If you suffer from a serious illness or injury that prohibits you from working, you may very well have concerns about how you will take care of yourself and your family. Without a reasonable paycheck, you may not be able to afford your medical expenses or basic living needs.
If this is something you are concerned about, you should understand that you could be eligible for financial support through Social Security disability benefits. However, not every person meets the eligibility criteria. In order to collect disability benefits, you must:
- Have contributed enough to Social Security through recent paycheck deductions
- Be earning less than $1,170 per month (though there are exceptions)
- Have a medical condition that the Social Security Administration considers disabling
- Be unable to do substantial work for at least one year
If you meet each of these financial and medical requirements, you can be eligible for disability benefits.
Keep in mind, though, that even if you meet all this criteria, the SSA can still deny your claim for benefits. This can happen for a number of reasons, from errors on your application to missing medical evidence.
The SSA is overwhelmed with applications, and it is easier to deny a claim than to investigate inconsistencies and omissions. In fact, applications are routinely denied for mistakes or oversights that are easily fixable.
In order to minimize the chances that your application will be denied for any reason if you are seeking disability benefits, it can be crucial that you consult an attorney who can help you navigate the complicated system and avoid unnecessary mistakes. Delays of any kind can be frustrating and upsetting for someone dependent on these benefits, so it is a good idea to take advantage of the resources available to help you submit the strongest application possible.