What You Should Know About Social Security Disability Benefits
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by: albert.tobega
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Social Security taxes are typically deducted from you with every paycheck that you receive from your employer. For most people, Social Security is used for the purpose of retirement benefits that they can avail of when they reach the age of retirement. Many people are not aware however that part of the Social Security tax can be used in the form of a disability plan. Federal law states that in the event of an injury or some type of illness or disease that effectively hinders your ability to work, you can claim some Social Security benefits even though you have not reached retirement age yet. These benefits can be used to provide you with an income source in the event that you are not able to work.
The Social Security Act defines disability as either a physical or mental condition that prevents the sufferer from engaging in any activity that generates income, and that can either result in his or her death or last for 12 months or more. For many people, the confusion stems from not knowing when they can apply for Social Security benefits and when they can start collecting payments. What you should realize is that it is important that you file for disability as early as you can, even on the day that you are disabled if possible. The act of processing your claim can take much longer than expected and if you wait too long before doing so, you may miss out on some benefits, as well as run the risk of delaying the process even more. Even if you hire the services of a Social Security lawyer, the entire claim process can still last a lot longer than you anticipated. In addition, you will also have to be unable to work for at least 5 full months before you can begin receiving disability benefits.
Some people have also wondered why the entire process takes so long, in some cases lasting for more than a year. Even enlisting the help of a Social Security lawyer does not necessarily speed up the time to see a judge. Many people find it quite frustrating to be out of work and unable to claim their benefits, but the severe backlog of Social Security cases is the cause of all this. Social Security cases are typically processed on a first come, first served basis, which means that you have no choice but to wait it out. In certain states in fact, the entire process has been known to take anywhere from eighteen months up to two years in order to get a hearing.
Even though a Social Security Disability attorney cannot get you to a hearing before an administrative law judge quicker, a good attorney will win your case before you are even scheduled for a hearing. A good Social security disability lawyer will have enough experience to know what type of evidence to collect as well as how to use any opportunities to your advantage, such as filing the claim with the Office of Disability Determinations or coming up with an On the Record opinion so that a hearing for your case may not even be necessary. In any case, there are a number of obstacles that you have to deal with when filing for Social Security Benefits. But with an attorney your claim is more likely to be resolved in a matter of months, whereas going through the process by yourself your claim could take years.
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More information related to social security help, visit www.HillandPonton.com.
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