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This is not for me but for a friend. Major knee injury 10 years back. The surgeon up in NJ worked for the NJ Devils and the Phil Flyers. He told me it was the worst injury he ever saw. Friend is in constant pain gets around with the aid of a walker and sometimes on good days a cane. Gets around her house in a wheelchair. Too proud to get disability. However as she is getting older it is becoming more and more difficult to get around. She has been working steadily since the injury.
What kind of work does she do?
I honestly don't know if they'd give it to her since she is still working. She may have to down grade her job to something she can sit, then apply. Everyone I know stopped working.
She would be better off consulting a social security disability attorney who may know her odds of getting it while still working.
The money they pay every month is not much for a lot of people. They do not give you much to actually live on. She may end up getting about $1,000 a month after Medicare takes out what we have to pay for part A. She would also need health insurance, depending on what she picked, she may need a stand alone prescription insurance plan.
If she's on narcotics, she would most likely need a stand alone prescription plan because the advantage plans may not cover the narcotics she takes.. I'm in NJ, there is a $30 prescription plan that pays narcotics that other plans won't pay. She will then either keep Medicare as primary payer which does have like a $200 deductible, they then pay 80% which can eat into money if she needs surgery or is admitted to the hospital. The best way to have coverage is with a Medigap which picks up either all or a certain percent of what's left. Most people pick these because it's not easy to switch to it after a certain age, some of them go up in price as you get older, so you really have to know which to pick. She could end up spending a good chunk of her SSDI check just on insurance.
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Originally Posted by evening sun
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Originally Posted by 2sleepy
If she's able to work then she would not qualify for SSDI. The criteria isn't how much pain you are in, or how impaired you are, it comes down to whether or not you can work.
That's not entirely true. At least it was not in the past, I am not up to date on the current requirements. It used to be you had to disabled enough to not to do your current/most recent job. For instance, if you were a piano player, & lost a few fingers, you could still do other jobs, but not play the piano. So you could be qualified for disability as you were unable to do your job. Not unable to do any other job. I think that's why some people think those on disability are frauds, some may be, but not all.
As you say, she would not be able to do the job she does, but there may be sitting jobs that she can do for less pay. We'd need to know the job that she does now. From what I understand, there's a formula that they use.
That's why they have SS disability, so those who have paid into the system, can take it early, if they are become disabled.
The State disability programs were superior to Social Security Disability.
The States ran their own disability programs before Eisencoward pulled a Castro and nationalized them into Social Security Disability, pretty much the same way FDR pulled a Castro and nationalized all 35 of the State social security programs.
The States recognized total permanent disability, temporary permanent disability, total partial disability and temporary partial disability.
Social Security only recognizes total permanent disability.
As a result, unless they're covered by worker's compensation, a lot of people fall through the cracks.
What if you hit a deer?
Your auto insurance will cover damage to your vehicle and your medical bills, and even then only after you threaten to go postal, but they will not cover your lost wages, or lost future wages.
All 48 States (Alaska and Hawai'i didn't become States until after the State programs were nationalized) would cover your lost wages.
Social Security won't.
Regarding the 35 State social security programs, those were enacted between 1926 and 1932 (when FDR was governor of New York he enacted one in 1929) and the legislative texts are not always accessible online.
But the few that I have seen, some were better than the existing program, and some were not as good, because there were many restrictions and conditions for eligibility. I would have to say by and large they were mostly needs-based or means-tested. The current program is means-tested, but not needs-based, and even with means-testing, you still get most of your benefit.
No. SSDI starts five months after you become disabled. So you’re supposed to sign up the second you find out that you are disabled.
And they’re really good about canceling it. My husband got signed up very easily due to his diagnosis, and I got the notification two days after he died that he was accepted and would start getting it in October. As such he no longer qualified for SSDI.
I’ve heard of a lot of horror stories about SSDI applications. I have to say that I managed to always get the same person when I called, and she was kind, and helpful and out of all the things I had gone through in that short span of three months of losing my husband, SSDI was the best part of it. Even though I didn’t get any money.
