Articles

Disability Advice from an attorney with decades of experience with disability benefits.

This is What SSDI Benefits Are Based On

Social Security Disability Insurance is essentially an “insurance” program available to those who have paid into the system. Much like retirement benefits, SSDI benefits are also based on your covered earnings. This includes your 35 best-earning years. The SSDI program pays benefits to you and certain family members if you are “insured.” This means that you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes on your earnings.

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6 Essential Tips for Getting SSDI Approved

There are a few things you can do to increase the likelihood of getting your SSDI benefits approved. These include checking to see whether your application is complete, maintaining detailed and accurate health records, establishing a positive rapport with your doctor, tracking the progress of your claim, and ensuring that you follow all treatment recommendations.

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Does SSDI Have Any Death Benefits?

In the case of a beneficiary’s death, the SSA provides a lump sum death payment, also known as an LSDP, totaling up to $255. This amount is usually given to the widow or widower, or child of the SSDI beneficiary.

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Are SSDI Back Pay Payments Taxable?

Back payments are taxable since they increase the taxable income of a worker for that year. However, it is true that if your income threshold does not exceed a certain level, then your back payment will not be taxed.

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Is SSDI Worth It?

So, is SSDI worth it? Well, it depends. There are a few things to think about. For example, if you have access to legal representation, the process goes far more smoothly. It also depends on your subjective cost-benefit analysis of whether it is worth it to fight for years to get approved for SSDI.

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How Does Disability Determine Your Back Pay?

The date the Social Security Administration (SSA) establishes as the start of your disability will be used to calculate your back pay. This date is called the “established onset date.” A Disability Determination Services (DDS) examiner or an administrative law judge (ALJ) will review the medical information and decide when your disability began.

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Can You Collect SSDI and Live in Another Country?

Yes, it is possible to collect SSDI while living in another country. But the country you move to, or visit should be one to which the Social Security Administration (SSA) are able to send benefit payments to. Furthermore, in some cases, your stay in another country cannot extend beyond 30 days.

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How Long Could You Survive On SSDI Alone?

You can live on SSDI alone for as long as your benefits last, given that you are able to take into consideration other factors that affect your overall expenses and SSDI payments. For example, moving to another, cheaper state could reduce your overall expenses.

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How Long Does It Take to Get a Lawyer for Disability?

Getting a lawyer for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits takes as long as speaking to a disability attorney, either a private attorney or a referral from the Social Security Administration (SSA), and notifying the Social Security Administration by submitting a form with both of your signatures.

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Can You Get SSDI Without Ever Working?

It is not possible to receive SSDI benefits without ever working. This is because, in order to be eligible for SSDI benefits, one needs to have a minimum number of work credits that they have collected over the course of their employment history.

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6 Reasons Why SSDI Benefits Could Be Suspended

Some common reasons why your SSDI benefits may be suspended are: if you return to work and are found to be engaging in Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA), if you reach retirement age, or if you are a child beneficiary your benefits end as soon as you turn 18, filing fraudulent claims, going to jail, or if your condition improves.

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This is Why SSDI Sends People To an Internist

If Social Security requests that you visit a doctor at their expense, it suggests that the disability examiner believes there is insufficient medical support for the disabilities you claim. Often, this results from you not seeking medical care on your own.

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7 Ways You Can Increase Your SSDI Benefits

You can increase your SSDI benefits by applying for survivor benefits if you have a spouse who has passed away. You may also be able to get benefits if you have an older child who has passed away or if you currently care for a disabled child. Another way you can increase SSDI benefits is by working after retirement age.

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The 10 Most Approved SSDI Disabilities

For example, conditions related to the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, mood disorders, the nervous system and sensory organs, the circulatory system, intellectual disability, organic mental disorders, and others are more likely to be approved for disability benefits.

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5 Signs You’ll Be Denied for Disability

For instance, it is very likely that you will be denied disability if your claim lacks any solid medical proof of a disability, if there have been any past denials, if your income exceeds the threshold allowed under the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, or if there has been a failure to follow the recommended protocols.

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8 Best States To Live In While On SSDI

These include Texas, Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Indiana. So far, Texas, especially with the low cost of living of cities like Abilene, is best known for being a tax haven, which means that SSDI payments won’t get taxed. 

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