When you suffer a serious injury or illness that keeps you from working, you can feel more than discouraged. You likely are concerned how long it will be before you can return to work or you might know you now have a disability that prevents you from working your prior job. You might consider filing for Social Security disability benefits, hoping you will get approved.
However, you aren’t sure if your condition qualities for Social Security disability pay. What are the requirements for that?
First, you must be unable to work for at least one year to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Then, if you meet that requirement, the Social Security Administration will evaluate these five questions when you apply for disability benefits:
- Are you working at all? If your earnings averaged more than $1,310 a month, you won’t be considered disabled.
- Is your condition severe? Your medical condition must severely limit your work-related activities, such as lifting, standing, remembering or sitting, for 12 months.
- Is your condition among those in Social Security’s list of impairments considered to substantially limit someone’s ability to work? Some examples from the list include severe burns, chronic pain, cancers, strokes or even severe anxiety and depression.
- Can you do the work you did before?
- Can you do any other type of work?
Before filing an application for Social Security disability benefits, you should consult an attorney who is familiar with this process. The process is complex and requires you provide hard medical evidence of your medical condition. An attorney who has worked with securing Social Security disability benefits can help you ultimately get your benefits approved, so you can move forward.