Social Security has two benefits available to those who are
under age 65 and are unable to work due to accident or illness. SSI is the benefit given to individuals
who are not insured in the Social Security system with enough work credits. SSDI is awarded to those who have
worked full time in the past and have accumulated enough work credits. There are many eligibility criteria
beside time worked which can be found on my website
www.vipbenefitservicesofamerica.com or the Social Security Association Website
: www.ssa.gov.
Those who need to apply for those benefits may do so on
their own behalf or have a friend or family member assist them. They may also chose to use the services
of a professional such as a care manager or they may hire an attorney to
represent them.
When an individual attempts to apply for Social Security
Disability on their own, the application is often denied. Denial may be due to
lack of information, poor wording
used on the application and lack of experience and training of the individual
completing the form. This can cause delays, hearings, multiple denials and
other issues which may cause the applicant to wait a long time, sometimes years
for their benefits. Some frustrated applicants give up all together.
When using a paid professional such as a care manager or
attorney, the disabled applicant should be aware of several important points
which can effect how long the process will take, additional steps such as
hearings and lastly, how much the professional will be paid.
The Federal law has unfortunately been structured in such as
way that the professional assisting in the Social Security Disability
application process may be paid either 25 % of the total retroactive money
collected or a maximum of $6,000, which ever is less. The professional can only
be paid if the Social Security Disability benefits are approved. No
professional can charge for their service in advance of the approval. Obviously
this creates a conflict of interest because the longer the case is drawn out,
the more retroactive benefits will be due to the applicant and that mean the
more money the professional can charge. Cases which are handled most
effectively will only take 3 months, making the retroactive benefits just a few
hundred dollars. Attorneys are the only professionals allowed to collect from
the client even more than 25% of the retroactive benefits as their fee. If a Social Security Disability hearing
is necessary, attorneys are allowed to charge extra for all their time and
court costs. There is NO incentive for an attorney to wrap up a case in three
months or less or to avoid hearings.
The real travesty with this law is that the applicant is
disabled all the while, cannot work and may lose their home, their assets ,
their car and more while they wait two or three years for a case to finally get
approved.
Most Social Security Disability cases should be settled
within 3-6 months if the applicant has real documented injuries or illnesses,
has sought appropriate medical care and truly cannot work. For a case like this
to drag on for years is usually not necessary. Because there are many rules and
nuances one must know in order to apply for SSI and SSDI successfully, I do not
recommend applying on your own without guidance. If hiring a professional such
as a care manager or attorney, ask them for their track record of success and
average length of time from application to SSDI or SSI approval. Also ask what
percentage of their cases have required a hearing.
It is rare for any case that we process at V.I.P. Care
Management or V.I.P. Benefit Services of America to require a hearing in order
to be approved. V.I.P. Care Management and V.I.P. Benefit Services of America
averages 4 months from application to approval and we a 100% approval rate for
our SSI and SSDI applications. Call us at 561-588-5151 to discuss your case.
Our 20 minute telephone consultations are FREE at V.I.P. Care Management. To
learn more visit our websites at www.vipbenefitservicesofamerica.com
and www.vipcaremanagement.com
