If Your Spouse Also Worked Under Social Security
If your spouse is eligible for retirement benefits on their own record, we will always pay that amount first. But, if the spouses benefit that is payable on your record is a higher amount, they will get a combination of the two benefits that equals the higher amount.
If your spouse will also receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security, such as government or foreign work, their Social Security benefit on your record may be affected.
Is Your Condition Found In The List Of Disabling Conditions
For each of the major body systems, we maintain a list of medical conditions that we consider severe enough that it prevents a person from doing substantial gainful activity. If your condition is not on the list, we have to decide if it is as severe as a medical condition that is on the list. If it is, we will find that you are disabled. If it is not, we then go to Step 4.
We have two initiatives designed to expedite our processing of new disability claims:
- Compassionate Allowances: Certain cases that usually qualify for disability can be allowed as soon as the diagnosis is confirmed. Examples include acute leukemia, Lou Gehrigs disease , and pancreatic cancer.
- Quick Disability Determinations: We use sophisticated computer screening to identify cases with a high probability of allowance.
For more information about our disability claims process, visit our Benefits For People With Disabilities website.
How Do Benefits Work And How Can I Qualify
While you work, you pay Social Security taxes. This tax money goes into a trust fund that pays benefits to:
Those who are currently retired
To people with disabilities
To the surviving spouses and children of workers who have died
Each year you work, youll get credits to help you become eligible for benefits when its time for you to retire. Find all the benefits Social Security Administration offers.
There are four main types of benefits that the SSA offers:
Learn about earning limits if you plan to work while receiving Social Security benefits
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Disability Benefits For Veterans
You may be eligible for disability benefits if you’re on disability from your service in the Canadian Armed Forces or Merchant Navy.
You may get social assistance payments from:
- your province or territory
- your First Nation
These payments will depend on your household income, savings and investments.
You may also be eligible for health-related benefits from your province or territory. These benefits may include benefits that help cover the cost of:
- medications
- medical aids or devices
Were There To Provide Comfort During Difficult Times
The loss of a loved one can be both emotionally and financially difficult. Some widows, widowers, and children may receive to help them cope with the financial loss. The number of credits needed to provide benefits for survivors depends on the workers age when he or she dies.
Unmarried children who are under age 18 can be eligible to receive Social Security benefits when a parent dies.
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Social Security Eligibility Requirements For Divorced Spouses
You do not have to have worked or contributed to Social Security taxes on your own in order to receive benefits based on an ex-spouses work record. And, you might be able to receive benefits even if your ex-spouse has remarried.
To receive benefits based on your ex-spouses work record, you must meet all of the following spousal-benefit eligibility requirements to receive payments:
- your ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits
- your at least 10 years
- you are unmarried
- youre at least 62 years old, and
- the benefit youre entitled to based on your own work record is less than the benefit youd receive based on your exs record.
If your ex-spouse qualifies but hasnt yet applied for benefits and is at least 62 years old, you can receive benefits as long as youve been divorced for at least two continuous years and meet all of the requirements listed above.
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Get Talking To Your Disability Lawyer And A Physician
Do you think that you can qualify for SSD? If yes, its essential to get to talk with your concerned physician. The doctor will let you know about your disability that prevents you from performing your best at job. And here, you can ascertain whether the doctor will write a medical statement in detail on what led to the disability and why it prevents you from working to you best capacity.
If your doctor isnt certain about whether you are eligible for SSD, you need to consult with your disability lawyer. To know more about it, you can check out .
An expert disability lawyer has experience in representing several claimants and can tell you whether your application will have a favorable outcome or not. While the lawyer cant guarantee a positive outcome, they have the necessary experience which can tell you the way the application might go and at times, win it for you as well. You can ask them a few questions like:
- How long does it take to apply for SSD?
- How to contact them?
- When will you know that your claim got approved?
- What documents do you need?
- What data is required for completing the application?
- Should you be present before the judge?
