Many New Jerseyans pride themselves on their work ethic and ability to support themselves. But sometimes life throws a wrench in the best laid of plans. Sometimes life throws a mental or physical condition into a person’s path. When that condition prevents a person from working full time, they can get help from the Social Security Administration.
The SSA provides two kinds of benefits: Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance. SSI goes to children, the blind or with low incomes. SSDI helps people who paid into the Social Security system through deductions taken from their paychecks over the years.
To obtain those benefits generally starts by being found as disabled. For purposes of SSI and SSDI, disability means that a person has a condition which does not allow them to work full time and earn a certain monthly income. It also requires that the disability has either lasted for 12 straight months or is expected to result in death.
To see whether a specific condition qualifies, readers can check out the SSA’s website. The agency maintains a list of qualifying medical conditions. The list often called the “blue book.” Among that list include common conditions like anxiety, autism, depression, Parkinson’s disease, hearing or vision loss and chronic coronary disease.
New Jerseyans who have a qualifying condition can apply in several ways: online, in person or over the phone. Before applying, have all the necessary documents on hand. Those will normally include income-tax statements, the dates of therapy sessions and medical procedures and the names of any medical prescriptions being taken.
To learn more about obtaining SSDI benefits, New Jerseyans may benefit from discussing their case with an experienced disability attorney.
