What You Should Know About Social Security Disability Benefits
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by: albert.tobega
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Social Security taxes are typically deducted from you with every paycheck that you receive from your employer. For most people, Social Security is used for the purpose of retirement benefits that they can avail of when they reach the age of retirement. Many people are not aware however that part of the Social Security tax can be used in the form of a disability plan. Even if you are not quite at the retirement age yet, there is a clause in the Federal law that allows you to claim some Social Security benefits if you suffer from an injury or any other type of illness or disease that will prevent you from working. These benefits can be used to provide you with an income source in the event that you are not able to work.
The Social Security Act defines disability as either a physical or mental condition that prevents the sufferer from engaging in any activity that generates income, and that can either result in his or her death or last for 12 months or more. Many people seem to be confused about when they can apply for Social Security disability benefits and when they can begin collecting payments. What you should realize is that it is important that you file for disability as early as you can, even on the day that you are disabled if possible. The act of processing your claim can take much longer than expected and if you wait too long before doing so, you may miss out on some benefits, as well as run the risk of delaying the process even more. Even if you hire the services of a Social Security lawyer, the entire claim process can still last a lot longer than you anticipated. Keep in mind that you will also have to be out of work for at least 5 months before you can begin to receive disability benefits.
The question of why the entire claim process takes so long...often lasting more than a year...is one that comes up often. Even enlisting the help of a Social Security lawyer does not necessarily speed up the time to see a judge. Many people find it quite frustrating to be out of work and unable to claim their benefits, but the severe backlog of Social Security cases is the cause of all this. Since Social Security cases are processed in the order in which they come in, there is little that you can do but wait. In certain states in fact, the entire process has been known to take anywhere from eighteen months up to two years in order to get a hearing.
It is interesting to note that even if a Social Security Disability lawyer cannot help you get a hearing with an administrative law judge sooner, a good one can work wonders for your case even before you get a hearing. A Social Security Disability attorney will know what evidence is needed to win your case and know how to take advantage of opportunities to win your claim before the hearing as in winning the claim before the Office of Disability Determinations or writing an On the Record opinion for the judge so that she does not even have to conduct the hearing in your case. With or without a social security attorney there are barriers between you and your Social Security Benefits. With a competent lawyer on your side however, the process can be resolved much sooner than if you take on the task of filing the claim by yourself.
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For more info on social security lawyer, visit www.HillandPonton.com.
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