The Work Credit Requirement

To be eligible to receive SSDI, an applicant must have “Insured Status for Social Security,” meaning he/she must have worked enough during the years preceding the filing of the SSDI application and have contributed a specific amount to the Social Security system. Generally, the SSA will look to see if the applicant has enough work credits, which are based on the applicant’s earnings. While this amount changes annually, for 2018, a worker must earn $1320 to gain one work credit, with a possibility of four work credits maximum over the course of a year.

The Determining Tests

An applicant becomes eligible for SSDI benefits when he/she has earned a predetermined number of work credits. Further, in order to meet this predetermined number, the applicant must satisfy two tests – the Recent Work Test and the Duration of Work Test.

The Recent Work Test focuses on when the work occurred, and includes:

• For those who become disabled after 42 years of age, they must have earned one work credit for each calendar year from the age of 21 to the year before the onset of the disability. Forty is generally the number most workers need to qualify;
• For those who become disabled between ages 31 and 42, they must have earned a minimum of 20 work credits;
• For those who become disabled between ages 24 and 30, they must have worked half the time from the age 21 through the quarter the disability began; and
• For those who become disabled before the age of 24, they need only six credits earned during the three-year period ending with the quarter in which the disability began.

The Duration of Work Test focuses on how long an applicant has worked. Essentially, an applicant must have worked for a specific number of years, or have earned a minimum number of credits, to qualify for SSDI. The table below sets out the minimums:

Get Help

If you are considering filing for SSDI benefits, but are curious about the requirements, contact a disability benefits attorney as soon as possible. Submitting a claim for SSDI benefits with the help of an experienced disability benefits attorney can be the difference between acceptance and denial, or a long, drawn-out appeal. The legal team at Farrell Disability Law has the experience to help you win benefits. We will analyze your claim, and help you develop a strategy to get you the benefits you deserve as soon as possible. Contact our Jacksonville office today.

Resource:

ssa.gov/planners/disability/qualify.html

The Social Security Administration Fairness Act

Senator Sanders’s bill is intended to address the long wait times those applying for SSDI disability benefits must endure before receiving SSDI benefit payments. Specifically, this bill would eliminate the five-month waiting period approved SSDI applicants approved for SSDI benefits must complete before becoming eligible for benefits. Additionally, Senator Sanders’s bill will also eliminate the two-year waiting period that SSDI beneficiaries must wait to qualify for Medicare, the health insurance program SSDI recipients may use for medical issues.

First Waiting Period

As alluded to above, the first waiting period represents the time between the date of disability onset and the date in which that applicant receives his/her first SSDI benefit payment. This waiting period is very similar to the elimination period that is offered from typical private insurance policies. Note that due to the long stretches of times it takes to get approval for most applicants, this five-month waiting period is routinely satisfied long before approval is granted. In fact, most successful SSDI applicants are eligible for back payments starting in the sixth month after the disability began to the time the disability claim is approved.

Second Waiting Period

The second waiting period, as alluded to above, concerns a wait for successful SSDI applicants before they can qualify for concurrent Medicare benefits. According to Senator Sanders, eliminating this waiting period will speed up the time it takes for senior SSDI beneficiary recipients to receive both SSDI and Medicare benefits. In reality, however, the majority of such individuals do not actually have to wait the full two years after being approved for SSDI benefits for their Medicare benefits to kick in. This is because the two-year wait starts from the time an individual is, in fact, eligible for SSDI benefits (disability onset date + five-month waiting period). Usually, this is a date that is in the past and, as a result, the two-year wait is often served, in part, during the pending application period, though only the preceding 17 months from the date the SSDI application is filed will be considered for payment eligibility and Medicaid purposes. This two-year waiting period is part of a cost savings measure by the SSA< so without federal legislation saying otherwise, this policy is unlikely to change.

Get Help

If you are contemplating filing an SSDI application, or have already begun the application process, and are curious about what you can expect from the process, contact an experienced SSDI benefits attorney as soon as possible. The legal team at Farrell Disability Law has the experience necessary to analyze your potential claim, and, if we believe you will be successful, will help you develop a strategy, and help navigate your application through the SSDI process. Contact our Jacksonville office today.

