The Social Security Administration provides various benefits to people who have become disabled and unable to work to their full capacity before reaching what the government considers “retirement age.” The program most commonly utilized by individuals who have spent several years in the workforce but then become disabled is Social Security Disability Insurance, generally referred to by its shorthand acronym of “SSDI.”
Even if you meet all the criteria necessary to qualify for SSDI benefits, it can be deceptively difficult to prove to the Social Security Administration (SSA) that you should receive those benefits, as any experienced Social Security attorney could tell you. No matter how long you have been disabled or what circumstances have led to you seeking this type of assistance, guidance from a Summerlin Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) lawyer at Shook & Stone could be vital to ensuring your benefits application has a favorable final result.
There are two main criteria that someone seeking Social Security Disability Insurance benefits in Summerlin, Rhodes Ranch, Sovana, or anywhere else in Nevada must meet to qualify to receive those benefits. First, they must be “disabled” in the eyes of the Social Security Administration, and second, they must have met or exceeded the minimum work credit requirements set by the SSA for SSDI recipients.
In brief, the SSA defines a “disability” for the purposes of SSDI as a severe medical condition that substantially limits the impacted person’s ability to do any kind of work or work-related activity and which is either:
The SSA provides a list of impairments on its website, which all are considered “disabilities” with the aforementioned definition in mind. However, this list is not exhaustive, and our skilled Summerlin SSDI attorneys could potentially help build a case around a condition not listed here.
SSDI work credit requirements can change somewhat depending on the age at which an applicant first became disabled. Still, applicants must generally have at least 40 work credits—at least 20 of which must have been obtained in the ten years immediately before they become disabled—to qualify for SSDI. As of 2023, every $1,640 of wages or self-employment income earned each calendar year counts as one credit, and individuals can obtain up to four credits maximum per year.
Every year, the SSA adjusts the maximum value of benefits that qualifying SSDI recipients can receive to account for inflation and other rises in the overall cost of living.
Those seeking family benefits via SSDI might qualify to receive between 150 to 180 percent more than what an eligible disabled worker would get for themselves alone. Slightly different limits apply to those who retired at age 62 (“early”) or 70 (“late”). A qualified lawyer in Summerlin could explain what benefits you could expect to receive from SSDI during an initial meeting.
While SSDI benefits can be extremely helpful to people rendered physically or psychologically unable to work, they are also much harder to obtain than people might expect. Without support from seasoned legal counsel, you may have difficulty getting any benefits at all—let alone the full amount you are entitled to under federal law.
Assistance is available from a dedicated Summerlin Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) lawyer at Shook & Stone, who knows how to handle cases just like yours. Call today for a free consultation with one of our attorneys serving Summerlin, Rhodes Ranch, Sovana, and the surrounding areas.