Learn why procrastination does not pay when applying for your
Social Security Disability benefits.
Hi:
Far too often the Social Security representatives review Disability Digest members’ cases and point out that they have lost hard-earned dollars by procrastinating and not filing for their Social Security disability benefits (SSDI).
Now in all fairness, many look at SSDI as a last resort and/or believe that they will get better and return to work.
But what they don’t realize is that you can apply for benefits if you are going to be out of work for more than 12 months even if you know you will return to work.
So, let’s go back to the price of procrastination. The example I will use is a member (we call him Peter) who first got hurt in 1998.
Peter worked until the end of 2001 and claims that he became disabled in February 2002.
The problem is that Peter never filed for disability benefits until August 2008! He revisited applying in March 2009, after the claim was denied and he filed for a hearing.
The premier, full-service disability representatives (representatives who file initial applications for you) to whom we refer members win almost half of all the cases on the initial application (average 9 months) and 73% of all cases without going to a hearing in an average of 18 months.
The real issue I’m trying to overcome is to get people to understand that if you are going to be out of work for more than 12 months, APPLY FOR DISABILITY. Even if Peter is getting better, he should apply because he will potentially lose out on years of benefits.
The longer one waits to apply, the harder it may be to obtain the medical records necessary to show disability while they are still covered for benefits.
Getting back to Peter’s example: Even if a representative is successful at Peter’s hearing, his retroactive benefits can only go back a year from when he applied. Now Peter has lost six years of benefits!
With an average check of $1,000, this would be $72,000, plus four years of Medicare coverage put your own price tag on that.
Frankly, I would rather have a member contact us when working and understand this rather than years later learn that they have lost out on benefits.
I hope my rant has helped you understand that procrastinating does not pay. If you are guilty, click here and take 4 minutes right now to learn if you have a case and how to maximize your chances of winning fast:
Brian Therrien
The Disability Digest
p.s. Learn how this course has helped people just like you get approved!
