Some Important Facts about Social Security Disability Benefits:

• Most people do not like to think about disability, but chances that you will become disabled are greater than you realize. Studies demonstrate that a 20-year-old employee has a 3 in 10 chance of becoming disabled before retirement age.
• You can qualify for Social Security Disability even if you have money in the bank. You do not have to be indigent to qualify.
• You do not have to be disabled for any length of time before applying for SSD. You can file for benefits on the day you become disabled as long as you expect to remain disabled for 12 months.
• You do not have to wait until you have used all of the sick leave provided by your employer or until worker’s compensation ends to apply for SSD. You can file for SSD while you are receiving other benefits.
• You do not have to be permanently disabled to get SSD. You have to show that you have a condition that will cause you to be disabled for at least a year.
• You may not have a single medical condition that disables you. SSD can be based on a combination of impairments that, taken together, render you unable to work.
• Age is a factor in disability determinations. The Social Security Act takes into consideration the fact that people are less able to adjust to different jobs and cope with health problems as they get older.
• It takes approximately 3 to 5 months to get a decision once an SSD claim has been filed.
• The back benefits you are awarded by the Social Security Administration will not be paid for more than one year prior to the date you first filed a claim. If you miss your time limit to appeal, you may have to re-file. By delaying your application or missing the appeal time, you may reduce the amount of back benefits to which you are entitled.
• Social security benefits are usually not paid to someone who is convicted of a crime and is confined to an institution by court order and at public expense. Benefits also are not paid for any month in which an individual violates the condition of his or her probation or parole.
• Medicare coverage begins automatically after you receive disability benefits for two years.