 SSDRC What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI? If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits? How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid? Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability Status Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts |
Can I Get Disability If I Was Paid Under the Table?How to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits You may or may not be able to get disability if you were paid under the table for your work. Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability are for individuals who have not been able to work at a substantial level for twelve months or more (even if work is under the table, Social Security considers how much the individual earns each month). If an individual has not been able to work due to their disabling condition or conditions for that length of time, they may be eligible for one of the Social Security administration's disability programs (SSDI or SSI). To qualify for social security disability, an individual must have worked long enough and recent enough to be insured for Social Security disability benefits. When an individual works, they pay into the Social Security disability insurance program through their payroll deductions. Their work earnings allow them to earn work credits. Social Security Disability and Work Credits Each year, an individual can earn as many as four work credits depending upon their earnings. Work credits determine insured status for Social Security disability. If an individual has earned enough work credits or quarters of coverage to be insured, and their work is recent enough (generally, individuals must have worked and earned forty quarters of coverage or work credits and twenty of those quarters of coverage must have been earned in the ten years prior to the month the individual became disabled), they may be eligible for Social Security disability. However, if they have worked “under the table” they have not paid payroll taxes. If they have not paid payroll taxes, their earnings are not reported to the IRS. Obviously, this creates a hurdle for a person intent on filing for social security disability. Earnings reported to the IRS create an individual’s Social Security earnings record. If the IRS does not report any earnings to an individual’s earnings record, they will not be insured for Social Security disability. If an individual has worked under the table, they still may be able to receive disability benefits from Social Security. Social Security has a disability program that is based on need rather than insured status. SSI offers disability benefits to children, aged, and the disabled; however disability applicants must meet strict income and resource limits to be eligible for this disability program. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Topics and Questions SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |