Proving WHEN You Became Disabled - Getting Back Payments

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 the 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 case of an appeal), then you have 24 months of back payments.

So, when looking at filing a disability claim, it's very important to ask yourself the question:  On what date did I first meet Social Security's criteria for disability.  That should be your alleged onset date (AOD).

The two things to remember about the alleged onset date (AOD) are:

1)  You can't have substantial work after the AOD.
2)  You must produce medical records showing a disability as of the AOD you allege.

For a free consultation about Social Security disability:

PHONE (256) 431-1599      (256) 799-0297

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