I did go in to Social Security to confirm and give them his death certificate. So I’ve already sort of been pre-set up to collect Widows benefits when I decide to do that which I will do it for retirement age. Once again I can’t say anything bad about the whole system.
Which is amazing because I was in that system when I was 21 years old. I was a college student, and my father had died. Under the rules at that time I could collect until I was 22 since I was a college student. Apparently the rules had changed and my father died within the cut off. So I was under the old rules. I was treated quite badly. They have come a long way.
Now it is only 18. I also was getting a little SS because of my dad. I was surprised that they now end it at 18 - even if you are in college.
I honestly don't know if they'd give it to her since she is still working. She may have to down grade her job to something she can sit, then apply. Everyone I know stopped working.
She would be better off consulting a social security disability attorney who may know her odds of getting it while still working.
The money they pay every month is not much for a lot of people. They do not give you much to actually live on. She may end up getting about $1,000 a month after Medicare takes out what we have to pay for part A. She would also need health insurance, depending on what she picked, she may need a stand alone prescription insurance plan.
If she's on narcotics, she would most likely need a stand alone prescription plan because the advantage plans may not cover the narcotics she takes.. I'm in NJ, there is a $30 prescription plan that pays narcotics that other plans won't pay. She will then either keep Medicare as primary payer which does have like a $200 deductible, they then pay 80% which can eat into money if she needs surgery or is admitted to the hospital. The best way to have coverage is with a Medigap which picks up either all or a certain percent of what's left. Most people pick these because it's not easy to switch to it after a certain age, some of them go up in price as you get older, so you really have to know which to pick. She could end up spending a good chunk of her SSDI check just on insurance.
As you say, she would not be able to do the job she does, but there may be sitting jobs that she can do for less pay. We'd need to know the job that she does now. From what I understand, there's a formula that they use.
She is better off working as long as she possibly can. She probably realizes how little money the benefit would provide (which is a large part of her motivation).
Your SS disability benefit definitely increases over time (more years of work; higher wages, etc.).
People get drawn into a false sense of security with disability insurance. Inflation will degrade whatever benefit you get. If you can continue working at all you will be better off (unless you have some kind of Cadillac insurance where you basically get your salary net of taxes and a recalculated retirement benefit as if you had worked the entire time (a friend of mine on disability from a state university system comes to mind)...
The State disability programs were superior to Social Security Disability.
The States ran their own disability programs before Eisencoward pulled a Castro and nationalized them into Social Security Disability, pretty much the same way FDR pulled a Castro and nationalized all 35 of the State social security programs.
The States recognized total permanent disability, temporary permanent disability, total partial disability and temporary partial disability.
Social Security only recognizes total permanent disability.
As a result, unless they're covered by worker's compensation, a lot of people fall through the cracks.
What if you hit a deer?
Your auto insurance will cover damage to your vehicle and your medical bills, and even then only after you threaten to go postal, but they will not cover your lost wages, or lost future wages.
All 48 States (Alaska and Hawai'i didn't become States until after the State programs were nationalized) would cover your lost wages.
Social Security won't.
Regarding the 35 State social security programs, those were enacted between 1926 and 1932 (when FDR was governor of New York he enacted one in 1929) and the legislative texts are not always accessible online.
But the few that I have seen, some were better than the existing program, and some were not as good, because there were many restrictions and conditions for eligibility. I would have to say by and large they were mostly needs-based or means-tested. The current program is means-tested, but not needs-based, and even with means-testing, you still get most of your benefit.
State disability is a good thing, but in my state, it's mostly for temporary disability or to receive money while waiting for the SSDI determination. It is not long term, it has $ limits (like unemployment). I knew one person who filed a claim for it, when she had to take time off work for the flu. It is deducted from paychecks, so all working people can use it.
So, I am on SSDI for the past 5 years. I just went thru a redetermination process.
What does this letter mean?
It seems to say I'm not disabled but only if I start work substantially will they stop my payments.
"we have decided that your disability has ended and that you are not entitled to payments if substantial work starts again."
So far the SS website shows benefits continuing, but then I dont how long it takes for a local branch to update the main system.
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