• For an ADULT (18+ years old), your 1+ physical and/or mental condition(s) must significantly limit your ability to perform basic work-related activities—lifting, remembering, sitting, standing and/or walking—for 12+ consecutive months. If your condition(s) does NOT prevent you from performing basic work-related activities for 12+ consecutive months, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will find that you do NOT have 1+ qualifying disability(s).
• For a MINOR (Newborn to 17 years old), you must have 1+ physical and/or mental condition(s) that seriously limits your activities, AND your condition(s) must be expected to last for 12+ consecutive months or result in death.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers 2 types of Disability Assistance:
• Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), otherwise known as Title II,
AND
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI), otherwise known as Title XVI.
Sometimes you can receive BOTH SSDI and SSI. Qualifying for both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is called receiving ‘Concurrent Benefits,’ which can occur if your SSDI monthly amount is less than the current SSI monthly amount (for example, in 2024 SSI is $943/month). You do NOT need to do anything special in order to apply for Concurrent Benefits, which can be applied for at the same time through the Social Security Administration (SSA). Whether you are applying in-person, online or by telephone for SSDI and/or SSI, the SSA will review your income, work history and assets, and then determine whether you are eligible for SSDI, SSI or both.
Every Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim is different and can be won or lost due to a variety of factors, however successful SSDI and/or SSI claims, for both adults (18+ year olds) and for minors (Newborn to 17 year olds), usually have the following traits in common:
• Helpful medical records for you. A set of medical records that demonstrate steady treatment for your disabling condition(s) for at least the previous 5 years leading up to your Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing—this is the # 1, most important factor of any successful SSDI and/or SSI claim.
• Your demonstrated consistent compliance with medical treatment. It is vital that your medical records show your compliance with all prescribed treatment as well as portraying few, or preferably not any, documented refusal(s) by you for following medical advice, such as your failure to take medications as prescribed by your doctor(s)—the Social Security Administration (SSA) wants to see that you are doing everything possible to improve your condition(s).
• No Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) work income earned by you after your Disability Alleged Onset Date (AOD). Regardless of how severe your disabling condition(s) is currently or may have been in the past, it will not matter if your work records demonstrate that you are consistently earning SGA income after your Disability AOD, the date that you claim you became disabled.
• No drug or excessive alcohol usage, and/or other ‘negative’ behavior, that is documented in your records. The absence in your records of any drug (including marijuana) or alcohol use that contributes to your disability(s), as well as the absence of any mention of other ‘negative’ behavior by you that otherwise contributes to your disability(s), such as long-term or continuous smoking while you are simultaneously claiming Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or other respiratory issues as your disability(s), are all necessary for the credibility of your SSDI and/or SSI claim.
• Your keeping an open mind. Your willingness to listen to your attorney, discuss matters calmly and possibly compromise when it is beneficial for your SSDI and/or SSI claim are all important. At best, statistically you have approximately only a 57% chance of winning your SSDI and/or SSI claim at your ALJ hearing, which may require that you forego claiming some months of potential backpay in order to secure receiving multiple years of SSDI and/or SSI benefits going forward—if your attorney decides that winning your entire SSDI and/or SSI claim is not realistic, they may likely desire to make a bargain (with your prior approval) with your ALJ (judge) rather than risk losing your entire SSDI and/or SSI claim; it is your responsibility to at least consider your attorney’s advice before immediately telling them “no.”
• Your ongoing honesty. Your commitments to always tell the truth and to not lie or exaggerate are critical to better ensuring that your ALJ hearing testimony will remain consistent with your work history and your medical records, which your attorney should review with you prior to your ALJ hearing. Aside from your legal obligation to answer all questions honestly by being sworn under oath at your ALJ hearing, your ALJ will also more likely deny your SSDI and/or SSI claim if they hear you repeatedly make false or exaggerated statements (even on minor issues), or especially if you are discovered to lie about even just 1 important component to your SSDI and/or SSI claim—your ALJ will likely ask you questions that can be proven or disproven by information in your medical records, especially about prior drug or alcohol use, so it advisable to tell the truth rather than risk being caught in a lie.
In theory, you can submit any type of evidence to support your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim, however in reality the following types of evidence are given the MOST consideration for your SSDI and/or SSI claim:
• Federal Government and Social Security Administration (SSA) records, such as past work chronologies or Consultative Examination (CE) reports—this evidence is usually given the very most consideration for your SSDI and/or SSI claim.
• Medical, school and/or work records that are NO OLDER than 5 years prior to your Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing date; it is highly unlikely that any records from over 5 years prior to your ALJ hearing date will be given much consideration.
