Social Security Disability

NASHVILLE DISABILITY ATTORNEY SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY LAWYER REPRESENTING DISABILITY CLIENTS IN THE SOUTH EAST AND THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES TOLL FREE 1-877-271-2633

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How to Qualify for Disability

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How does one qualify for Disability, in regards to their work history and past earnings, this does not address the medical condition, this only addresses whether you qualify to be under the Disability Insurance should you also have the accompanying medical condition that renders you disabled.

 The Social Security Administration has developed a simple chart, the credits that you need under the chart are earned during your working years. You will earn one credit for every $1,050.00 dollars you make each year, and you may earn up to four credits each year you work. The chart below sets out the age at which you became disabled along with the required credits needed to qualify for Disability Insurance under Social Security.

  •                            31 – 42, you will need 20 credits with five years of work
  •                            44, you will need 22 credits with five and half years of work
  •                            46, you will need 24 credits with 6 years of work
  •                            48, you will need 26 credits with 6 and half years of work
  •                            50, you will need 28 credits with 7 years of work
  •                            52, you will need 30 credits with 7 and half years of work
  •                            54, you will need 32 credits with 8 years of work
  •                            56, you will need 34 credits with 8 and half years of work
  •                            58, you will need 36 credits with 9 years of work
  •                            60, you will need 38 credits with 9 and half years of work
  •                            62 and older, you will need 40 credits with 10 years of work   
  •                            24 through 30 will need credits for half of the time between age 21  and  the  time of disability. 

If you become disabled at age 31 and above you will need to have generally earned at least 20 credits within the last 10 years to qualify for Disability under Social Security.

While this chart is not all inclusive, it gives one a general understanding of what it takes from a work history standpoint to qualify for Social Security Disability. Please call my law office so that I may assist you in your time of need, you may reach me at toll free  1 (877) 271-2633, or local at (615) 308-2633.

www.socialsecuritydenied.com

Daniel L. McMurtry, Esq.

Alleged Onset Date

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What is your Onset Date? In Social Security Disability your onset date is very important. You are telling the Social Security Department that this is the day you became disabled. Many times at or before a hearing I will discover that a client has by mistake, put down the wrong date for disability, if you do not claim disability the very day you stop working, it may be hard to determine your onset date looking backwards, that is why I review your onset very carefully.

As an attorney I review your medical records and earning records to determine your onset date for Social Security Disability purposes. Sometimes in reviewing these records I discover that the medical records do not match up with the onset date. When I see an onset date that does not match the medical records, I will ask the Judge to allow us to change the onset date, your medical records must be in close proximity to your disability date, meaning your records must show this is when you were unable to continue working. By changing the onset date to match your medical records it allows the Judge to possibly grant you disability, without it the Judge may not be able to properly document the date of your disability which can bring a host of problems for your claim.

The onset date can also be affected by your earnings, sometimes a person will show some earnings via the IRS when they are claiming to be unable to work, there are usually good explanations for this, sometimes it involves vacation pay, sick pay, and family leave pay. It is important to be able to explain this income, because it can have dire consequences on your disability claim should you not be able to explain it, and one of those consequences can be your date of disability or onset date that you are claiming be changed, or denial of your disability claim.

Under the Social Security Disability Act you can go back only 17 months from your application, to claim your onset date, meaning if you file your claim on March 1st, 2008, you can only backwards 17 months to claim your onset date or date you claim to have become disabled.

Should you need assistance in your Disability Claim, please give me a call at  toll free 1 (877) 271-2633, or local at (615) 308-2633.

www.socialsecuritydenied.com

Daniel L. McMurtry, Esq.