FAQ

Briefly, SSI is a government program that pays monthly benefits to disabled adults and children or elderly people whose incomes and assets are limited or non-existent.

To qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you must be at least 65 years old, blind, or disabled. To be considered “disabled,” your medical condition must meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of “disability.” Additionally, to qualify for benefits, you must also be a U.S. citizen, national of the U.S., or eligible non-citizen; reside in one of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands; and have limited income and resources. For help determining whether you qualify for SSI, contact the team at Affleck & Gordon and request a free, no-obligation consultation.

If your SSI claim was denied, you have 60 days from the date on which you received notice of your claim denial to file an appeal. It is strongly recommended that you work with an experienced attorney who can help you navigate the appeals process. There are several steps involved, as well as numerous deadlines and required documents you must gather to appeal a denied SSI claim. Our team at Affleck & Gordon can assist you in this process and work to protect your rights every step of the way.

You may be eligible for SSI benefits if you work—as long as your income falls below the Social Security Administration’s stated income threshold. This threshold changes each year. For 2022, you cannot earn more than $861 per month if single or $1,281 per month combined if married. If you earn more than this, you will not qualify for SSI.

No, the Social Security Administration does not account for all personal belongings when determining whether a person has limited resources for the purpose of awarding SSI benefits. While some personal effects may count toward your overall countable resources, others do not. Additionally, the SSA does not consider your primary home, the land your primary home is on, your primary vehicle, and certain other resources as “countable.”

Yes, the SSA will check your bank accounts when you apply for SSI benefits. This is done to verify the information you have provided regarding your income and countable resources. The SSA can also check your bank accounts when you experience certain life events that may affect your income and/or resources. Examples include getting married, getting divorced, moving, starting a new job, changing or leaving your job, and more.

When determining the amount and duration of VA disability benefits, Veterans’ Affairs assigns a claimant an impairment, or disability, rating. Veterans who are assigned an impairment rating of 100% are considered completely disabled. As such, they may also receive a “permanent and total disability” designation. When this occurs, the veteran will be eligible for VA disability benefits for the remainder of their life.

The VA five-year rule refers to a rule that prohibits Veterans’ Affairs (VA) from reducing a veteran’s impairment rating when the current impairment rating has remained the same for at least five years. The only exception is in cases where there is substantial, continual improvement of the veteran’s condition over time.

As long as you are not receiving “Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability,” or TDIU, you can work and earn an income without any impact on your VA disability benefits. You are also permitted to work while you are applying for benefits and/or appealing a denied claim. If you are receiving TDIU, you are not permitted to obtain “substantial gainful employment,” or SGA. In other words, if you work while receiving TDIU, you could lose those benefits.

Sometimes, certain dependents are eligible for VA benefits. Most often, this is the case when a dependent lives with a veteran, and the veteran is unable to support the dependent financially. Surviving dependents and other family members of veterans who pass away may also be eligible for certain VA benefits, such as death compensation, death pension benefits, and more.

The Veterans Administration provides monthly, tax-free compensation to former U.S. military service members injured or suffering from a chronic disability related to their time in service, or whose pre-existing condition their duties exacerbated. Veterans may qualify for benefits stemming from physical or mental conditions developed during or after their service. Physical injuries during service are common, as are mental conditions brought on by the rigors of active duty, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronic conditions and pre-existing conditions made worse by your military service are also covered by VA disability in some situations where the connection to your time in service is established. 

Disability claims are notorious for taking months, if not years, to resolve. However, most initial VA disability claims are determined within three to ten months. Each case is unique, and more complicated cases can take much longer. An appeal to the BVA (Board of Veterans’ Appeals) following a denial can add years to the claim, unless you meet specific criteria for expedited processing.

If your application is approved, you will receive monthly Social Security Disability Insurance payments in an amount based on your personal earnings record. Social Security benefits statements are sent by mail at five-year intervals to workers who haven’t signed up for statements online. Approved SSDI applicants also receive Medicare benefits after 24 months, beginning the month of first eligibility for a monthly disability benefit.

Disability is defined by documentation of a physical and/or mental condition which prevents you from performing “substantial gainful activity” (SGA). SGA basically means work performed in exchange for payment. A disability is defined as a mental and/or physical condition expected to last at least 12 months or to result in death. Whether one is eligible for disability is a matter subject to some interpretation. Although your doctor may have advised you not to work, or you may feel too ill to work, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will not necessarily agree that you are disabled. The SSA initially evaluates disability based on a catalog of physical and mental conditions called a “Listing of Impairments.” Even if you can’t show that your condition is exactly as described in the listing, it is still possible to prove that you are disabled. Furthermore, even if you are denied benefits because Social Security says you are not disabled, you have a good chance of winning on appeal. An attorney can be very helpful at a hearing.

Any Social Security disability claim can take quite a long time from start to finish, and processing time can vary widely from one case to the next. For individuals pursuing disability at the initial claim level, the time spent waiting for an initial answer can exceed three to four months. Waits of over a year for an initial decision on a disability claim are a bit unusual, but cases have been known to take that long. In most cases, an initial claim will probably be decided in under 120 days. Unfortunately, most claims are denied after the initial application, and the disability claimant must appeal. The entire appeal process can stretch out to more than two years and perhaps as long as three years for a hearing.

Social Security disability lawyers’ fees are limited to 25% of past-due benefits, up to a maximum of $6,000. An attorney will be paid only out of your past-due benefits, or “back pay.” If no back benefits are awarded, the attorney will not receive a fee. This is called a contingency fee agreement. You and your attorney sign the agreement and file it with Social Security to ensure that it satisfies the SSA’s guidelines. Some attorneys ask you to pay a nominal amount for costs at the beginning of your case. We generally do not ask for costs upfront and do so only when we must pay for your medical records or your doctor’s opinions.

Usually, you don’t. Social Security deducts the attorney’s fee (up to $6,000) from your first disability check (your award of back pay) before it sends the award of back pay to you.