• Your own verbal testimony if you are an adult (18+ years old) and are appearing at an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing; the optional hearing testimonies of your friends and/or family members are useful only if those friends and/or family members can offer information about your disabling condition(s) that you cannot, which is typically not the case unless you are unable to effectively communicate on your own or you are a minor (Newborn to 17 years old) whose parent/guardian will testify on your behalf.
• Your parent/guardian’s verbal testimony if you are a minor (Newborn to 17 years old) who are appearing at an ALJ hearing on your behalf.
*Letters attesting to your disability(s) that are written by yourself, your friends and/or your family can be submitted for consideration, however letters or reports from 3rd parties who interact with you on a professional basis, such as treating doctors, teachers and/or employers, will be given much greater consideration*
In theory, you can submit any type of evidence to support your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim, however in reality the following types of evidence are given the MOST consideration for your SSDI and/or SSI claim:
• Federal Government and Social Security Administration (SSA) records, such as past work chronologies or Consultative Examination (CE) reports—this evidence is usually given the very most consideration for your SSDI and/or SSI claim.
• Medical, school and/or work records that are NO OLDER than 5 years prior to your Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing date; it is highly unlikely that any records from over 5 years prior to your ALJ hearing date will be given much consideration.
• Your own verbal testimony if you are an adult (18+ years old) and are appearing at an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing; the optional hearing testimonies of your friends and/or family members are useful only if those friends and/or family members can offer information about your disabling condition(s) that you cannot, which is typically not the case unless you are unable to effectively communicate on your own or you are a minor (Newborn to 17 years old) whose parent/guardian will testify on your behalf.
• Your parent/guardian’s verbal testimony if you are a minor (Newborn to 17 years old) who are appearing at an ALJ hearing on your behalf.
*Letters attesting to your disability(s) that are written by yourself, your friends and/or your family can be submitted for consideration, however letters or reports from 3rd parties who interact with you on a professional basis, such as treating doctors, teachers and/or employers, will be given much greater consideration*
Probably not. Having a diagnosis of even a life-threatening disease or condition(s), such as Cancer or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), will definitely support your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim, however the diagnosis must be supplemented by treatment notes and/or medical opinion(s) which also demonstrate your difficulty to function despite your attempting everything possible to improve your diagnosed disease and/or condition(s). For example, if your medical records show that your functionality and/or overall health are stable or are even improving despite your Cancer or HIV diagnosis—which may be due to helpful medication(s) and/or the beneficial treatment(s) you are receiving—you would likely NOT be eligible for SSDI and/or SSI based on having these diseases or conditions alone UNLESS you can make a convincing case that you are still experiencing great difficulty because of your diagnosed disease and/or condition(s) despite any improvement(s) that you may appear to be experiencing.
Additionally, your SSDI and/or SSI claim will likely NOT succeed, regardless of the severity of your disabiling condition(s), if you are consisently working and earning Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) after your Disability Alleged Onset Date (AOD).
Unfortunately, for most people it takes approximately 3 years to receive a favorable decision from the time a completed Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim application is first submitted to the Social Security Administration (SSA), and usually a favorable decision will occur at the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing stage, the 2nd level of the Disability Appeals process.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits both take approximately 60 Days to begin payment from the date of your favorable decision. If you are a partial or a full SSI recipient (not SSDI), you must also attend a Pre-Effectuation Review Contact (PERC) interview, which is a low-key discussion (usually over the telephone) with the Social Security Administration (SSA) about your assets and your finances—your PERC interview will occur approximately 1 month after your favorable SSI decision Notice date and approximately 1 month before your SSI payments begin. You do NOT need an attorney present for your PERC interview.
If, after 60 days following your receipt of the favorable decision for your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim you have NOT received either a telephone call or a 2nd letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA) informing you when your SSDI and/or SSI payments will begin, it is advisable for you to either call any SSA branch in the United States or visit your local SSA branch with a copy of your favorable decision to inform the SSA that your SSDI and/or SSI claim was decided favorably and that you would like to have your payments set up.
While it is EXTREMELY RARE for the SSA to fail in notifying you of your SSDI and/or SSI payment schedule for more than 60 days following your receipt of your favorable decision, it is nevertheless possible since the SSA is frequently backlogged with many other SSDI and/or SSI claims, which is why it is advisable to wait for 60 days following your receipt of your favorable decision for a 2nd notification regarding your SSDI and/or SSI payments before contacting the SSA to set up your payments.
