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Many seek help from the government by applying for benefits that would help them in their medication and daily needs. Applicants for disability benefits would have to wait for a long period of time before the approval.

But, as they say, it’s worth the wait. These benefits will provide them of their much needed help in expenses for their medications and other necessities.

When approved, they will receive a Notice of Decision and a Notice of Award from social security offices. The Notice of Approval is sent by the judge.

Some can apply for back disability payment if their Social Security Disability application process has been lengthy. The amount of these back pay would depend on the amount benefits that they are approved of.

More relevant information about this topic can be read in the blog “Letters Sent After Approval of ALJ”.

In the blog “SSI and Medicaid for Eligible Claimants,” the author discussed the importance of Supplementary Security Income (SSI) for blind or disabled individuals who are not qualified for Social Security Disability (SSD).

But what is the difference between SSI and SSD?

For one, they are funded separately.

SSD, like other benefits under the RSDI (Retirement, Survivor, Disability Insurance), is funded through Social Security taxes collected from employees’ salaries.

SSI meanwhile is funded through general revenues and payments are made from the US Treasury general funds.
But the main difference between the two is their requirements for eligibility.

Although both are designed to provide income or compensation for disabled Americans, how to qualify for each is a different matter altogether.

You could say that SSD is credit-based and SSI is need-based.

SSD credits are based on the amount of social security taxes that were contributed by the employee during his/her work. 

To qualify, the claimant must be fully insured through enough social security taxes contributions.
This is because SSD is designed as disability insurance for American workers.

 SSI on the other hand is need-based because it does not matter if you have contributed any social security taxes or not in your lifetime.

SSI eligibility looks at the earning capacity and the resources of the claimant instead of his/her work contributions history.

If the person is proven to be disabled and his/her income and resources are just within certain limits, then he/she can qualify for SSI.

That is why it is very important to have legal help during the application period for Social Security Disability benefits.

According to the blog “Consequence of Filing a Procrastinate Appeal,” a lot of Americans who are applying for SSD benefits usually wait until the end of the two month period before filing an appeal because of the fear of being denied again.

However, what the claimants should think about is if the long period that they waited actually helped increase their chances to succeed with their claim.

According to studies, only about 14% of reconsideration applications ever get approved. Majority of the SSD claims that do get approved are within the ALJ hearings.

What is the reason for that?

The difference is representation.

Representing a claimant during ALJ hearings are not the only purpose of SSD attorneys.

They also help in preparing a winning claim even before the hearing. They should know what application examiners and the ALJ are looking for in a claim and can properly arrange and add things that can put the claim in a better position.

If the claimants have gotten help from an attorney from the get-go, then he/she would have probably been approved at the initial application or reconsideration level already and would not even have the need to go to an ALJ hearing.

A Social Security Disability application can be approved through 4 levels.

The first is the initial application level, the reconsideration level, the hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), and the appeals council.

As said by the author in the blog “Rationale for the denial of disability application,” a large chunk of disability applications in the initial process and the reconsideration process are denied and the best chance of the applicant is through the ALJ hearings.

If we go through the numbers, about 64% of initial applications and 84% of reconsideration cases are denied.

However, the chances of getting approved increases once it goes through a hearing. In the ALJ hearings, about 63% of the applications are approved compared to the 37% denial rate.
It’s a big leap in numbers.

The most notable reason for that is representation.

People who have help from an attorney who specializes in social security disability increases their chances of getting approved.

Social Security Administration does not require applicants to get help form a lawyer on the first two stages but recommends them to have one during the ALJ hearings.

Although not required, getting representation definitely helps.

That is why a lot of law firms focus their practice in representing SSDI and SSI claims. 

The Social Security Administration (SSA) helps people with disabilities by providing benefits through various programs to eligible individuals. It is crucial to understand the basics of the SSA as not every disabled person receive such benefits.

In “How Disability Benefits are Awarded,”  the author discussed how eligibility is determined and the importance of providing accurate and detailed information about a claimant’s past job/s as well as his or her medical condition.

Filing disability claims can be quite complicated and difficult, as every claim is carefully examined to know if it is valid and to prevent any form of fraud. To make sure that you will have a successful claim, it is advisable to seek legal assistance from disability attorneys who can expertly deal with cases related to the SSA.