disabllity benefits for social security

I ran into a guy at the VA offices the other day who had prostate cancer and was just beginning the filing process for VA disability. In the course of conversation I mentioned that I was getting VA and in August I would be 62 and begin to draw Social Security.

He said he was already getting Social Security Disability. I asked for what and he told me that the tests they ran on his PCa showed degenerative areas of his spine for Osteoarthritis. So filed for Disability and they gave it to him for that. He said he would not have known about it if not for the PCa testing.

He thought there was no harm in filing and was surprised at how easy and fast the claim went through.

Ya just never know,

Sonny

While still awaiting for approval for my Agent Orange/Viet-Nam disability from the VA (Filed late October), I have applied easily for SS Disability, awaiting approval there. The SS, despite reputation, has been a much easier process for me locally then the VA route. Have since found out, I could qualify and get both of them, and both would be tax free. I will be talking to my SS rep this week at the local office to see where I am at in the system. She had already told me that I would qualify for max. benefits because of my lifetime work history.

David in SC

N. Ala, it seems like you have seen the worst of the SS Admin with the trials and tribulations of your family.

We have been fortunate to see the other side. My wife filed for SSD benefits in January of this year. We had been told pretty much the same thing about the long time of the process and rejections and appeals.

She put together her package including all of her medical records and I hand delivered it to the SS offices in January of this year. In early April she received a call from Social Security telling her she had been approved. It had been a little less than 4 full months. Although she was called a few times during the process and went through some interview questions she never had to go to their offices and has yet to meet with someone face to face from Social Security.

Additionally they told her she would be receiving her retroactive pay by the end of that week through electronic transfer. True to their word it was deposited on Friday of that week.

Let us all hope that this is becoming the norm for those deserving of disability benefits. These folks could sure use a break.

Sonny

My experience with filing for social security disabillity for family members was about six years ago.  I see that since then new procedures for quicker approval and reducing backlog were put in place in 2006.  How about that, an improvement in government service.  But if you do get turned down for the first appeal that you submit, don't give up.  Go to federal court with a lawyer if you have to.  You won't stand a chance in court with out legal help because there can be a lot of legal technicallities concerning the definition of "disabillity" as it pertains to your occupation.  I found that the court experience was not too bad.  The judge seemed very reasonable and to wanted to help us, but you need professional help to present your case at that level. 

Thanks everyone for the input so far the Social security office has been nice .I sent a complete copies of all my medical  records .when I first applied for regular Social security the lady asked lif I had anything medical wrong with and i said I had PC she said I needed to apply for disability PC would qualifiewe will see

I have to admit I know nothing about Social Security benefits, other than the check shows up every month. I applied for and receive Agent Orange VA benefits (amazingly, I received the first payment 3 weeks after I applied) but are you guys saying I may be entitled to a social security benefit as well? I stopped working 7 years before the PC diagnosis.

Mel,

Looking back over some of my annual reports from SS, I would receive a small percentage more on disability than I would if I waited till the 66year 6mos time frame.

The current times to collect SS are 62yo, 66y 6mos, or 70.

So if you were able to get disability now, you would get a little more than if you waited until 66 years and you would be drawing it for 2 1/2 years longer.

This is just the math part. The whole other discussion is you desire and ability to work.

Just more info for thought,

Sonny

Yes, my hubby was approved for SSD after suffering a recurrence of prostate cancer.  The process was painless but we did have a five month wait before the first payment and no retro pay.  Social Security website has a list of impairments and the conditions on that list are less difficult to qualify.   

Purgatory, I don't want to confuse the issue.  I am no expert on SSD but as i remember the SSD benefits are paid as far back as the initial claim date submitted.  In the event that your claim was submitted and hung up for any reason, as in an initial denial, delay, or appeals than you would be paid retroactively through to that claim date and excluding the 5 month waiting period.  Although my husbands initial bout of prostate cancer was in 2002, he did not suffer a recurrence until 2007.  The condition did not interfere with his ability to work until June of 2009.  Thats when he submitted his SSD claim.  Although his condition existed and was medically verifiable years before his SSD application was submitted, he was not eligable for retro benefits with no application/claim filed until August of 2009.   He received his award letter in December, 2009.  I certainly hope your case will allow full retro benefits, but would also advise you avoid counting your chickens before they hatch.   Now there's always a chance that different states allow for different procedures. For instance, in Louisiana a decission must be rendered by the fifth month.  It took every bit of five months to get the decission, but our counselor kept us posted every step of the way.  This made waiting much easier.  If anything was delaying the decission he would call and advise/instruct us as to what we could do to facilitate the process.  It was not a bad process at all.  And now that we are approved my hubby gets his direct deposit on the third Wednesday of every month.  Reliably!  Oh, social security (dot) gov has a most frequent questions category on their website.  It addresses questions like retro pay and the effective date of disability.  It is helpful.      

Thought I would chime in here from personal experience.

You all know that my wife went into the hospital June 26, 2009. It turned into a 8-9 week stay, most of which was spent in ICU on a ventilator. I remember the date well, it was 3 days later, June 29th that my diagnosis came back positive for PCa.

She was not able to return to work and her firm placed her on disability retirement.

She filed for SSD in either late Jan or early Feb. She was approved in May and was paid back pay from December. This was a result of the 5 month elimination/waiting period that began June 26, 09.

You can file for SSD anytime but you must have a 5 month period of non working that starts with your first missed day of work because of the episode before funds will begin to flow.

As far as I know there is no limitation on when you can or have to file. It's just that the 5 month elimination period must be satisfied before any funds will be sent. When her first check arrived it was a little over $12k.

Hope this helps,

Sonny

Thanks everyone for your input on the SSD It helps to hear about other that have fought the SSD battle and won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!