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What Are Social Security Disability Benefits
Social Security disability benefits are monthly payments that help support people who become too disabled to work. There are two different programs through which the SSA pays disability benefits. Those programs are:
- Social Security Disability Insurance
- Supplemental Security Income
Although both programs use the same basic definition of “disabled,” and there’s some overlap between the programs, there are also major fundamental differences. SSI and SSDI are intended for two different groups of disabled workers the benefits and qualifying requirements differ and the funding sources are different.
What Is The Disability Standard For Disability Insurance And Supplemental Security
Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security are reserved for workers with the most severe disabilities and conditions, and both use the same strict disability standard: inability to engage in substantial gainful activitydefined as being able to earn $1,040 a month in 2013due to one or more severe physical or mental impairments that are expected to last at least a year or could result in death. A workers impairment or combination of impairments must be so severe that the applicant is not only unable to do his or her previous work but also unableconsidering his or her age, education, and work experienceto engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work that exists in significant numbers in the national economy.
Medical evidence is the cornerstone for the determination of disability in both programs. To qualify, there must be medical evidence from a doctor, specialist, or certain other licensed or certified medical sources that documents a severe impairment. Evidence from other health care providerssuch as nurse practitioners or clinical social workersis not sufficient to document a severe medical impairment. And statements from the applicants themselves, their families, co-workers, friends, or neighbors are not treated as medical evidence.
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What Factors Make My Condition Or Illness A Severe Impairment
To be considered a severe impairment your condition must make certain tasks and actions extremely challenging or impossible.
Your disability would have to negatively impact actions and abilities such as speaking, hearing, walking, working, learning, driving, and concentrating to name a few.
Your Social Security officer may have you attend specific assessments to assess your abilities.
Tips For Navigating Social Security
- A financial advisor can help you account for the various sources of retirement income, including Social Security benefits. SmartAssets free financial advisor matching tool can pair you with up to three advisors in your area. Get started now.
- If youre applying for Social Security disability benefits, youll need to fill out form SSA-827. This provides your consent for the SSA and Disability Determination Services to view your medical records.
- Dealing with a disability, either temporary or permanent, is hard enough without considering the financial impact. Having an emergency fund in place for unpredictable things like this can be a huge relief.
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The Basics About Disability Benefits
The SSDI program pays benefits to you and certain if you are insured. This means that you worked long enough and recently enough – and paid Social Security taxes on your earnings. The program pays benefits to adults and children with disabilities who have limited income and resources.
While these two programs are different, the medical requirements are the same. If you meet the non-medical requirements, monthly benefits are paid if you have a medical condition expected to last at least one year or result in death.
How Do You Qualify For Ssdi
To qualify for SSDI, you need to meet some basic requirements.
- You must have earned a sufficient number of work credits.
Work credits are basically points you accumulate by earning, and paying Social Security taxes on, a certain amount of money. In 2018, you earn one work credit for every $1,320 in wages or self-employment income. You can earn four credits per year, so once you’ve earned $5,280 in taxable income in a year, you can’t earn any more credits until the next year.
The specific number of work credits you need to qualify for SSDI will vary depending how old you are when you become disabled. As a general rule, you can potentially qualify if you’ve earned at least 20 credits in the 10 years prior to becoming disabled and if you’ve earned a total of 40 credits or more.
However, if you’re younger when you become disabled, the work credit requirement is reduced based on age. For example, if you’re under 24 when you become disabled, you can become eligible for SSDI if you’ve earned at least six work credits in the three year period before your disability occurs.
If you’re between the ages of 24 and 31, you can qualify if you’ve earned work credits at least half the time between age 21 and the time you develop your disability. If you’re between the ages of 31 and 62, there’s a chart showing the number of credits you need.
- You cannot be engaged in substantial gainful activity
- You have to meet the definition of disabled
- You must be unable to do any job you’re qualified for
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Your Work History And Past Work Ability
Step 4 evaluates whether or not you are able to complete the same amount and quality of work you were previously capable of doing.
The Social Security officer will assess your Residual Functional Capacity . This assessment shows what your mind and body are capable of while also taking into consideration your disability and symptoms.
