SSDI
Social Security Customer Service Update: Actions You Can Take Online
Facing continued staffing shortages and a growing need for improved customer contact, the Social Security Administration is making strides in its online “self-help” features. Tasks that previously were handled through on-site, in-person contact are steadily being made available for website…
Navigating the SSDI program
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides monthly payments to people with a disability that stops or limits their ability to work for at least a year. In addition to meeting the Social Security Administration’s definition of disability, individuals must have…
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…