Work history and disability benefits go hand in hand. How long you’ve worked, and in what capacity, plays an important part in any Social Security Disability (SSDI) claim. Here’s how the two issues relate.
How Work History Affects Disability Benefits
First, your work history helps the SSA establish you’re insured by SSDI in the first place.
SSDI is an insurance program you pay into with every paycheck. If you work for yourself, you pay into it with your quarterly taxes. As a result, when you apply for SSDI, you have to show how much you’ve paid into the insurance program.
Your work history also helps determine the degree of disability you have. You may think, “My back hurts so much I can’t get out of bed. How would my work history change that?”
Depending on the kind of work you do, certain injuries may affect your ability to earn an income more than others.
For example, if you work in construction, a toe injury could have a much more severe impact on your ability to work than it would for a typist. In fact, if you’re a typist, a toe injury might not have any significant impact on your day-to-day work. In general, the SSA tries to take those unique situations into account.
The SSA particularly considers the work you’ve done over the past 15 years. So don’t worry: they don’t necessarily assume that if you worked in construction 20 years ago, you could easily go back to that industry today. However, they might assume if you worked for a long time in a different industry that’s more disability-friendly, you might be able to return to that industry now.
Help With Your Disability Appeal
As you can probably tell, work history and disability benefits are just one of the ways SSDI can be complicated.
While each individual situation is different, the SSA is often overworked. As a result, they’re quick to deny a claim if they find any holes in the application. In fact, they reject the majority of applications.
If your claim is denied, you have 60 days to appeal.
To get started, you should really talk with a qualified SSDI attorney. They can help you prepare the best case possible so you’re not denied a second time on benefits you need.
For decades, our Memphis SSDI lawyers have helped hundreds of people get the benefits they need and deserve. Contact us online using the form below, or give us a call at 901-327-1212.