The 3 Most Important Requirements of SSDI

Having your Socia Security Disability Claim approved can be more difficult than you think.

In fact, it is so difficult that 60-70 percent of all initial applications have been denied by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The benefits are highly regulated so it will take more than perseverance and effort to get approved.

In fact, instead of working hard, you have to be working smart; and the smartest thing to do in these cases is to consult a Social Security disability Attorney to help you in your claim.

To help you understand, here are the three major requirements of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and how a disability lawyer can help you.

Social Security Credits
The first requirement that you need to make sure you meet is sufficient social security credits.

This refers to the social security taxes you and your employer has paid to SSA in your behalf.

The SSA sends out a Social Security Statement to all its members and it will indicate if you are qualified for SSDI and other types of SSA regulated benefits.
Your attorney can also determine if you qualify for the benefit through your current age and year when you sustained your disabling condition.

If you do not have enough credits, the attorney can point you to other options such as worker’s compensation and state disability insurance.

Disabling condition
The next requirement is proving that you have a long term disability.
To do that, you have to show that your disabling condition is expected to last more than 12 months or may result in death.

Your disability attorney will first check if your condition is under SSA’s Impairment Manual that will make it easier for you to prove your disability.
If not, then your attorney will help you gather more medical evidence and will also talk to your doctor to get his support on your disability claim.

Inability to Work
This is where a lot of SSDI claims get denied as claimants fail to prove that they are no longer to able to make substantial income.

The SSA will test not only your ability to perform your old job but your ability to shift to another job as well.

However, contrary to popular belief, you are actually allowed to work while applying for or receiving SSDI benefits.

That is as long as your monthly earnings is below the substantial gainful activity (SGA) standard, which is $1,000 this 2010.

Aside from gathering medical evidence, your disability attorney can also help you gather vocational evidence to prove your inability to earn above the SGA.

For more information, consult a Social Security Law Firm to know how much more they can help your SSDI claim.