“My wife’s Hearing Advocate was very professional and did a great job of preparing my wife for her hearing and communicating with us. This day and age so many people are so quick to complain, however, when it comes to complementing they are very slow to complement someone. Everyone at The Advocator Group has been a pleasure to deal with.”
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If you have worked and paid FICA taxes for five of the last 10 years and have experienced a long-term illness or injury that will prevent you from working for at least 12 months or is expected to result in death, then you may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
The Advocator Group can help determine if you meet the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) strict definition of disability“Disability” under Social Security is based on your inability to work. You are considered disabled under Social Security rules if:
• You cannot do work that you did before;
• It is determined that you cannot adjust to other work because of your medical condition(s); and
• Your disability has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year or to result in death.
and, if so, help you with the application process.
If you apply for SSDI benefits, the SSA will use the following five-step process to decide if you are disabled:
| Evaluation Criteria | If you answer YES | If you answer NO | |
| 1 | Are you working? | If you are working and earning an average of $1,000 or more per month, the SSA typically will not consider you disabled. | If you aren’t working or are working and earning less than $1,000 per month go on to Step 2. |
| 2 | Has your medical condition been severe enough to limit your ability to perform basic work-related activities, such as walking, sitting, and remembering? | Go on to Step 3. | The SSA typically will not consider you disabled. |
| 3 | Is your medical condition on the list of conditions that automatically qualify you as disabled? MoreFor each of the major body systems, there is a list of medical conditions that are so severe that they automatically qualify an individual under SSA’s “disability” standard. If your condition is not on that list, it may still be found to be of equal severity to a medical condition that is on the list. | Go on to Step 5. | You may still be considered disabled. Go onto Step 4. |
| 4 | Is your medical condition so severe that it interferes with your ability to do the type of work you have previously done? | Go on to Step 5. | The SSA typically will not consider you disabled. |
| 5 | Can you do any other type of work? | The SSA typically will not consider you disabled. | You will likely be approved for SSDI benefits. |
| For help evaluating if you qualify for SSDI, please call us today at (877) 261‑1947. | |||
In addition to the standard eligibility criteria, SSA is undertaking two initiatives designed to expedite the processing of SSDI claims for applicants with certain medical conditions.
Under the CAL initiative, cases are expedited for applicants whose medical conditions are so severe that the diagnosis alone automatically qualifies the applicant as “disabled.”
The QDD initiative utilizes a predictive computer model to analyze specific data within an applicant’s electronic file and identify cases where there is a high potential that the applicant is disabled and where SSA can quickly obtain evidence of the applicant’s allegations.
