Just approved for SSDI

Post Reply New Topic

Ironically, today, my therapist and I were discussing whether I could return to work when my short-term disability was scheduled to end on October 10th. We decided I wouldn't be able to.

I checked the mail this evening and find that I have been awarded SSDI, with a disability date of April 24, 2014 and benefits starting in October.

So what happens now?

Good for you!

You should start receiving a regular check, although there might be a few more procedural steps.

It's a good feeling for...a minute or so.

Then you realize you're probably going to be poor as hell (and I do mean poor) for the rest of your life due to your disability.

Better to eat and have a roof than not, though.

Depending on how many quarters of work history you have, you will receive a substantial deposit within the next few weeks. This is your back pay.

The last digit of your Social Security Account determines when your monthly disability check gets deposited in your bank. For example, if the last digit is 0, your disability check will be deposited on the 15th of the month.

You will be eligible for Medicare in 1 year.

They told me it goes by birth date, and that for me should be about the second Wednesday of each month.

I won't receive substantial back pay, because I was not entitled to receive benefits until October (though I won't receive the October benefit until November).

I read eligibility for Medicare is actually 2 years from the start date of benefits.

I had a shadow of this thought last night.

What I wonder is, What are the implications? Will my work's short-term disability continue to be paid out, because waiting until November for a payout would put a strain on my cash flow, though I suppose that is when I should start using my 401(k) money. There's also the issue of insurance. My state has not expanded Medicaid, so I do not appear to be covered by it. I have too much in my 401(k) account (which I've read counts) and my monthly SSDI income is too high to get SSI:

http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/page5-43.html

If I can't return to work and I lose my work benefits, I might want to seriously consider relocating to a state where Medicaid has been expanded.

In my state, if you don't qualify for SSI (because you have minimal/no credits paid in), you won't get Medicaid, especially with a 401K. The state wants you do spend down everything.

Be careful where you relocate. A single person with no kids is entitled to very little in many states.

I am so relieved you were approved. I know people who have received their first check a week after approval,some a full six months, For most about a month.
Also,someone pretty much said that you are pretty much doomed to a life of poverty. You can bring in as much as $1069 a month during the periods that you are doing well enough to produce income [not one penny more, and you should keep it under $700]

Having the stress of having to work in order to survive off,can make it a little easier to produce some income.

It's pretty disheartening to see everyone so heavily focused on the possible negative aspects of this.

The positives of this: Since you had a job where you were eligible for short term disability, I'm going to assume it was a full time job, which means your SSDI is actually a livable amount. That means with a halfway decent budgeting system, no you aren't actually "doomed to a life of poverty".

The plus is that if one is not actually working, there is less one needs to spend money on. [true] Given a time of reprieve- with decent budgeting with the back pay [because in theory you would be getting two months benefits for novemeber, so you could have a *little*stretch- but I'm still extremely surprised that you don't get any back pay if your onset day is prior to then], you may actually get to a point where you can try to get a job again. Another option, if you feel it is approrpiate at some point might be to get a part time job that could make a difference. If you are in the 5-7 year review bracket right out of the gate, it is going to be harder for you to lose your benefits. Also, you can always go right back on them- but you have a HUGE amount of time before you are completely taken off of them and you go through an expedited process even after that if you want to go back on.

The fact that you and your therapist were discussing whether you could work again certainly means it could be a possibility down the line. But it would be hard to say now, and it's better to just focus on what is going on now rather than "I'm going to be living in poverty" or "I'm going to get a job again".

In the meantime you could start exploring all of the following:
Energy assistance programs
Housing assistance [which can take a while but if you get approved it is totally worth it]
Assistance with navigating the medicare system because if you haven't done it before it can be kind of overwhelming. Depending on what kind of healthcare costs you have depends what kind of plan you want- a lot of people are very passionate about whether to get an Advantage plan or not, but the truth is that it can really depend on what you personally need.

You may be qualified for SNAP/EBT/Food Stamps even if you don't make the normal requirements because you are disabled- the income limits are different [higher] for those who are disabled [I should know]. However, as I said, you may not need them, and if you don't you wouldn't qualify.



Vocational rehabilitation and assistance programs [when you feel ready], medication assistance programs [from pharm companies] if you take medications.

You will likely need help with a lot of this if you want to pursue any of them so I would contact the Department of Mental Health- most of the time you can email, which is what i usually rely on.