Those who are no longer able to work or earn a basic income due to a disability could be eligible for disability benefits. Programs like Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are designed to replace lost income from a disability. To qualify for this program, you must have earned enough work credits. Talk to a Philadelphia individual disability insurance attorney to find out what other requirements are involved with this process.

Basics of Disability Benefits Work Credits

To be considered for the SSDI disability benefits program, a person must have enough work credits. The way disability benefits work credits function is they help fund the SSDI program. Work credits are portions of past income that were paid into Social Security from past jobs.

This means the more work experience you have with jobs that paid into Social Security, the more work credits you have. Having more work credits increases your chances of receiving disability benefits under SSDI. To give you an idea of how fast work credits build up, people can earn up to four work credits a year.

However, the real challenge is keeping up with the annual changes to how many earnings count toward a work credit. This varies each year so you may need to earn more income to earn a work credit one year compared to past years. The unfortunate reality is that earning extra work credits does not add to the disability benefits you could receive.

What does determine the total amount of monthly disability benefits you could receive is your average past income. The amount of monthly income you made before will be used to calculate your monthly payments. Lastly, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may have you undergo a recent work test and duration work test to determine your work credits.

Other Eligibility Requirements for SSDI

In total, you will need about 40 work credits to be considered for SSDI. However, this depends on age and younger workers may still qualify for SSDI with fewer work credits. Try contacting a Philadelphia disability lawyer to learn more about how this works and what your options are.

Work credits are not the only requirements you will need to meet to be considered for SSDI. Other disability benefits eligibility requirements include:

·      Meeting the definition of a disability

·      The disability is expected to last one year or a premature death

·      Medical evidence of the disability

·      The disability significantly impairs or prevents work performance

·      Attempts at working other jobs have failed

In other words, your disability must be deemed severe enough to prevent you from earning enough income to live. This may involve consultative examinations, calculating substantial gainful activity, and assessing your daily impairments. The more you can cooperate with the SSA, the better your chances are of receiving benefits.

Disability Attorney in Philadelphia

You may not have to give up if your disability benefits application was rejected. Consider asking a Philadelphia denied benefits appeal lawyer about what steps you can take to increase your chances of receiving disability benefits. Call Edelstein Martin & Nelson today at (800) 300-0909 for a consultation about your disability claim. Our team of lawyers can help you obtain the disability benefits you need.