Collecting SSI

I have had the conversation with the Doctor about me collecting SSI at age 54 and was told they would sign me off as disabled , Listed as stage 4 terminal, not responsive to hormone therapy . I am still working but am not sure how much longer i can , some days i can work 12 hours and be good with it .Other days just looking like i could work is to much .

I am trying to figure out how or what i should do in preperation to leave the workforce , A SSI advocate that can be recommended ?

I would like to do this so i dont lose everything i have worked for my entire life . suggestions? were do i even start?

Be prepared as it is very tough to get social security disability and it normally takes awhile, as in years. If you are currently working you don't meet the criteria. Basically you must be totaly and permanently disabled or be expected to die within one year. After you have filed, there is a routine denial, then you appeal, then they deny, then you appeal again and things might begin to get serious. It is vital to get a very experienced very effective attorney before you start. The right attorney can make all the difference, but you must truly be disabled. I am not saying you don't qualify, just that you shouldn't underestimate what it takes to get benefits. I would be seeking an attorney that is really good at this.

I am assuming you mean SSD (Social Security Disability), not SSI (Social Security Insurance)? I have been on SSD since June of last year. The lesson I learned, is if you are wanting to apply, get a top notch SSD attorney from day one. I did everything by the book on my on at first. Got rejected right off the bat (unless your head has been cut off, you are going to get denied). The local SS office told me to appeal and everything would be alright. LOL. All that did was waste another year of my life waiting to get rejected again.

Finally, I was referred to a great attorney in my area. Those kind of attorneys work on continency only, so no money up front, they only get paid if they win and their fee has a cap by law. Within 4 months of having an attorney, she got it settled.

I was not approved for having PC, I was approved for all the damage done to me in the name of PC treatments that left me disabled. In the end, the judge was so angry at SS for the delays and the denials, that she awarded me payment all the way back to when I was dx. with PC, not when I actually became disabled. A bit unusual, but she said she wanted to send a message. She decided on her own, without my attorney even being present. It was a big surprise in the end.

The ammount one is awarded has a lot to do with how you are vested in the SS system, based on your earnings and contributions to the SS system. I was vested 100% at the maximun amount based on my work history, so that helped to get the maximun amount.

When it was awarded, they automatically took out the attorney fees out of the money owed while waiting, seems it was around 6,000 dollars. Since I had already waited more than 2 years at the time, I was automatically eligible for full Medicare. There is a year wait even if put on SSD, so it makes a difference when you first apply.

The real lesson, no matter what your on-line skills are, simply engage a good SSD attorney. Some of the best ones around are the ones that run the most annoying ads on TV, they can afford it, because it means they are winning cases.

At one point, I invoked my local U.S. Senator into getting it resolved. He was helpful, and wrote me 3 letters in the process. He also knew my attorney well, as they went to law school together.

I wish you luck if you decide to go this route.

BTW, you can legally work some while on SSD, but you have to be careful, as that's a slipperly slope.

David in SC

$6000.00 Is the correct amount. 10% of the total amount of your back pay up to $6000.00 max.

Rodney...

I have called a couple of the lawyers that advertise on tv and they wont even begin to discuss things as long as i am working , one told me they wont talk to me until i have been off work 4 mos.

I know the process takes time but I would like to have it be as short as possible .