Once the RFC is completed, your Social Security officer will look at your Past Relevant Work . The officer will use your PRW to determine your skill level, strength level, and exertion level.
For example, an engineer would be classified as a skilled position with a medium to high exertion level depending on your specific field.
After this is finished, the officer will establish whether or not you are still able to perform these tasks based on the results of the above assessments.
Disability Income Can Be A Financial Lifesaver If You Suffer From A Debilitating Illness Or Injury But In Some Cases The Irs Might View Your Disability Benefits As Taxable Income
You may hope you never have to receive disability income. But more than one in four people who are age 20 today can expect to lose at least a year of work because of a disabling condition before they reach normal retirement age, according to the Council for Disability Awareness.
If you do need to rely on disability benefits at some point in your life, youll likely wonder: Is disability taxable income? The answer depends on the type of benefits you receive, who paid for them and how they were paid.
Lets break down some of the types of disability income you might receive and how the IRS treats disability payments from different sources.
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Ontario Disability Tax Credit Versus Odsp And Their Benefits
When youre unable to work because of a serious injury, illness or other condition, its difficult to find reasons to be optimistic. First, there is the actual condition itself. Then there are expenses for medical treatment and physical therapy. On top of that, your income is greatly reduced, or in some cases, eliminated altogether. Without question, you and your family may struggle to make ends meet.
Fortunately, the Government of Canada has several programs to provide assistance to people just like you. For residents of Ontario, the first relevant program is the Ontario Disability Tax Credit, a program that can potentially put thousands of dollars back into your pocket through tax deductions. Then, there is the Ontario Disability Support Program , an assistance scheme providing cash benefits to the physically disabled.
What Is Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Security Income benefits are awarded to with a disabling condition, a low income, and limited resources. Seniors over 65 can also qualify for SSI benefits.
SSI benefits are funded through general tax revenue, rather than through special taxes collected solely for the program. You can qualify for these benefits regardless of your work history, but you must have low income and few valuable assets.
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Filing For Disability Benefits Online
You can go to www.ssa.gov/disabilityonline to start your online application. You’ll be asked to enter basic information like your name, address, and Social Security number as well as information about dates of employment, employers’ names, the type of work you performed, your total income for the each of the last three years, the types of medical treatment you’ve received, the names of the doctors and hospitals you’ve visited, and more.
If you can’t finish the application in one sitting, you can save your work and come back later . In fact, it makes sense to start before you’ve gathered all of your information, since the date you begin your online application counts as your filing date, which affects the amount of disability backpay you’ll receive.
Once you’ve completed your disability application online, contact the Social Security office nearest to where you live if you have any questions that need to be answered or need to have some issues clarified. If you don’t contact Social Security, an SSA claims representative will contact you if he or she has any questions to ask about your disability application.
It may also be a good idea to call your Social Security office simply to confirm that your electronic application was actually received. Not everything that is transmitted online actually arrives at its proper destination.
We Are With Those Who Need A Helping Hand
The Supplemental Security Income program is a program that provides income support to people with disabilities, people age 65 or older, or blind, who have low income and resources. U.S. Treasury general funds, not the Social Security trust funds, pay for SSI.
If you or someone you know may be eligible for SSI, visit to learn more and apply.
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What Documents And Information Do I Need
You will need to provide:
How Much Work Do You Need
In addition to meeting our definition of disability, you must have worked long enough and recently enough under Social Security to qualify for disability benefits.
Social Security work credits are based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income. You can earn up to four credits each year.
The amount needed for a work credit changes from year to year. In 2021, for example, you earn one credit for each $1,470 in wages or self-employment income. When you’ve earned $5,880, you’ve earned your four credits for the year.
The number of work credits you need to qualify for disability benefits depends on your age when you become disabled. Generally, you need 40 credits, 20 of which were earned in the last 10 years ending with the year you become disabled. However, younger workers may qualify with fewer credits.
For more information on whether you qualify, refer to How You Earn Credits.
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