 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 |
The SSI Award Letter from Social SecurityHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits If an individual is approved for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits, they will receive an award letter. Unlike title 2 Social Security disability benefits, title 16 SSI disability benefits are almost entirely handled by the local Social Security office. What do we mean by this? When a person is approved for Social Security Disability, they can be placed into pay status relatively quickly without the need for additional hands-on development at the Social Security office where the claim was filed. With SSI disability, this is not the case at all. All SSI award notices are received by approved claimants only after a final interview--the end-line interview--has been held with a SSI claims representative in a local Security Security field office. Non-medical requirements and SSI The purpose of this interview is to determine whether or not the claimant meets the non-medical requirements of the SSI program. If it is determined that they do not meet the non-medical requirements (for what is basically a need-based program), the SSI claim will be denied regardless of the fact that the claimant has been determined to have a medical disability. What are the non-medical eligibility requirements for SSI? SSI requires claimants to meet certain income and resource limits to be eligible for monthly disability benefits. If a claimant is entitled to both SSI and Social Security disability, their Social Security disability benefit amount counts toward the SSI income limit. Consequently, many disability claimants who are concurrently entitled--entitled in both the SSD and SSI programs--are only able to actually receive SSI disability benefits during the Social Security disability five month waiting period. Social Security claims representatives also use the end line interview to discuss living arrangements since a beneficiary’s household composition and ability to pay their share of the household expenses can determine their monthly SSI disability benefit amount. The end line interview provides all the necessary information for the award letter. However, prior to this final interview, Social Security only knows that an individual medically meets the Social Security Administration's disability requirements (since their claim has been processed by a disability examiner at DDS, or disability determination services). Is it ever the case that a person filing for SSI is found to be disabled by a disability examiner and then still denied because they do not meet the non-medical income or asset/resource requirements? It does sometimes happen, and it is for this reason that the Social Security Administration cannot send out an SSI award letter until the end-line interview is completed. Information contained in the SSI Award Letter A SSI award letter generally gives an approximate date that the beneficiary will receive their first monthly check. It also gives the amount of their disability benefits. Generally, SSI disability beneficiaries receive their SSI disability benefits in thirty to ninety days after they receive their award letter. Unfortunately, most SSI award letters do not contain information about SSI disability back pay benefits. This is because back payment amounts are determined by manual computations after the end line interview. Once an individual’s back payment amount is determined, they will receive another informational letter that will give the amount of their SSI benefit back payment, how it will be paid out, and when to expect their first installment. Unless the back payment is small, SSI beneficiaries will not receive their SSI back pay benefits in one lump sum. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Individual Questions and Answers 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 |