SSDI
Understanding SSDI’s 5-Year Rule
The application for Social Security Disability Income benefits can be a daunting process, and one of the often misunderstood rules encountered concerns the number of years an applicant older than 31 must have worked before developing a disability. Maite Knorr-Evans…
A Quick Video Review of Social Security Disability: How You Qualify, How it Works, etc.
Social Security’s disability income (SSDI) provisions, a feature added to the program in 1956 and now providing over $150 billion in benefits annually, is a safety net for many folks encountering serious illness or accidental situations affecting their ability to…
Social Security’s Efforts to Streamline Disability Applications
From application to determination for Social Security benefits is taking months. In addition, if an appeal is needed it can take years. Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley is determined to make improvements. He will do this by hiring more…
Scary Headlines that Create Social Security Angst
We’re still more than two months away from Halloween. Still, we’ve seen some media articles with headlines that, if not carefully read, tend to create apprehension in the minds of Social Security beneficiaries. For example, this headline from several days…
Social Security expands Compassionate Allowances list
(Source – blog.ssa.gov) Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced nine new Compassionate Allowances (CAL) conditions and revisions to two existing CAL conditions: Bainbridge-Ropers Syndrome, Costello Syndrome, Adult Heart Transplant Wait List – Status Levels 1-4, Child Heart Transplant…
Ways to Jeopardize Your Social Security Benefits
A steady flow of monthly income via Social Security is something claimants certainly look forward to. After all, the program has been around for over eighty years and has never missed a scheduled payment. While that consistency is certainly a…
SSA Making Improvements in Disability Wait Times
The Social Security Administration’s new SecurityStat program, described as a pathway to improve service by the Agency, is evidently producing decreases in wait time in various areas, including the processing of Disability Insurance (SSDI) appeals. SSA.gov reports, for example, that…
A Sad Statistic: 30,000 died awaiting approval of SS Disability benefits
Social Security’s customer service issues are quite well known, especially by those who submit an application for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. On average, it’s now taking about 8 months for an initial SSDI determination, and appeals of denied…
A Perspective on Social Security’s Customer Service
Much has been written over the past few months and years about public perspectives on the quality of Social Security’s customer service practices. Much of it has been negative, citing the painful wait times associated with the 800-number service, the…
Understanding Social Security Disability
Navigating the treacherous terrain of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be quite intimidating – unless, of course, you learn how the program works. While eligibility criteria are stringent, if you are truly disabled and have earned at least the…