Tim Yousif has been helping and representing individuals who have become disabled or injured since 2002. With offices in Macomb, Wayne, and Kent counties we have represented individuals throughout the State of Michigan.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers four principal types of disability benefits, provided via two different federal programs: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
SSDI (also sometimes called SSD), is designed to provide monthly financial assistance and health care benefits to people who have become disabled and are, as a consequence, unable to work. It is financed by Social Security taxes.
If you are unable to work as a result of disability – whether physical or mental – and your disability either prevents, or is expected to prevent, you from working for at least one year, you may qualify to receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.
There are a wide variety of impairments that might qualify you for benefits. Of course, a number of rules apply, and the SSA requires that an applicant must meet several specific criteria in order to be eligible.
Broadly speaking, though, if you are unable to do the work you used to do, have paid into Social Security, and your disability prevents you from working a different job, then you may be eligible to apply for SSDI.
As already noted, there are a number of requirements that must be met before the SSA will grant disability benefits under SSDI.
The first of these is that you must have worked in a job that was covered by, and paid into, Social Security.
Second, you need to have worked and paid into Social Security for a minimum number of years. This minimum number depends upon the age at which you became disabled. For example, if your disability occurred before you were 28 years old, you generally need to have worked for at least 18 months before becoming disabled. If, your disability occurred when you were 54, you generally need to have worked for at least 8 years.
Third, your disability must have lasted, or is expected to last, for at least one year or to result in death.
Once these basic criteria are met, the SSA then works through a step-by-step process that considers 5 specific questions in order to determine whether an applicant is eligible to receive Social Security disability benefits. They are:
The SSA evaluates all applications based on these 5 questions in order to determine your eligibility to receive monthly income and healthcare benefits.
Do you want to know more? Contact TJY Law today at 844-773-7427.
SSDI (also sometimes called SSD) Benefits for Adult Children are designed to provide monthly financial assistance and health care benefits to people who have become disabled before the age of 22, and who, because of their age, have not been able to accrue the necessary work and Social Security payments records that would qualify them for regular SSDI.
In this situation, a disabled adult child may be able to qualify for SSDI benefits by reference to his or her parents’ work and Social Security payments records.
The SSA evaluates eligibility based on the following criteria:
If, as a parent, you have not yet begun to receive your Social Security income but have a disabled child who may in the future qualify for SSDI for Adult Children, there are steps you can take now to secure your child’s potential future benefits.
Do you want to know more? Contact TJY Law today at 844-773-7427.
SSI is designed to provide financial assistance to disabled adults who have limited assets and income, but who do not have sufficient Social Security work credits to qualify for SSDI.
SSI benefits are also available to people who do not have disabilities and are aged 65 and older.
Unlike SSDI, eligibility for SSI is based solely upon your financial need for assistance – not upon your work history.
If you are eligible for, and successful in your application for, SSI, you can currently expect to receive $773 per month as a single individual, or $1,100 as a couple. In Michigan, if you qualify for SSI you can also expect to receive an additional payment of $42 every 3 months. In addition, you will also qualify to receive Medicaid and potentially benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly known as Food Stamps.
In order to be deemed eligible for SSI, you must be:
Currently, in order to be deemed eligible for SSI, a single individual must have less than $2,000 in financial assets, or less than $3,000 for a couple.
The SSA counts financial assets as your money in bank accounts, cash, stocks and bonds, real estate (excluding the home you live in), and life insurance policies with a face value of more than $1,500. The value of your car is usually excluded, as are the value of any burial plots you may own for you or your family, and any burial funds you may own for you and your spouse up to $1,500 each.
The SSA counts income as including wages, existing Social Security benefits, pensions, and food and shelter you may be receiving.
The amount of income that you can receive each month varies slightly from state to state. In most case it is currently capped at $735 per month for a single individual, and $1,103 per month for a couple. If you already receive financial assistance for paying for food and shelter, these thresholds drop to $490 per month for a single individual, and $735.33 for a couple. If you live in a medical facility, they are $37 for a single individual, and $60 for a couple.
However, in some states, including Michigan, these income thresholds are adjusted slightly to reflect the higher cost of living.
Also, the SSA recognizes a difference between earned income (money you get from work) and unearned income (money you get from e.g. SSDI payments, workers’ compensation, VA benefits, or any income from investments).
The way the SSA computes your total income is complicated but, as a rule of thumb, only around 50% of your earned income counts towards what the SSA considers to be your total income. However, almost all of you unearned income counts towards what the SSA considers to be your total income.
The bottom line is that if your total income, including the adjusted earned and unearned income, is less than the maximum cap thresholds, then you may well be eligible for SSI benefits.
Do you want to know more? Contact TJY Law today at 844-773-7427.
SSI for Children is designed to provide financial assistance to disabled children who meet the SSA’s medical and financial need criteria.
In order to meet the medical criteria, your child must be under the age of 18, and have a disability that either has lasted, or is expected to last, for at least one year, or has a functional limitation that qualifies under the SSA’s guidelines as “marked and severe.”
In addition, you, as parents, must meet certain financial income criteria. Specifically, you must, as a single parent, be earning less than $36,000 per year, or, if you are a couple, be earning less than $44,000 per year.
Generally speaking, though, if you and/or your family are already receiving Social Security benefits such as Medicaid or benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly known as Food Stamps – the financial requirements are usually met.
Do you want to know more? Contact TJY Law today at 844-773-7427.
Tim Yousif has been helping and representing individuals who have become disabled or injured since 2002. With offices in Macomb, Wayne, and Kent counties we have represented individuals throughout the State of Michigan.
