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Opinion
Right now, nearly 700,000 Americans with disabilities are awaiting a hearing before the Social Security Administration for a decision on their benefits applications. To put that number in perspective, you could fill The Center for the Arts Main Stage Theater 2, 300 times. In California alone, nearly 62,000 are currently waiting in the disability backlog.
At the same time, overloaded government budgets (state and federal) and growing workloads at Social Security offices nationwide are overwhelming the ranks of workers who review claims and make determinations.
My company, Allsup, helps individuals through the process and has developed our top 10 tips to break through the backlog:
1. Determine eligibility. Claimants must have been disabled before reaching full retirement age (65-67) and meet the Social Security Administration's definition of disabled, which generally means being unable to work due to a medically determinable mental or physical impairment expected to result in death or last for at least 12 months. Individuals must be under age 65 and have worked and paid into the program for five of the last 10 years. A free evaluation of eligibility available at: www.allsup.com/disabilityguidelines/criteria.aspx
2. File immediately. If an initial claim is denied, Allsup notes that the wait for an appeals hearing now takes an average of 424 days. There is no time to lose.
3. Obtain doctor's agreement. Claimants need written medical confirmation of their qualifying conditions when they apply. According to Allsup, not having a doctor's agreement when filing could delay the process a month or more.
4. Get help. Filing for disability benefits is a complicated process akin to preparing a difficult income tax return. The earlier applicants seek help, the more support they can get.
5. Prepare an accurate medical record. A comprehensive factual record is required to convince the government to provide benefits.
6. Establish your work history. Compile records of dates and tenure of previous employment. As noted above, individuals must have worked for five of the previous 10 years to qualify for benefits.
7. Meet deadlines. If benefits are denied at any stage of the process, claimants have only 60 days to
file an appeal. If the deadline is missed, the process starts over from the beginning.
8. Reduce spending. The long wait for benefits means that people lose their savings, their cars and sometimes even their homes. Cut out unnecessary spending as quickly as possible and prepare for the long haul. And don't use credit cards. High-interest debt will add to long-term problems. There may be other, more affordable options for handling expenses.
9. Maintain health insurance. There will be a temptation to cut spending on insurance but, even after individuals begin receiving disability benefits, there is a two-year waiting period for Medicare eligibility.
10. Don't give up. The Social Security Administration denies more than 60 percent of all initial applications, but two-thirds of the people who appeal eventually will receive their benefits.
Jim Allsup is founder and president of Allsup, the country's leading non-attorney SSDI representation company. He currently resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.
At the same time, overloaded government budgets (state and federal) and growing workloads at Social Security offices nationwide are overwhelming the ranks of workers who review claims and make determinations.
My company, Allsup, helps individuals through the process and has developed our top 10 tips to break through the backlog:
1. Determine eligibility. Claimants must have been disabled before reaching full retirement age (65-67) and meet the Social Security Administration's definition of disabled, which generally means being unable to work due to a medically determinable mental or physical impairment expected to result in death or last for at least 12 months. Individuals must be under age 65 and have worked and paid into the program for five of the last 10 years. A free evaluation of eligibility available at: www.allsup.com/disabilityguidelines/criteria.aspx
2. File immediately. If an initial claim is denied, Allsup notes that the wait for an appeals hearing now takes an average of 424 days. There is no time to lose.
3. Obtain doctor's agreement. Claimants need written medical confirmation of their qualifying conditions when they apply. According to Allsup, not having a doctor's agreement when filing could delay the process a month or more.
4. Get help. Filing for disability benefits is a complicated process akin to preparing a difficult income tax return. The earlier applicants seek help, the more support they can get.
5. Prepare an accurate medical record. A comprehensive factual record is required to convince the government to provide benefits.
6. Establish your work history. Compile records of dates and tenure of previous employment. As noted above, individuals must have worked for five of the previous 10 years to qualify for benefits.
7. Meet deadlines. If benefits are denied at any stage of the process, claimants have only 60 days to
file an appeal. If the deadline is missed, the process starts over from the beginning.
8. Reduce spending. The long wait for benefits means that people lose their savings, their cars and sometimes even their homes. Cut out unnecessary spending as quickly as possible and prepare for the long haul. And don't use credit cards. High-interest debt will add to long-term problems. There may be other, more affordable options for handling expenses.
9. Maintain health insurance. There will be a temptation to cut spending on insurance but, even after individuals begin receiving disability benefits, there is a two-year waiting period for Medicare eligibility.
10. Don't give up. The Social Security Administration denies more than 60 percent of all initial applications, but two-thirds of the people who appeal eventually will receive their benefits.
Jim Allsup is founder and president of Allsup, the country's leading non-attorney SSDI representation company. He currently resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.
