Social Security Disability Catch 22

[Willis]

OK...I can collect SSDI and then work for 9 months with no income limits. After those 9 months I can make appx $800+/mo in addition to the SSDI for 51 months (combined 5 years). After that I could make up to $1000 per month until I reach SS retirement age (9 years from now). My SSDI income would be appx $2700/month. Not enough to live on but I may be able to work things out if I can work in the meantime.

Catch 22: I can't apply for SSDI if I'm working...at all. And even if approved it can take 4-6 months to get the first check. If I use a lawyer, they get $6000 of that.

 

 

[gothiclovemonkey]

i get ssdi, and i only get around 600 a month to live on and raise my son on... it IS possible, but its hard!

[Willis]

It's the no money for eating, paying the mortgage, paying utilities, and paying Medicare for 6 months that just might prove to be a problem. 

 

[lmunchkin]

Oh Willis, I understand completely!  My husband worked for almost 7 years with ESRD, but had to give it up in Jan of this year! We filed disabitlity in same month, and has yet to receive a check! Our church family has helped us out a lot. We called SSD Friday, and they say we should have received it by now and they were looking into it.  I certainly hope so.

Hope you get something fiqured out on your money situation!

lmunchkin

 

[Chris]

The only good part about waiting is the back pay you get from the moment you applied.. At the time I was filling unemployment which helped with income and pay bills. Once disability letter came in and verified auto deposit, I quit filling for unemployment and started other government programs in hopes of going back to work while on dialysis.

[Willis]

Well, one small piece of good news. Some long-time married friends in another state who together have a husband/wife law firm specializing in disability and workers comp offered to give me whatever legal help I need for free. Since they are out-of-state they can't represent me directly, but perhaps with that resource I can make it through the minefield by myself.

 

 

[lmunchkin]

Chris, how did you get back pay?  It is my understanding, that there is no back pay.

lmunch

[Lillupie]

My SSDI income would be appx $2700/month. Not enough to live on but I may be able to work things out if I can work in the meantime.

$2700  is not enough??!! THat is better then anyone else i know, even though who are working. Where do you live??

i get ssdi, and i only get around 600 a month to live on and raise my son on... it IS possible, but its hard!

I make the same amount. How old is your son?






EDITED: Fixed quote tag error - jbeany, Moderator
 

[jbeany]

Chris, how did you get back pay?  It is my understanding, that there is no back pay.

lmunch

It's not really back pay - it's payment for the monthly amounts you would have gotten from the day you applied, if they had properly accepted you the first time, instead of turning you down.  It comes in a lump sum check, so it tends to be a large amount.

GLM, the amounts are based on your lifetime income, both length of time spent working and amounts earned - if you worked at a good wage for many years, the amount is considerably higher than it is for those of us who got sick before we had time to work our way up in the world.  I get about $800, having started on disability in my 20's.  It was only that high for me because I worked and paid in taxes from the age of 14.  (I grew up in a resort town - well-paid jobs for teens were easy to come by, and I worked weekends through much of the school year as well.  I was making $10 an hour at the age of 15, back in the 80's when that was a decent salary for an adult.)

[kporter85db]

Here are some facts about Social Security.

If approved for SS Disability, you get paid nothing for the first 5 months after SS determines the disability began. SS will start paying you at six months out.

If you use the services of a lawyer, they get 25% of any back pay SS owes you up to the $6000.00 limit. Back pay is what SS owes you between the time your disability began as determined by SS and when they actually approve you for benefits.

So, if you become disabled in January and apply for SS Disability and they approve you right away, you will (if everything works right)  receive your first check in June and will receive NO back pay.

Or, if you become disabled in January and apply for SS Disability and they deny you benefits (which happens to about 70% of applicants) and you appeal the decision and they eventually approve you for benefits in, say, June of the following year, you would begin receiving a monthly check immediately. You would also get back pay from the time they approved you going back to the date you first became disabled less the initial 5 month waiting period. If you used a lawyer for the appeal, they would get 25% of the back pay only, up to the $6000.00 limit. So if your back pay were $18,000.00 the lawyer would get $4500.00 of your back pay.

