Knowing if you are eligible for Social Security disability benefits is important for many disabled individuals and their families. Social Security disability (SSD) benefits can provide much-needed help with daily costs and concerns on the minds of many disabled individuals and their families.
Eligibility for benefits is based on different factors and considerations disabled individuals should be familiar with. To qualify for benefits, the disabled individual must meet both disability and work history eligibility requirements. To be considered disabled by the Social Security Administration, the disabled individual must suffer from a disabling medical condition that is so severe it prevents them from working. Additionally, it must prevent them from performing any other type of work.
The disability also cannot be temporary so the disabling medical condition must be expected to last for 12 months or longer or result in death. The Social Security Administration will look to the severity of the impairment caused by the disabling medical condition to determine if the disabled individual applying for benefits is eligible. Generally, the disabling medical condition must prevent the disabled individual from being able to perform normal work-related activities such as sitting, standing, walking, lifting, reaching, communicating, using judgment and responding to supervision.
While the Social Security Administration provides a list of impairments that may qualify for SSD benefits, the disabled individual seeking disability benefits does not necessarily have to suffer from a medical condition on the list and can demonstrate their disability through their medical records. Disabled individuals must also be able to meet work history requirements associated with eligibility for SSD benefits. Because the process of applying for SSD benefits can be trying at times, it helps to be as familiar as possible with the process to obtain the oftentimes badly-needed benefits.
