How to Apply for SSI Disability & Get It Right

In 2017, 68.5 percent of applicants for Social Security disability who applied on their own were denied benefits. The process and paperwork is complicated and overwhelming for many.

Eligibility Requirements for Application

• You must have worked five of the last ten years.
• During that time, you must have paid FICA taxes on your pay.
• You are between ages 21 and 65.
• You have medical evidence of physical or mental illness and confirmation from a physician that shows you can no longer work.
• Your disability must last twelve months or longer, or will contribute to your death (i.e., ALS or stage-4 cancer).
• Visit www.ssa.gov to check your eligibility.

If you are able to return to work, there are incentives to aid your return. Receiving Social Security benefits isn’t necessarily lifelong. Some situations just require a boost to help get you back on your feet.

Apply as soon as it’s clear you can’t work for twelve months or longer. If you are still working, you will be denied. There is a five-month waiting period before your benefits will kick in. About 34 percent of those who apply for benefits are approved without appeal. Appeals can take years.

Listen as Mary Dale Walters joins Melanie Cole, MS, to discuss how to improve your chances to receive your Social Security disability benefits when needed.