Additionally, once your SSDI and/or SSI claim has been favorably decided, your SSDI and/or SSI payment schedule will be managed entirely by the SSA, which unfortunately means that neither Nunn Disability Law or any other law firm can direct the SSDI and/or SSI payment process to move faster—this is a matter that is best handled between you (the claimant) and the SSA.
If you disagree with your ongoing monthly benefit amount and/or your backpay amount from your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), it is advisable to take the following steps:
Step 1: For your SSDI and/or SSI ongoing monthly benefit amount, review your Social Security Administration (SSA) Award Notice, which will give a breakdown of which type(s) of ongoing benefit you are receiving—SSDI (Title II), SSI (Title XVI) or both (Concurrent Benefits)—and what the monthly amount will be for your designated ongoing benefit type. An SSDI ongoing monthly benefit will typically be a larger amount than an SSI ongoing monthly benefit so it is important to verify which type(s) of benefit you are receiving when considering your ongoing monthly benefit amount.
Step 2: For your SSDI and/or SSI backpay amount, in addition to reading your SSA Award Notice, it is advisable to also look at the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) (judge) hearing decision that will state on the 1st Page whether you are eligible for SSDI, SSI or both—if you are receiving partial or full SSDI, your SSDI backpay will retroactively go to the date that the ALJ found you disabled (usually your Disability Alleged Onset Date (AOD)), which can be found on the ALJ hearing decision’s last page; if you are receiving partial or full SSI, your SSI backpay will retroactively go to the month after either your claim’s most recent filing date or, if applicable, your Protective Filing Date (PFD), which can both be found on the ALJ hearing decision’s 1st and last pages; and if you are receiving Concurrent Benefits, it would be helpful to also look on the ALJ hearing decision’s 1st and last pages. Knowing whether you are receiving SSDI, SSI or both, as well as knowing your claim’s most recent filing date, your Disability AOD and/or your PFD (if applicable) will all help clarify the amount of backpay you should receive. Since SSDI backpay usually goes further retroactively in time than SSI backpay, an SSDI backpay amount will typically be larger than an SSI backpay amount.
Step 3: If you still are uncertain about your SSDI and/or SSI ongoing monthly benefit amount and/or your backpay amount, it is advisable to contact any SSA branch in the United States to make either an in-person or a telephone appointment to discuss your SSDI and/or SSI. Once your SSDI and/or SSI claim has been favorably decided, your benefits will be managed entirely by the SSA, which unfortunately means that neither Nunn Disability Law or any other law firm can change your SSDI and/or SSI ongoing monthly benefit amount and/or your backpay amount for you—this is a matter that is best handled between you (the claimant) and the SSA.
Not necessarily. The Social Security Administration (SSA) performs an eligibility reevaluation for every Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient approximately every 3 years, also known as a ‘Continuing Disability Review’ (CDR). Because CDRs evaluate whether your qualifying disability(s) has improved or not, it is vital to continue receiving regular medical evaluation and treatment of your condition(s) in order to be able to provide medical proof to the SSA. CDRs most commonly occur when a minor (Newborn to 17 years old) receiving SSI turns 18 years old or when an SSDI and/or SSI recipient of any age is discovered to be earning Substantial Gainful Activity or more through work income.
If a CDR suspends or terminates your SSDI and/or SSI, you must appeal within 10 days (plus an additional 5 days for mailing) of the SSA’s Termination Notice date if you would like to continue receiving SSDI and/or SSI during your appeal by completing an SSA FORM 795.
For both adults (18+ year olds) and for minors (Newborn to 17 year olds), common examples of disabling PHYSICAL conditions can include, but are NOT limited to:
• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Brain tumors
• Cancer (most types)
• Cardiovascular (heart) disorders
• Coma or persistent vegetative state
• Congenital (multi-body part) disorders
• Digestive (intestine, liver, pancreas, stomach) disorders
• Downs Syndrome
• Epilepsy (seizures)
• Hearing (deafness) disorders
• Hematological (bone marrow, sickle cell anemia) disorders
• Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV)
• Kidney disorders
• Lupus
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Musculoskeletal (joint, spine/back) disorders
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Peripheral Neuropathy
• Pituitary gland disorders
• Respiratory (breathing) disorders
• Skin disorders
• Thyroid gland disorders
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Vision (blindness) disorders
For both adults (18+ year olds) and for minors (Newborn to 17 year olds), common examples of disabling MENTAL conditions can include, but are NOT limited to:
• Anxiety disorders
• Autism
• Bipolar disorders
• Depressive disorders
• Eating disorders
• Impulsive-Control disorders
• Intellectual disorders
• Neurocognitive disorders
• Neurodevelopment (difficulty paying attention and hyperactivity) disorders
• Obsessive-Compulsive disorders
• Paranoia disorders
• Personality and impulse-control disorders
• Schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders
• Trauma and stressor-related disorders
For an adult (18+ years old), qualifying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) use the same standard of review, a 5-Step Sequential Evaluation:
STEP 1: Are you currently, or have you been recently, working and earning income that is at least Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA), the monthly work earnings amount set by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that adjusts every 1-2 years for inflation?
