For adults born between 1943 and 1954, the full retirement age is 66. It increases to 66 plus a number of months for adults born between 1955 and 1960. After that, you have to be 67. You can claim retirement benefits after the age of 62 if you’d like to get them early, but you get a smaller amount of money. How can an SSDI Attorney help your dad?
Here’s the problem. Your dad is still years from his 62nd birthday. He needs to stop working, but he cannot afford to live off the money he’s saved up. What is he supposed to do? It’s time to learn more about two benefits offered by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Learn About Social Security Disability Insurance
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a benefit offered to Americans who can no longer work due to a disability. As long as he meets the criteria, he’ll qualify for a monthly benefit that helps him pay his mortgage or rent and other bills. The key is that he must qualify.
SSDI requires your dad to have worked a certain number of years, including his recent work history and paying into the Social Security system. He needs to have a qualifying disability. If he hasn’t worked in a while, he’s unlikely to qualify.
To apply for SSDI, your dad needs to be prepared to share a lot of information, starting with his medical records and employment information. The SSA is going to carefully go over his health issues, the reason for needing the benefit, and whether he meets the criteria. It can take months for the application process, but some health conditions expedite it.
Why Can’t He Work?
Has a doctor diagnosed your dad with a debilitating health issue that impacts his ability to work? If it’s on the list of conditions accepted through Compassionate Allowance guidelines, talk to an SSDI attorney.
Compassionate Allowance conditions include:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease)
- Aphasia (Primary Progressive)
- Certain cancers
- Early-onset Alzheimer’s
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Huntington disease
- Lewy body dementia
- Parkinson’s disease
SSA keeps a full list of qualifying conditions. You can also reach out to an SSDI attorney to see if your dad’s health condition qualifies him for SSDI benefits. An attorney can also help him with the application process.
What If He Doesn’t Meet the Criteria for SSDI?
What if your dad hasn’t worked enough years to qualify for SSDI? He might qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is available for adults with disabilities that don’t have enough hours working and paying Social Security taxes.
With SSI, strict guidelines on assets and income are in place. Your dad cannot earn more than his state allows or have more than a certain amount in assets like savings and checking accounts, excluding his house and car. Call to schedule a consultation with an SSI attorney to see if your dad meets these financial restrictions.
The Law Office of James Dolenga offers Elder Law Attorney, Estate Planning, SSDI, and an SSDI Attorney in Long Beach, CA.
Call today for your legal consultation. (866) 772-5299
Sources:
https://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm
Attorney Dolenga has successfully guided thousands of severely disabled clients in presenting their claims before the Social Security Administrations administrative law judges and numerous Federal district courts across the country. As a result of these efforts, his clients have been provided with the resources needed to support themselves and their families.
Through this work, Attorney Dolenga also sees first-hand the catastrophic effects a severe, and often sudden, medical diagnosis or death can have on a family emotionally and financially. This allows him to fully understand how critically important advanced planning can be. Whether in drafting a simple will to protect an individual or a couple and their home and bank account or drafting more complex documents, he understands how important this planning can be to the lives of his clients and their families.
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