The application process for gaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can be lengthy and it can be difficult to be patient. Behind the scenes, your application is proceeding slowly but surely through a multi-step process that can take several months. To help you understand what is taking so long, you might want to take a look at what is happening with your SSDI application. Read on for an overview of the application process.
Evaluate the Applicant's Work Credits
One of the first steps involves evaluating the applicant's work history. SSDI benefits are based on how much income you've produced within a certain time. Information about your previous job along with information from IRS records are used to determine how many work credits you've earned. Work credits stand for the amount of money you've earned in the last few years. If you have enough work credits, you move on to the next step.
Determine Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)
SGA is a measure of both the amount of income you are earning when you apply and the work you are doing. You cannot be approved for SSDI benefits if you are performing work that results in more than a certain sum of money. Also, the nature of the work you are doing is evaluated. You cannot be approved if you are essentially doing the type of work that you were doing previously. For example, if you have a heart condition and are unable to work at your job due to exhaustion, you also cannot work at the same type of job even if it's a different job or is only part-time. Your job tasks must be outside the scope of your previous work. Also, you must show that you have been unable to do SGA for at least a year or expect it to be at least a year in the future.
Disability Determination Services
Things get more technical during this final step. The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains a list of all covered medical conditions along with the exact requirements. For example, taking the heart condition example, you might have to have been evaluated by a cardiologist, been administered certain diagnostic tests, tried various treatments to deal with the condition, etc. before you are approved based on that condition.
Secondly, the way your medical condition affects your inability to work at your most previous job is evaluated. To gain benefits, you must show that you not only suffer from a condition but that the condition directly affects how much or how little you can perform those tasks.
The above evaluations are fraught with issues that can result in a denial of benefits. You are entitled to be represented by a Social Security attorney at your appeal hearing so take action quickly and get the benefits you need.
Share14 October 2019
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