disabled widow’s or widower’s benefits. If you are age sixty-five or older, or have a disability, and not a lot of income and resources, you might be eligible for Supplemental Security Income benefits.

I got hurt on the job and I’m drawing worker's compensation benefits. Can I get both worker's compensation and Social Security disability benefits?

Indeed, you can get both simultaneously. Nevertheless, either your worker’s compensation or your Social Security disability benefits will be decreased to compensate for the dual enrollment. You don't have to wait until the worker's compensation ends. It is best to file the Social Security disability claim as quickly as possible because otherwise there may be a gap between the time the worker's compensation ends and the Social Security disability benefits begin.

I am still on sick leave from my employer. Can I file for Social Security disability now or have I got to hold off until the sick leave is exhausted?

No, you don't have to wait until the sick leave is exhausted. You should file for Social Security disability benefits now, if you feel that you will be out of work for a year or more.

If you reside in Edwardsville, IL, or St. Louis, St. Charles, or Chesterfield, MO and have questions about SSDI, schedule an appointment with Kassin and Carrow today.