Social Security benefits for disabled people

Social Security is a government program that protects people from poverty, old age, and unemployment. Disabled person can also benefit from this federal assistance as long as they will file their claims.

Social Security Act describes disability as an individual’s inability to work due to his/her physical condition, sickness, or mental impairment which is expected to result to subsequent death or is expected to live not less than a year. Meanwhile, beneficiaries of Social Security Disability Insurance should also be under 65 years of age.

This federal assistance is intended to last until the recipient’s condition improves. Also, this provide guaranty in case that the person’s condition will not improve.

Meanwhile, it is very important to seek a legal advice from Los Angeles Social Security Disability Attorneys who have an extensive background on handling such cases.

Two types of Social Security Programs

• Social Security Disability / Retirement Survivors Disability Insurance (SSD/RSDI) – this applies to people who have worked in the US for an extended period of time.

• Social Security Income (SSI) - this is for people who have no work record in the US.

By law, there are five basic kinds of social security disability benefits:

• Disability Insurance Benefits

Beneficiaries are those who have worked in the US for at least 10 years and have become disabled.

• Disabled Adult Child Benefits

The child must not be married and should be 18 years and older. Meanwhile, his/her disability should have started before the age of 22.

It is not necessarily that the child had previously worked since the benefit will be based on his/her parents’ earning records. In some cases, the child may even get Medicare assistance.

• SSI Child's Disability benefits

For those individuals who have become disabled before turning 18 years old, they can have SSI claims. Meanwhile, recipients should not be earning or working more than $980 a month (the amount may change every year).

The Social Security Administration (SSA) also considers the income of the child’s family. In case that the income is more than the SSA’s standard, the child will not get SSI payments.

SSA also limits the payment when a child is in medical facility and since the health insurance already pays for his/her needs.

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits

People are given cash handouts to buy foods, clothing, and other basic needs. The benefit is also to granted disabled, blind, old individuals who have little or no source of income.

• Disabled Widow's and Widower's Benefits

In case that a Social Security member dies, the benefits may be payable to his/her surviving spouse with disability as long as these requirements will be met:

• the surviving spouse is aged between 50 to 60 years old.

• the surviving spouse should meet the definition of adult disability according to SSA.

• the disability of the surviving spouse started before the death of the SSA member and up to seven years after his/her passing.