Disability Benefits 101: A Guide for Beginners

Every year, more and more people suffer from conditions that limit their ability to work. From the crippling, chronic pain of fibromyalgia to various disorders that can cause muscular degeneration and cardiopulmonary problems, there are innumerable conditions that can make it impossible for a person to maintain a full-time work schedule and support his/her family.

This is why Social Security Disability Income benefits exist. The SSDI program is there to act as a form of insurance for those who are working hard to provide for themselves and their families, but fall victim to a disabling condition. If you become disabled, you can take advantage of this program to continue receiving the money you need to support yourself and your family through this trying time.

However, it is important to know a few things about Social Security before the time comes for you to apply for SSDI benefits. So, to help you out, we’ve assembled a little bit of information about disability benefits in Florida.

Qualifying as Being Disabled in Florida

In order to be considered disabled and receive benefits, you have to have a condition that can be diagnosed and verified as preventing you from being able to continue the work that you have been doing up to now, and any other form of work for which you could otherwise have been qualified for. Also, your condition must be expected to last for a year or result in your death or have already lasted a year. This means that:

1. You have to be affected by a condition that can be reliably diagnosed by an expert: whether that condition is psychological or physical. While you can qualify for psychological conditions such as extreme phobias (agoraphobia, for example), it is usually very difficult. Much of the time, people have this “oh, just get over it” mentality towards psychological conditions, even though these conditions can be every bit as disabling as physical disabilities. Certain physical conditions, such as fibromyalgia, are also difficult to diagnose. If your condition is one that is difficult to diagnose, it is very important that you assemble as much documentation and evidence from experts as possible.
2. Your condition has to limit your ability to perform the work that you have done in the past. The SSA’s blue book lists many types of disabling conditions.  However, your condition has to prevent you from doing the specific kind of work for which you are qualified in order for your case to be approved. For example, if you were to suffer from a condition that prevented the flow of blood to your legs and resulted in the amputation of your feet, you might be considered disabled for the purposes of any job that requires you to stand up and move heavy objects. However, if your job was something that you could do while seated, such as being a stenographer, then you might not be considered disabled.
3. Additionally, if you have training in a form of work that your condition would not prevent you from doing and are capable of switching to the new job, then you would not be considered disabled.
4. The disability must be expected to be long-term or fatall. A short-term disabling condition, such as a broken arm, would not qualify for SSDI benefits because such injuries typically last for less than a year. Instead, for short term conditions such as temporary injuries, you may be better off applying for other supplemental income programs, such as workman’s compensation or short term disability benefits from your employer.

These are just a few of the basic things that need to be addressed when considering if you will be determined to be disabled by the SSA. Beyond these items, the SSA will also assess your need for benefits because:

If you are able to engage in what the SSA calls “substantial gainful activity,” then you will not be considered disabled by them. Basically, this means that you cannot be continuing to earn more than a certain amount of money each month ($1,070 per month for 2014). This number changes from year to year, so it’s important to check the SSA’s Red Book for the updated information when preparing to file your claim.

If your are applying for SSI:

The SSA also assesses your current available income and assets. While certain assets, such as your house and your primary transportation vehicle (a.k.a. the car you usually take to go to work and to the doctor) are excluded from this assessment; many other high-value assets are not excluded.

SSDI Needs to be Earned

Another important consideration for receiving SSDI benefits is that you need to have paid enough into the Social Security system to be considered “insured.” In other words, to get SSDI benefits in Florida, you first have to have paid your Social Security tax on your earnings (which is something that most employers take out of your paycheck automatically) for at least 5 years in the 10-year period preceding the point at which you became disabled.

The SSA verifies this through two work history checks:

• A “recent work” test. This test assesses how much work you have done in the period of time before you became disabled based on your age. Generally speaking, you will need to have worked for at least 50% of the time being assessed. The younger you are, the smaller the period of time you will be assessed for.  If you pass this test, you are determined to have “Disability Insured Status.”
• A “duration of work” test. Rather than assessing how much you’ve worked in recent years, this test checks to see how much you have worked over the course of your entire lifetime. Chances are, if you can meet the recent work test, you’ll be able to pass the duration of work test. What makes the duration of work test significant is that certain blind workers only have to pass this one test.  If you pass this test, you are considered to be “fully insured.”

 You Can Get Help

Getting through the disability benefits application process can be tiring, tedious, and emotionally draining. Many first-time applicants with serious conditions who could easily qualify for benefits might get turned down on the smallest of technicalities.

However, you don’t have to go it alone. The Disability Experts of Florida are here to help you get the benefits you need and deserve. With a little advice and organizational assistance from a dedicated advocate, you can vastly improve your odds of being approved for benefits.