Resources:

fool.com/retirement/2018/09/03/bernie-sanders-newest-social-security-bill-calls-f.aspx

congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6251/text

Social Security Disability Insurance

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers both Supplemental Security Income, a program based on financial need, as well as SSDI, which is based on an individual’s work record. To qualify for SSDI, the following criteria must be met by the Applicant:

• The Applicant must experience a total and long-lasting disability that is expected to last for at least one year or result in death.
• The Applicant must be completely unable to work. That is, the SSA will not award partial disability benefits or short-term disability benefits.
• The Applicant must have contributed to Social Security, for a certain period of time. This is known as the duration of work test, and varies according to the age of the Applicant. More specifically, the minimum duration of work for an Applicant varies from 1.5 years for workers who become disabled before age 28 to 9.5 years of work for workers who become disabled after age 60.
• The Applicant must also satisfy a recent work test. That is, the Applicant must have worked 50% of the time, also depending on age, before becoming disabled. As an example, if an Applicant is over the age of 31, he/she must have worked for five of the last ten-year period immediately preceding the onset of the disability.

The Application Process

In addition to a formal application, the Applicant must also submit medical information showing evidence of his/her disability. This information will most likely include the names of doctors and hospitals where the Applicant received care, any medications he/she has taken, any medical records he/she may have, and any relevant lab test results. Additionally, details of work history, as well as the Applicant’s most recent tax return, must also be submitted. Only after all of this information has been received will the application be examined, which, unfortunately, may take a few months to a few years for a full analysis and decision.

Supplemental Insurance

It is important to note that SSDI benefits are designed to replace only about 40% of the average worker’s income. Consequently, these benefits may not be enough. An option everyone should explore is obtaining private long-term disability insurance, which should replace a greater percentage of income in the event of a disability. An experienced disability benefits attorney can help ensure these benefits are accessed as well.

Get Help

If you have suffered a disability, and are unable to continue in your present occupation, and are contemplating filing a claim to begin receiving SSDI benefits, and are curious as to how the process works and what to expect, contact a disability benefits attorney as soon as possible. The legal team at Farrell Disability Law has the experience necessary to analyze your potential SSDI claim, and, will not only help you develop a strategy, but will also help you along the way to get you the benefits you deserve. Contact our Jacksonville office today.

Termination for Having a Disability

The law is pretty clear on whether an employer can terminate an employee because the employee has become disabled – it cannot, assuming some requirements are met. More specifically, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees with 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave to deal with their own medical issues or to take care of a member of one’s immediate family. However, not all workplaces are subject to FMLA, and even in those that are, employees must meet certain requirements to be covered by the law. Generally, the FMLA applies only to companies with 50 or more employees located within 75 miles of each other, and workers must have worked at least:

• One year for the employer; and
• 1,250 hours in the preceding year.

The Effect of the FMLA

Although, as stated above, FMLA leave is unpaid, an employee can receive both short-term disability and/or LTD benefits while on FMLA leave. In fact, many employers require their employees to use their allotted FMLA time while on disability. Thus, even though many employees look at disability benefits as an afterthought to their general benefit package, for many disabled employees, FMLA is the most important form of job protection they enjoy.

One’s employer may not terminate an employee if he/she is on FMLA leave, as long as the employee does not use over 12 weeks of their annual FMLA leave allotment. Further, when the employee does return from FMLA leave, his/her employer must employ the employee in his/her former position or one that is substantially similar. However, if an employee does exceed the 12 weeks annual FMLA leave allotment, even by a single day, the employee runs the risk of being terminated for excessive absences. In such a case, if the employee was receiving disability insurance benefits, he/she will still receive benefits according to the terms of the policy.

Additionally, as long as the employee was covered by LTD insurance at the time he/she became unable to work, he/she may file for disability benefits, regardless of whether he/she is still employed. The decisive question is whether the employee was insured on the date of the onset of his/her disability, and not on the date the claim was filed.

Get Help

If you have been approved for LTD benefits, but have been terminated from your employment, and believe that your termination may have been a way for your former employer not to have to pay your benefits, contact an experienced LTD benefits attorney to help you navigate the process. The legal team at Farrell Disability Law has the experience necessary to analyze your situation, and, if it is apparent that you were terminated solely to avoid payment of LTD benefits, will help you develop a strategy to get the benefits you deserve. Contact our Jacksonville office today.

Resource:

www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/former-home-depot-employee-says-he-was-fired-because-he-needed-surgery.html