If yes, you do not qualify for SSDI and/or SSI. If no, Step 2 of the Sequential Evaluation is addressed.
STEP 2: Do you have 1+ ‘severe’ condition(s) (mental and/or physical) that limits your basic work activities (i.e. lifting, standing, walking) and which has lasted, or can be expected to last, for 12+ consecutive months?
If yes, Step 3 of the Sequential Evaluation is addressed. If no, you do not qualify for SSDI and/or SSI.
STEP 3: Does your mental and/or physical condition(s) meet or equal 1+ Adult Medical Listing(s)?
If yes, you do qualify for SSDI and/or SSI, AND you have won your SSDI and/or SSI claim. If no, Step 4 of the Sequential Evaluation is addressed.
STEP 4: Can you return to your Past Relevant Work (PRW), which is prior employment that:
• Was performed within 5 years prior to your Disability’s Alleged Onset Date (AOD) and up to the present, AND
• Lasted long enough for you to learn to perform the position(s) properly, AND
• Qualified as SGA.
If yes, you do not qualify for SSDI and/or SSI, AND you must appeal if you would like to further pursue your SSDI and/or SSI claim. If no, Step 5 of the Sequential Evaluation is addressed.
STEP 5: Can you perform any other type of work in the National Economy that accounts for your age, educational level, mental and/or physical capabilities?
If yes, you do not qualify for SSDI and/or SSI, AND you must appeal if you would like to further pursue your SSDI and/or SSI claim. If no, you do qualify for SSDI and/or SSI, AND you have won your SSDI and/or SSI claim.
As a minor (Newborn to 17 years old), you are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) but not for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) because you do not have the work credits required to qualify for SSDI.
Qualifying for SSI as a minor uses a 3-Step Sequential Evaluation:
STEP 1: Do you have 1+ physical and/or mental condition(s) that seriously limits your activities, AND which can be expected to last for 12+ consecutive months or result in death?
If yes, Step 2 of the Sequential Evaluation is addressed. If no, you do not qualify for SSI.
STEP 2: Does your mental and/or physical condition(s) meet or equal 1+ Minor Medical Listing(s)?
If yes, you do qualify for SSI and you have won your SSI claim. If no, Step 3 of the Sequential Evaluation is addressed.
STEP 3: Does your Residual Function Capacity (RFC) have 2+ ‘Marked’ limitations and/or 1+ ‘Extreme’ limitation(s) in the 6 Childhood Functional Domains?
If yes, you do qualify for SSI and you have won your SSI claim. If no, you do not qualify for SSI and you must appeal if you would like to further pursue your SSI claim.
For an adult (18+ years old), proving that your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC), or your capacity to perform work that is based on your physical and/or mental condition(s), is sufficiently diminished is the 2nd of 3 ways to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—when an adult’s RFC is concluded to be sufficiently eroded based on their age, education and work history, Steps 4 and 5 of the Adult Sequential Evaluation will be satisfied, thus finding eligibility for SSDI and/or SSI if:
a. Your Disability Alleged Onset Date (AOD) is when you are 18-49 years old,
• Your RFC prevents you from being able to perform your Past Relevant Work (PRW), AND
• Your RFC prevents you from being able to perform ALL other work, including Sedentary (mostly sitting as well as lifting no more than 10 lbs. frequently and 10 lbs. occasionally) work and heavier on a fulltime (40+ hours per week) basis.
b. Your Disability AOD is when you are 50-54 years old,
• Your PRW is categorized as ‘unskilled’ or ‘none,’ AND/OR you are determined to have no transferrable work skills, AND
• Your RFC prevents you from performing your PRW, AND
• Your RFC limits you to performing only other Sedentary work or less on a fulltime basis.
c. Your Disability AOD is when you are 55+ years old,
• Your PRW is categorized as ‘unskilled’ or ‘none,’ AND/OR you are determined to have no transferrable work skills, AND
• Your RFC prevents you from performing your PRW, AND
• Your RFC limits you to performing only other Light (sitting and standing as well as lifting no more than 10 lbs. frequently and 20 lbs. occasionally) work, Sedentary work or less on a fulltime basis.
