http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits The Bare Essentials of Social Disability Benefits Explained in Plain English Tue, 14 Aug 2007 04:49:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Social Security is implementing sweeping changes to the way it processes Disability claims. One of these changes is Quick Disability Determinations. This is an automatic process where Social Security computers will identify certain types of disabilities for approval in 20 calendar days. This is not something you can request ... http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits/quick-disability-determinations-qdd/ You might hear people say “Social Security automatically denies your disability claim the first time you apply.” This is simply not true. When you submit your Disability claim in the Social Security office, your Social Security representative will spend about thirty days putting your application together. After the file is ... http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits/automatically-denied-the-first-time/ If you are applying for Social Security disability you can choose to have someone represent you. This person could be a disability representative or an attorney. Keep in mind that most disability representatives are not attorneys; they did not attend law school and you should carefully scrutinize their ... http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits/disability-attorneys-and-representatives/ If you are receiving Social Security Disability benefits, (Not SSI) you can work as long as your pre-tax earnings stay below the prescribed limits. (If you receive SSI benefits the rules are different for you; refer to our section on working while receiving SSI payments.) This means you ... http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits/working-on-social-security-disability/ If you are a disabled widow age 50 or older you may be able to receive benefits off your spouse's (or former spouse's) Social Security record. If your spouse or former spouse has recently passed away you should notify Social Security as soon as possible. Contact the Social Security ... http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits/social-security-disabled-widow-benefits/ If Social Security denied your claim or stopped your benefits for any reason you have the right to file an appeal. What type of appeal you file depends on where you are in the appeals process and what State you are living in. The appeal process for Social Security is ... http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits/filing-an-appeal-for-social-security/ Some people who receive Social Security or SSI benefits are unable to manage their personal business for themselves. This could be due to a disability or a medical condition. In these cases Social Security will designate another person or an organization to handle their benefits for them. ... http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits/representative-payees/ To be considered disabled under Social Security you need to have a medical condition that will last for 12 months or longer and prevent you from working in any capacity. Social Security Disability is considered long term disability and does not provide benefits for short term disability. Additionally, ... http://www.socialsecuritylaidbare.com/disability-benefits/social-security-disability-basics/