Social Security Disability (SSD) is a financial safety net for workers who are sick or injured and unable to work. In order to apply for SSD, workers must have worked long enough to be eligible, generally five out of the last ten years. They also must expect to be unable to work for the next twelve months.
There are four very good reasons to apply for SSD:
- SSD benefits provide income if you are unable to work. Most people do not have private long-term disability policies to augment their income if they are sick or injured and unable to work.
- Dependent children may automatically qualify for benefits if your SSD benefit application is approved. This includes children under age 18, full-time high school students under age 20 and disabled children over age 18.
- SSD benefit approval automatically qualifies you for Medicare after a 24-month waiting period. You are not required to take Medicare if you are already covered under another medical plan.
- The disability freeze goes into effect if you are awarded SSD benefits. This has the effect of freezing your earnings record during your disability. The freeze prevents years of little or no earnings from negatively affecting your future retirement benefit.
At Schmidt Kramer, our attorneys regularly help disabled workers obtain the SSD benefits they deserve. It can be difficult to obtain SSD benefits because the process is complicated and the rules make it difficult to qualify. Our lawyers have a great deal of experience with SSD law. We know how to gather evidence to make the best possible case. If you are disabled and the Social Security Administration has denied your SSD benefit application, contact a Harrisburg Social Security Disability lawyer at (717) 888-8888 for a free consultation.