Alabama Social Security Disability Guide - by The Forsythe Firm - (256) 799-0297.

At what age may I apply for Social Security disability (SSDI)?  Answer:  Adults may apply any time before your full retirement age.  (If you were born in 1948, for example, your full retirement age is 66).  Children may apply any t ime prior to age 18 .  There are special rules for adults who became disabled prior to age 22. 2)  What monthly benefit may I expect from SSDI?  Answer: The benefit amount will vary based on your average wages and work history.  The maximum monthly benefit in 2016 is $2,639.  The average monthly benefit is $1,166. 3) Can my spouse or dependent children also receive benefits?  Answer:  Yes, dependents may qualify for benefits based on the wage earner's disability. Dependent grandchildren may also be eligible. A spouse who is caring for a disabled wage earner's dependent children under age 16 may also qualify.  4)  Will I get Medicare insurance with my disability benefits?...

(REALLY) WEIRD JOBS THAT CAN GET YOUR DISABILITY DENIED Social Security uses an obsolete publication to identify jobs. These jobs can be to deny disability claims and they are on a daily basis.   The publication that Social Security decision makers must use is The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) , first published in the 1930s and last updated in 1993.  The DOT describes 12,569 jobs.  Many of them are from a bygone era -but they are still in the DOT.    Here are just a few of the ridiculous jobs that are still listed.   The DOT code number s are given, to prove this is no joke. Horse Identifier   DOT Code 153.387-010 Horse and Wagon Driver  919.664-010 Butter Melter   523 . 585-010 Animal Impersonator   159.047-018 Bucket Chucker   664.685-014 Belly Roller   583.685-094 Side Splitter   525 . 684-018 Worm Picker   413 . 687-010 Egg Smeller   521.687-042 ...

Since 2010, Social Security has been trying to slow down the number of people getting on disability benefits.  We have seen approval rates in hearings drop from 62% in 2010 to 42% in 2016. An administrative law judge will approve your Social Security benefits only if he or she believes that your working career has been terminated by a disabling condition and disability is the last resort. PROS  (It Helps the Case If...) There is a steady work history in 1 or 2 jobs for years. You have tried easier work and weren't able to do it. Your doctor has told you to stop working. There is no history of drug or alcohol abuse CONS (It May the Case Hurt if...) There has been little work history  You can't show that you've tried to stay in the workforce Your doctor won't get involved, won't say anything There's a recent history of substance abuse  You are not working for some reason besides a physical and/or mental disability (going to school, can't find ...

It's important to prove to Social Security that you are now disabled in order to get a check.  But it's also important to prove when you first became disabled.  This is called the "onset date." The onset date will determine when your payments begin.  Your payments can begin earlier than your application date if you can prove an earlier onset date.  In effect, this allows you to "back date" the claim and recover earlier benefits. Many people make th e mistake of providing recent medical records that show a current disability.  But they fail to get older records that show how long the disability has existed.  This can potentially cost tens of thousands of dollars in lost back payments. For instance, if you apply for Social Security disability on March 10, 2017 but can show that you were actually disabled on March 1, 2016--there are 12 months of back payments you are entitled to receive.  If your case drags on for another year (in the ...

Social Security claims are like onions.  They have several "layers."  The application is just the first layer. When you are denied, y ou have to get past that first layer, down to the next layer. There's a huge difference between filing a new claim and filing an appeal.  In almost every case, you are better off to appeal your old claim than to file a new one.  He re's why.  If you got denied once, chances are you will just get denied the second time you apply...and the third...and the fourth.  Reapplying wastes time . You never accumulate any back pay by filing multiple claims.  You literally start over each time, losing all your potential back pay each tim e. You never get to  go further up the ladder where somebody higher up can approve your claim. Eventually, your insured status will expire and you can't file any more new claims. End of game. Here Are the Layers of the Social Security On ion: Layer 1:   The outer laye...

Social Security makes it harder for younger persons to get disability checks.  They define "younger" persons as under age 50. In 2010, Social Security approvals at the hearing level was 62 percent.  By 2014, the approval rate had fallen to 42 percent.  Hardest hit were people under age 50.   However, I firmly believe that younger people can be disabled, too.  Here's how I approach an appeal case for a younger individual.  I look for the combined effects of all their impairments.  I use both physical and mental impairments to show that, taken together, these persons cannot perform work activities 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, 52 weeks per year. Some things that may combine to equal disability include: ⇰ symptoms that will require missing 2 days of work or more each month ⇰ pain or other factors that make it difficult to concentrate or stay focused. ⇒ difficulty sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time ⇰ The need to frequ...

. Most denials of Social Security disability benefits are medical denials.  Some are technical denials. A medical denial occurs when Social Security believes that your medical evidence does not prove that you are disabled.  Your denial letter will usually say that you are not eligible for benefits "because you are not disabled according to our rules."  This is the most common type of denial and should be appealed immediately. A technical denial occurs because you failed to do something within the req uired time limit-- or you failed to follow the correct process.  For example, you are allowed 60 days to file an appeal.  If you file it after 90 days, you will get a technical denial , reg ardless of the other facts in the case.   Another example:  You file a disability claim but you have not worked in the last 7 years.  You are not insured under Social Security's disability program. You will receive a technical denial, even though you may inde...

After years of practicing in the field of Social Security, I've found that Social Security has a habit that most people are simply not used to.  They define everything very specifically. Most people, for example, know what daylight and dark means.  Lawyers and judges, however, want it nailed down very specifically.  Daylight is defined as starting 30 minutes after sunrise and ending 30 minutes after sunset. Social Security follows this same obsession for specifics. If you go before an administrative law judge (ALJ) for a hearing, you'll be asked a lot of questions.  You will need to be very specific in your answers. You will avoid terms we all use in everyday conversation:  terms like sometimes, occasionally, once in a while, a little bit, pretty often, frequently, a short distance, or not very far .  The judge (who was a lawyer before becoming a judge) will point out that these words have no definite meaning.  "Sometimes" can mean one thing to y...

I think one of the most confusing Social Security topics is the "waiting period." Many people think they have to wait a certain period of time before applying for disability benefits.  This is a mistake that can cost you thousands of dollars, maybe even all of your disability benefits for the rest of your life. Here is the rule, without exception:  Apply for benefits as soon as you believe you h ave a medical condition that will last 12 months or more and will keep you from working.  Period. It will take about 4 months to get a decision on your application.  So, get it filed without waiting. If you are disabled, file right now.  There are several dangers in waiting. Your date last insured (DLI) may slip up on you and you lose the right to file for disability (forever). You lose benefits based on a late filing date. It simply takes several months longer to get your money than it should have. I am not even going to try to explain "waiting periods" h...

I just looked up Social Security's record of disability applications filed between 2005 and 2014.  During that 10-year period, the average approval rate was only 23 percent.  Wow!  77 percent got denied at the application level and had to appeal. (I show this chart on the bottom of this post). Fortunately, a high percentage of those denied claims were later approved on appeal.  That is, when an administrative law judge (ALJ) listened to the claimant and reviewed the medical evidence during a hearing, the benefits got paid, in a large percentage of cases. Here is the chart for the period 2005-2014, and the numbers have not changed much since 2014.  If you're one of those unfortunate claimants who recently got a denial letter, please call the Forsythe Firm.  Our full-time job is helping honest, hard working people in Alabama to get approved for Social Security disability benefits--when they really deserve it.  If we don't get benefits for you, we...