Representative Services receives many calls about different types of disability programs. Today I am writing about the different types of common disability programs available.
Benefits for Adults Disabled Since Before Age 22
A claim can be filed for Social Security under the Adult Disabled Child program. These benefits are for adults who were born with a disability or became disabled before the age of 22. If the person applying for benefits believes they became disabled before the age of 22 they would need to provide proof of their disability before the age of 22. If the person applying happens to be, for example, 25, this may be doable. However, if the person applying is older, this could be very difficult. For this reason, we don’t see a lot of Adult Disabled Child claims.
Adult Disabled Children’s benefits are only payable if one of your parents receives Social Security Disability benefits or if one of your parents is deceased but was insured for Social Security benefits at the time of death. Social Security requires that a person have worked for 5 out of the last 10 years to be insured. The person that is applying for the benefit must also be over the age of 18 and unmarried.
Benefits for Widow and Widowers
Social Security Survivors benefits are for people who become disabled after the age of 50 whose spouse of 10 years of more has died. The spouse must have been insured for Social Security Disability benefits at the time of death. This means the spouse must have worked for 5 years out of the last 10 years or have been receiving Social Security Disability benefits.
Disability Benefits for Children Under Age 18
A claim can be filed for Social Security Supplemental Income when a child is born disabled or becomes disabled before the age of 18 and is unmarried. Social Security Supplemental Income is a need-based program. Because Social Security Supplemental income is a need-based program Social Security will need to know of any income and resources of the child, as well as the income and resources of the other family members in the home. There are many variables when figuring whether the child is eligible to file a claim, is the family’s income earned from a job or is the income unearned? In this case “unearned” refers to income from sources other than employment, like unemployment benefits or pensions. Resources such as cash, life insurance, vehicles and other property, to name a few, are looked at by Social Security when a claim is filed. Generally speaking, a resource is something that can be sold for cash. The determination of what precisely constitutes a resource is left to Social Security’s discretion. There are many rules and regulations that apply to Social Security eligibility for children with disabilities.
Adults With Disabilities
Social Security, many employers, and the VA have programs for adults with disabilities.
Social Security
Social Security has two programs for adults with disabilities, Social Security Disability insurance and Social Security Supplemental Income. Social Security Disability requires the person applying to have worked 5 years out of the last 10 years. Social Security Supplemental Income is a need-based program. Social Security will consider income and resources of the adult filing the claim as well as the income of the person’s spouse, if they have one. Social Security will also need to know about any money in cash, savings, checking accounts, investments, and/or retirement programs. They will want to know about anything of value you own such as cars, trucks, and/or homes you do not live in.
Private Disability Insurance
Some employers offer long and short-term disability programs for their employees. Many times the claims for short and long-term disability claims are handled by insurance companies. If so, a claim for benefits would need to be filed with the insurance company. Your employer will be able to tell you if you have these benefits and who to file a claim with should you be unable to work.
Many people do not know they can file an appeal if their long-term or short-term disability claim is denied upon initial filing. When filing an appeal with private insurance company we suggest getting a copy of the file from the insurance company and getting supporting evidence from your medical care providers. Once a private insurance claim has been denied and all appeals exhausted, the claim goes into the court system and no additional evidence can typically be added. This makes filing a proper appeal very important.
Veterans Disability
If the adult with disabilities is a veteran they may be eligible to apply for benefits through the veteran administration. VA has several different programs that we will write about in a separate blog.
Once you have found the right disability program you will need to begin gathering information to support your claim for benefits. All disability programs have medical requirements to determine if a claim can be approved.
If you have any questions about any of these programs or the medical requirements for any of these programs, feel free to give us a call at 1-800-949-2757.
