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 an adult who has been to college but hasn't worked for a long time get Disability Benefits?


How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

 
Yes, a person's level of education does have some potential influence on the outcome of a disability claim (for social security disability or SSI benefits). But the impact of one's level of education is not as great as some might think. Education really only becomes a factor in the sequential evaluation process and this is at the stage where:

A) The adjudicator (a disability examiner or a disability judge) has already determined that the claimant is not capable of returning to their past work and

B) The adjudicator is trying to determine whether or not the claimant has the ability--based on their limitations, their age, their work skills, and their education--to do some type of other work.

However, even when educational level becomes a factor, the highest level of educational attaintment that is factored into the process by the social security administration is high school graduation. The grid rules themselves, which direct a decision of "disabled" or "not disabled" (based on factors mentioned in the preceding paragraph) will use the phrase High school graduate or more. There is no specific reference to post-secondary educational attainment, nor is such a level of educational attainment given any weight in the disability evaluation process.

Can an adult who has been to college get disability benefits? Since the social security administration does not really differentiate between high school graduation and college, we can say that having taken college coursework will not present any additional roadblocks to qualifying for disability benefits. Whether or not one qualifies for disability benefits will largely depend on their ability (or lack thereof) to re-enter the workforce, either performing some type of work that they have done previously (relevant past work) or peforming some type of other work that takes into consideration their level of functioning, skills, and how old they are.

Getting approved for disability relies on the ability of the claimant (and/or their disability lawyer) to prove that there is at least one mental or physical or impairment that is severe enough that it may prevent the claimant from engaging in substantial and gainful work activity for at least one full year.

Proving this level of severity is demonstrated in two ways:

A) By what the medical records have to say about the claimant's mental or physical condition and

B) By whether or not the claimant has been able to engage in work activity to the level where they could earn a substantial and gainful income.














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Topics and Questions


  • How Disabled Must You be to get Social Security Disability Approved?

  • If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare?

  • Do I Have A Good Chance Of Winning Social Security Disability On Appeal?

  • If I am Awarded Social Security Disability Will My Benefits be Cutoff Later?

  • Filing for SSD Disability - When Should You put in a Claim?

  • Disability Criteria - Eligibility For Social Security and SSI Disability

  • What are the SSI disability qualifications for Adults and Children?

  • Are children eligible to receive disability benefits ?

  • When you Apply for Social Security do you get Medicare?

  • Applying for disability benefits in Massachusetts

  • What does social security mean by past work?

  • Can you appeal a disability claim denial if the deadline has passed ?

  • Is it hard to qualify for Social Security benefits if you have depression ?

  • What will trigger a review of a social security disability claim?

  • Getting Your Social Security Disability or SSI Claim Status

  • What Does Social Security Include As Your Past Work?

  • How does work qualify you for social security disability ?

  • Winning a Social Security Disability Appeal or SSI Appeal

  • How Far Back Does Social Security Look At Your Medical Records for an SSDI or SSI Case?

  • Will Your Claim for Disability be Handled Differently if it is Based on a Physical or Mental Problem?

  • Social Security Disability Fee and What a Lawyer is Paid

  • How do you Apply for SSI?

  • Should you talk to an Attorney before you file a Disability Claim with Social Security?

  • Do you need a Lawyer at the Administrative Law Judge Disability Hearing?

  • Social Security Disability SSI and Filing based on Fibromyalgia

  • What is Social Security Back Pay?

  • Will my doctor charge me for a letter for my social security disability claim?

  • Is There A Maximum Dollar Amount For SSI Disability?

  • How long does it take to appeal a disability case ?

  • Can my child receive disability for asthma ?

  • How Does Social Security Decide If You Are Disabled Or Not?

  • If You are Denied for Disability, What Should You do First?

  • For Social Security Disability Do I Need To Give My Dates of Treatment?

  • Does Social Security Disability Always Have To Look At Your Job History?

  • How does Social Security consider lupus as a disability?

  • Can You qualify for Social Security disability or SSI on the basis of anxiety or panic attacks ?

  • Antisocial Personality Disorder and Filing for Disability

  • Applying for disability benefits in Wisconsin

  • Filing for SSI Disability

  • Hiring a Qualified Disability Lawyer in Illinois

  • What are the Odds or Chances of Being Approved for Disability?

  • Anxiety Attacks and Filing for Disability
























    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