Disabilities

Individuals with disabilities may qualify for a financial benefit from Social Security. Being eligible for this monetary stipend depends on the nature of disability. The extra money is intended to help individuals and families who have suffered a loss of income because a previously working individual became disabled due to an injury or sickness. There are several qualifications that a person with a disability must have to qualify for the Social Security benefit.

• The first rule is that an individual with the disability must be physically unable to do the job he or she had previously performed. Typically, these kinds of jobs that an individual with disabilities can no longer work in are physically demanding jobs such as construction and other jobs that involve heavy lifting or strenuous activity. Sometimes worker’s compensation can help these individuals with disabilities but the disability must have occurred as a result of the job itself, such as falling off a scaffolding.

• The second qualification that an individual with a disability must have is the inability to work any other job: for instance, one that is less physically demanding. This qualification is judged by the Social Security Income Program and if the individual with the disability is found to be capable of working in a different filed or job, then they will not be eligible for the disability benefit. This takes into account age, experience, education, and the general health of the individual requesting Social Security disability money.

• The third qualification is that the disability that an individual has must be a disability that will affect their ability to work for at least a year. This is the result of an updated definition of the terms of disability. The Social Security Amendments changed the requirement that the disability be indefinite for an individual to qualify for the Social Security disability benefit disabilities in 1965. The new requirement was a time period of 12 months. The exception to this rule is if disabilities will likely result in the death of the individual.

• About five million people receive some form of disability benefit in the United States.
An individual who has worked recently and long enough, based on quarters of coverage, may be eligible for receiving disability from Social Services. The benefits that one would receive because of the disabilities may start five full calendar months after the actual disability occurred.

Like regular Social Security for retirees, the amount of money one may receive for their disabilities depend on both the age of the worker and the actual record of earned income. Unlike retirees’ Social Security income, the individual must know that the disability is going to last for a certain amount of time to qualify.