Social Security Disability FAQ
At Favorable Disability Advocates LLC, we’re continually updating our existing competencies in the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to make pertinent and important information accessible to our clients. Social Security typically makes annual policy changes to their disability program medical qualifications. It’s our duty as a non-attorney representation company to properly educate our claimants and ensuring their gratified due process. We’ll take time to listen to your pain points, patiently explain SSDI/SSI claim adjudication procedures, and provide useful information on your behalf.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal government program that pays monthly benefits to tax paying individuals who are unable to work due to a medical disability.
You are eligible for SSDI if you become disabled before the full retirement age of 65; paid enough social security taxes to be fully insured for a period incapacity, unable to do any substantial gainful activity (SGA) due to medical impairments that are expected to cause death or last for 12 calendar months.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is an income based federal assistance program for United States citizens who are age 65 or older, blind /disabled due to a medical impairment.
The amount of income you have is a significant determinate when the Social Security Administration (SSA) is deciding your eligibility and monthly entitlement amounts. Income can be categorized as anything you receive in dollar amount or in-kind that’s used to meet your basic needs for food/shelter. The following terminology is used to identify the different types of income associated with SSI:
- Earned Income – is wages of cash or in-kind, net earnings from self-employment, service payments of activity center, royalties of work and honoraria.
- Unearned Income – is typically all revenue this is not from work or self-employed related occupations. Unearned income is recognized as prior work pensions, divorce alimony payments, earning from personal property, death insurance benefits, investments, lottery revenue, and family inheritances.
- In-Kind Support and Maintenance – is any food or shelter that is given to you or obtained throughout another person’s own expense.
- Deemed Income – is proportions of your ineligible spouse, parent, sponsor of alien, and essential person’s income/resources; that is calculated equally for SSI monetary benefits and income qualifying limits.
SSDI child dependent payments are entitled on the earning record of a fully insured person who has a disability or died. These benefits are available to a child who is under the age of 18, 18 years old and had a medical disability before turning age 22, age 18 or older and qualify for monetary benefits as a fulltime student. Child monthly payments for SSDI are generally equal to one-half of the insured person’s primary insurance if there still living and three-fourths if they are deceased.
– SSI payments are available to disabled children under age 18, under age 22 and regularly attending school/college or vocational training for future job placement. However, disability conditions for children are somewhat different from adults. A child under the age of 18 must have a severe medical impairment or a combination of conditions that trigger marked/severe functional limitations causing death or expected to last for 12 months.
Almost anyone can complete an application for disability benefits online or in person at your local Social Security office. The timeframe it takes to fully understand SSDI/SSI separate qualifications, complex medical decision making claim procedures, Social Security’s administrative review process on initial claims, and applying this knowledge to real life situations can take years to accomplish.
At Favorable Disability Advocates, we are a team who takes full guardianship of your claim then allowing our clients to focus on their health and letting the professionals deal with SSA’s unfamiliar jargon.
Our fees for SSDI/SSI non-attorney representation services are sanctioned by the Social Security Administration – 25% of past due benefits with a cap of $6,000. There are no upfront fees for our services, meaning the wages we earned are contingent on a favorable entitlement decision.
Veterans Disability FAQ
At Favorable Disability Advocates, we recognize our most prominent responsibility as an organization is to represent disabled veterans throughout the State of Texas honorably. Just like all the services we provide; its our obligation to continuously learn and improve our proficiency in Veteran Affairs claim representation procedures, to make pertinent and important information accessible to our clients.
Appealing your eligibility of a VA benefit is very challenging and you should not approach this process on your own. Our VA claims agent is highly trained in assisting veterans and their dependents in the presentation, preparation, and prosecution of VA entitlement benefits. We routinely specialize in Compensation and Pension VA initial claim denials, increase of rating claims due to worsening or secondary medical conditions and superior knowledge of the appellate process on to the Board of Veteran Appeals.
– Compensation benefits payable for service-connected disabilities
– Pension benefits payable for nonservice-connected disabilities
Every claimant has the right to a written notice on a claim, the right to a hearing when disability benefits are terminated/reduced, and adequate time to obtain representation when initiating an appeal of their decision.
This can be done by submitting new and material evidence, that was not previously submitted to the VA and the new evidence must raise a realistic possibility of substantiating the claim.
The VA has a duty to assist claimants in the medical development of their disability application, if this medical evidence is not obtained then a claimant must be informed verbally or in writing.
A disability that has been continuously rated at or above any evaluation of disability for
20 or more years for pension/compensation will not be reduced unless the showing of fraud excess.
Our fees for VA compensation/pension non-attorney representation services are sanctioned by the Department of Veteran Affairs – 20% of past due benefits approving an appeal or increased rating decision. There are no upfront fees for our services, meaning the wages we earned are contingent on a favorable entitlement decision.
