Disability Benefits

What Are Social Security Disability Benifits?

Social Security disability benifits are paid only for total disability.  Other disability programs generally pay benefits for partial or short-term disability as well.  Social Security has strict guidelines when determining if a person is actually disabled.  The  guidelines used by Social Security are quite specific.  You are unable to do the same work that you were doing before you became disabled.  Your medical condition is so disabling that you are unable to do any other type of job.  Your disability has lasted or is expected to last at least one year or that it will result in death.  Social Security guidelines assume that working families have other means of support such as investments, workers’ compensation, savings, and so on.   

Benefits for disability depend on whether Social Security decides if you are disabled.  You are not considered disabled if you are currently employed and averaging more than $980 per month in earnings.  If you are not working, your disabling condition must somehow interfere with your basic work-related activities.   If it does interfere with your basic work activities, Social Security looks to see if your condition is found on the list of disabling conditions.  If your condition does appear on the list, Social Security will declare that you are disabled.  Social Security also decides if you can do the work that you did previously even with your disability.  If it does not, then your disability claim will be denied.  If it does, then Social Security will decide if you are able do some other type of work, even with your disability. Such things as age, education, work experience and transferable skills are looked at.  If it is found that you are unable to adjust to other work, your claim will be approved.  If not, it will be denied.

When you receive approval for disability benifits, you can expect your first payment to begin on the sixth full month after the date that Social Security determined that your disability began.  For example, if your disability began on January 30, 2009, your first benefit check would be for the month of July 2009.  Social Security benefits are paid following the month for which they are due.  In other words, the benefit for July would be paid to you in August 2009.