These scenarios are talking about Social Security Disability or SSD, not SSI

[gothiclovemonkey]

I worked since i was 15, mostly having 2 jobs at a time, except for during school. I loved working, Iwas working full time,and college full time, raising my son by myself, when i got sick and applied for SS. I feel very blessed that I do get what I get, but sometimes it is hard!
I didnt get "backpay" but i did get a large amount when they messed up what they were supposed to be giving me!

[paris]

I had no trouble getting SSDisability.  Did it all online. Never had a face to face meeting.  I taught school, and on the 12 month payment plan, so I filled in April and was approved in weeks. They determined that I was considered disabled 2 years before I applied (according to all medical records) and within 3 months I received a check for a year of back payments. They use to pay for all the years due, but now it has a limit of one year.    Also, I could apply while I was still working.   

ESRD is an automatic Yes with SSD, thanks to a Senator years ago who had a relative with kidney failure.   Why do you need a lawyer? Are there special  circumstances?   Pardon me if I'm being nosy!  It is amazing how different each experience is. 

I receive about $300 less a month than I made working.  Not buying work clothes, lunches out, gas to and from work, constant collections for co-workers, I think I save almost $200 a month.  Cutting back on things has been necessary.  But, I am thrilled to get disability instead of nothing at all.    Good luck with your process.     

[Sax-O-Trix]

GCM - with a young son, don't you qualifty for public assistance?  $600 wouldn't even pay the utility bill in many homes each month in the winter here, I'd be homeless on $600 a month ($20 a day).  I'm not even sure I could live in my car by myself on $20 a day, let alone with my two children...  Yikes!

I don't know what state you live in, but I think many public assistance programs are Federally funded.  I know here in NY with only $600 a month income and at least one underage child, you would receive at least $400 a month in food stamps/cash assistance, HEAP, HUD housing, free breakfast/lunch for your son if he is school age, WIC if your son is younger than 5 (?), possibly TANF, the county would track down your son's father and make him pay child support or send him to jail, assistance from many non-profits such as the Salvation Army and Good Will, free Medicaid/Medcare (premiums would be paid for through your county) and I am sure there are many other programs that I am unaware of.

If you aren't already, I hope you are able to utilize these programs...

P.S.  Wouldn't your son also get a check from SS because you are disabled? 

[lmunchkin]

What am I missing here? Hubby has had ESRD for 7 years.  He did not file in 2004 because he worked up until Jan of this year.  He filed for disability in same month (it was over the phone filing) and I swore he was told it would be retro to time he filed but when we called a couple months ago to inquire to status, he was told he was approved in Feb. and will receive check in Aug.  We would not receive back pay cause of 6month period of waiting.

I called SSD today and they said check would be automatically deposited this Wed!  I did not ask about retro pay cause I assumed we werent going to get it.  That is a lot of money and would love it if we could get that, cause we have struggled a little because of it!

Jbeany, why is some get it and others don't?  Yes Paris, there most be some special circumstances, but we are not one is my guess.

lmunchkin   

[Willis]

ESRD is an automatic Yes with SSD, thanks to a Senator years ago who had a relative with kidney failure.   Why do you need a lawyer? Are there special  circumstances?   Pardon me if I'm being nosy!  It is amazing how different each experience is.

Well my problem isn't so much needing a lawyer...though there are questions a lawyer might easily answer that I couldn't for myself. To me the catch is going from full-time employment to unemployment then having to wait 5 or 6 months or whatever until the checks start. Once the checks start then I could work part-time (or even more for 9 months in which there is no limit on income).

