Early Retirement or Social Security Disability?

What's the Right Plan For You?

Should I Apply for Early Retirement or Social Security Disability?

If you are having health problems and work is becoming more difficult, reaching full retirement age may not be a viable option for you. However, if accept early Social Security, you will receive only a portion of your full retirement benefits. You could be missing out on hundreds of dollars per month.

Early retirement isn’t your only option. You may qualify for Social Security Disability.

Social Security’s definition of disability is an: Inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity($1,550 per month for 2024) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.

If you can qualify for Social Security Disability, then you could still receive 100% of your retirement benefits at full retirement age. Filing for, and receiving, Social Security Disability preserves your retirement benefits.

If you truly cannot work any longer, qualifying for Disability wouldn’t be a long-shot. Moreover, you’ve been working, and paying for it your whole life, why not let it work for you.

Social Security Disability Evaluation

Step 1: Substantial Gainful Activity

The Social Security Administration (SSA) determines if you are working above Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). SGA is a monthly dollar amount established by SSA to determine if your condition(s) is impacting your ability to financially provide for yourself. The SGA amount changes annually. For 2024, the SGA limit is $1,550 / month. The amount is $2,590 if you are blind.

If your monthly income is below the SGA limit, your claim proceeds to the next step.

Step 2: Medical Severity

SSA identifies whether a medical condition (or combination of conditions) is severe. An individual must have medically determinable impairments that are severe and meet the duration requirement.

Severity is determined on whether or not the impairments, which can be physical or mental, interfere with basic work-related activities.

Duration, for SSA, means the conditions must be expected to last 12 months or end in death.

If the impairments are severe, your claim moves to step 3.

Step 3: Listings

SSA determines whether a person's conditions meet any of their Listings. The Listings are a list of medical conditions with criteria that must be present in order to be found disabled. (See the SSA Blue Book which contains the Listings and more details.)

If your impairments do not meet, or equal, any of the criteria in the Listings, then SSA will proceed to the next step of the evaluation.

Step 4: Past Relevant Work

Past Relevant Work (PRW) is the step where SSA determines whether someone can still do their past work. SSA considers whether you have the physical and/or mental capacity to perform any of your PRW done in the last 15 years. If it is determined you are capable of doing any PRW, SSA will determine that you are not disabled.

If you cannot do PRW, the claim proceeds to step 5.

Step 5: Residual Functional Capacity

Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) is the most one can do despite their impairments. In this final step, SSA considers your age, education and past work experience to determine your capability to work a different job. If SSA determines someone is capable of working a different job, given their age and work experience and education, then SSA will find them not to be disabled.

If it is determined that an individual is incapable of working in another job, he/she will be found disabled.

Conclusion:

ALL OF THE DETAILS REFERENCED ABOVE CAN BE FOUND AT SSA.GOV

Substantial Gainful Activity

Monthly Income Numbers

Year Blind Not Blind

______________________

2024 2,590 1,550

2023 2,460 1,470

2022 2,260 1,350

2021 2,190 1,310

2020 2,110 1,260

2019 2,040 1,220

2018 1,970 1,180

2017 1,950 1,170

2016 1,820 1,130

2015 1,820 1,090

Advanced Disability Overview

Social Security Disability:

Social Security's two primary disability programs for individuals who are, or become, disabled are Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Advanced Disability Solutions has vast experience in representing individuals for both of these.

Similarities:

SSDI and SSI both require proof of an individual’s inability to sustain Full-Time work activity. Moreover, the disability(s) would have to last, or be expected to last, a full 12 months.

Differences:

SSDI requires that the individual has worked and paid into Social Security via FICA for a prescribed period of time. On a very basic level, one must have worked 5 out of the last 10 years. Benefits are based on your earnings.

SSI does not have a durational work requirement. Rather, this program looks at income and resources. In order to qualify for SSI, you cannot have assets over $2,000 or substantial income. The maximum monthly SSI payment for 2024 is $943 for an individual and $1,415 for a couple. Your amount may be lower based on your income, certain family members’ income, your living situation, and other factors.

Filing for Disability with Social Security:

The Social Security Administration has various stages of application: Initial claim, Reconsideration, Hearing with a Judge, and Appeals Council.

The process can be time consuming and frustrating as denials are frequent. In total, it can take anywhere from a year to several years to finally win your benefits.

Why involve a Representative?:

An experienced representative like Advanced Disability Solutions can guide you through the process, increase your statistical chances of securing an award, and assist you with the administrative work required to document your disability.

Compassionate Allowances

Compassionate Allowances are a way to quickly identify diseases and other medical conditions that, by definition, meet Social Security's standards for disability benefits. These conditions primarily include certain cancers, adult brain disorders, and a number of rare disorders that affect children. The CAL initiative helps us reduce waiting time to reach a disability determination for individuals with the most serious disabilities.

The Compassionate Allowances program identifies claims where the applicant’s disease or condition clearly meets Social Security’s statutory standard for disability. By incorporating cutting-edge technology, the agency can easily identify potential Compassionate Allowances to quickly make decisions.

Social Security Administration (SSA) uses the same rules to evaluate CAL conditions when evaluating both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.

Additional information can be found at SSA.gov

For more information click the link below (this link was applied 6-19-19)

SSA listing of CAL

Property tax exemption for disabled veterans

Many states offer property tax exemptions for disabled veterans, however each state and each veterans situation is different.

- exemptions can include, veterans, disabled veterans and those over 65

- not every homeowner or veteran will qualify

- exemptions may vary by county or state

- exemptions may require annual renewal

The rest of the article can be found by clicking on the action button below which will also show a complete list of the tax breaks offered by each state!

Find out more here