I wish I could start working fewer hours now but keep SOME income coming in while waiting for the process to work itself out. From what I understand I can't be working AT ALL when I apply or during the application process waiting period even though I would be able to work (up to the limit) AFTER being approved for disability. That's the crazy part...there seems to be no in between.

[gothiclovemonkey]

i am very good at searching out the best deals, and simple living. i love thrift stores.
I used to get about  $10 a month in food assistance, then $80, i reapplied when i moved to my appartment, when i lived there i got about $80 a month, because my rent alone was $480 per month, and electric was about 100, water ran about 15.
I moved in with my dad, so i dont know what it will be now. but im paying 400, plus food expenses, and my phone bill.
The school my son goes to gave him snacks every fri, to take home for the weekend, so that was a huge help.
and i have utilized the food bank when i was really short.
Almost everything we own has either been from thrift stores, garage sales, and hand me downs.
Oh, and when i lived in my apartment, they did have a winter heat grant thing, it was like 200 for the winter months. that was a blessing!
im just glad i am not spoiled and "need" alot to survive! I can make a grand meal on 5 bucks if i have to lol
the hardest part is not being able to "spoil" my son with gifts all the time

[jbeany]

What am I missing here? Hubby has had ESRD for 7 years.  He did not file in 2004 because he worked up until Jan of this year.  He filed for disability in same month (it was over the phone filing) and I swore he was told it would be retro to time he filed but when we called a couple months ago to inquire to status, he was told he was approved in Feb. and will receive check in Aug.  We would not receive back pay cause of 6month period of waiting.

Jbeany, why is some get it and others don't?  Yes Paris, there most be some special circumstances, but we are not one is my guess.

I got back pay, because the judge decided I was disabled months before I had actually filed.  They back-paid from the date he picked.  Believe me, I didn't argue about that part.  I also got some back pay because the trial part kept getting rescheduled (Michigan winters are not good for traveling!) and I was past the 6 months.

As for some people getting turned down - well, that applies to all disabilities, really, not just ESRD.  I applied before my function was low enough to qualify as ESRD.  The reason I got approved, even though I wasn't at stage 5 yet, was in part because my doc had written a vehement letter stating that I desperately needed it.  I was having so many complications with my anemia and bp and the meds that were supposed to treat them that many days I was lucky I could stand up and walk to the bathroom, let alone go to work.  My doc had just had a quadrapalegic patient get turned down when he had first applied.  My doc was so upset at the stress it had caused the poor man (who could barely move his fingers, let alone get a job) that he was on the warpath when it came to the SS system.

[Chris]

The way it worked for me was I applied in August back in 1999 and recieved a big check and all the letters and Medicare card in November. My Medicare card says I have had it since October of that year. For my SSDI I get a tad over $1200 a month and when I say tad, that's a tadpole of $7.00    I had one summer job at 14, but started working regularly at 15 and later on 2 jobs at the same time so I could lve on my own at 17 so I could stay in Illinois while parets jobs transferred. I get more on SSDI than unemployment which was I guess based on my last job that was a temp job due to being sick. Like paris, I did not have a problem getting approved, I just came prepared with all my doctors information, paycheck stubs, medical conditions (diabetes and all the complications from it), prescriptions taking and paying for with pharmacy reciepts, and other information that may have been needed. Of course each councelor is different or is having a bad day when it comes your time.

[kporter85db]

ESRD is an automatic Yes with SSD, thanks to a Senator years ago who had a relative with kidney failure.   Why do you need a lawyer? Are there special  circumstances?   Pardon me if I'm being nosy!  It is amazing how different each experience is.

Well my problem isn't so much needing a lawyer...though there are questions a lawyer might easily answer that I couldn't for myself. To me the catch is going from full-time employment to unemployment then having to wait 5 or 6 months or whatever until the checks start. Once the checks start then I could work part-time (or even more for 9 months in which there is no limit on income).

I wish I could start working fewer hours now but keep SOME income coming in while waiting for the process to work itself out. From what I understand I can't be working AT ALL when I apply or during the application process waiting period even though I would be able to work (up to the limit) AFTER being approved for disability. That's the crazy part...there seems to be no in between.

The thing is, if you are able to work, you are not considered disabled.

[lmunchkin]

Oh no, when we filed in January of this year he was approved in Feb.  He has never filed disability with Social Security Disability before.  When we had a phone converence to file his claim, the lady told us that he has ESRD, they would not deny him.  She noted that he has been on Medicare for years prior and that will makes it much eaiser to put paper work through.  He was working full time before, Willis, and he was not eligible for Disability until he gave the work up.

The thing is, is we had to wait 6 months for first check (Havent received it yet, but hopefully Wed) and possibly not get it retro to time he filed!  To me that's just not right, but what are you going to do?  They got you any way you look at it!  Now I could hire an attorney, but as long as it starts coming in it will be much better and doable with my pay check with it!  Thank God, our Church has helped us through this stretch!  They are such down to earth people and have always been there for us!!!

Jbeany, you said the judge determined, does that mean you hired an attorney or is that done through the appeals process?  Were you working fulltime when you filed?  Good for you, you are one of the fortunate ones to recieve back pay!  Michigan treats the Disabled with respect, apparently! All of you who have ESRD deserves the checks and not "LIP SERVICE" IMO!!       

lmunchkin

 

[jbeany]

Jbeany, you said the judge determined, does that mean you hired an attorney or is that done through the appeals process?  Were you working fulltime when you filed?  Good for you, you are one of the fortunate ones to recieve back pay!  Michigan treats the Disabled with respect, apparently!

I wasn't working when I filed.  I'd had to quit because I wasn't getting to work often enough to be productive, and my sweetheart bosses were too sympathetic to fire me, even though they couldn't afford to keep me on.  I did their books as well as computer drafting so I knew their finances better than they did. 

I went through the appeals process without a lawyer.  Couldn't afford one.  The judge was someone from SS - I don't have a clue what his qualifications were - I do remember that he wasn't a doctor, though. 

[sullidog]

I work and get SSDI, but I'm also blind and so the rules are different for someone who is blind.
There is ticket to work as well but I am well within the limit of a blind person's income.

[Chris]

I work and get SSDI, but I'm also blind and so the rules are different for someone who is blind.
There is ticket to work as well but I am well within the limit of a blind person's income.

Being blind/ visually impaired was also a determining factor for me when I filed for SSDI

[jagermiester]

When I first applied I applied for SSI and SSDI.  I was approved SSI first for 2 months and when the doctor's were able to kick my kidney's back into function some without having to dialysis, SS stopped the SSI.  They said I was ok despite the fact I was still having labs done 3 times a week and seeing the doc every 2 weeks.  My appeal was denied and I just had my ALJ hearing last week so am now waiting on a decision.

I worked part time for the past year while I was waiting for the decisions and my ALJ hearing.  You can work as long as you don't make over $800.00 a month (before taxes).  Over that and you are not considered disabled. Working part was starting to be hard me and I finally had to quit last month.  I only worked 4 hours and it got to where I was coming home and sleeping for 3 or 4 hours a day and when I got up, I moved to the sofa and that was it for the day.

Now, I have a question.  When talking about ESRD, does that mean your on dialysis, or can you be diagnosed with ESRD without being on dialysis?

[Sax-O-Trix]

 

Now, I have a question.  When talking about ESRD, does that mean your on dialysis, or can you be diagnosed with ESRD without being on dialysis?

ESRD refers to Stage 5 kidney disease, which means your GRF is under 15% or you are on dialysis.  CKD refers to the first four "stages".  I was at 15% when I had my transplant, but never saw "ESRD" on my charts, my neph always put "CKD 4.5".  I am sure I was only an appointment away from being officially dx with ESRD and an appointment with a surgeon for either a fistula or cath for PD (neither of which were ever discussed)...