"4 Disability Get Started Steps"

Learn what to say, what to prove, what you need, and how to file online.

What to say : How to explain that your qualify in 2 sentences or less.

Once you decided your going to apply it is important to understand how to explain that you qualify in a short concise statement. Watch this video to learn how.

What To Prove To Get Approved

Once you decide that you are disabled and are not able to work, you will need to know how to apply for disability benefits and what you must prove to Social Security to win your case. Watch this video to learn the 7 most important items you will need.

To start, you have to understand that Social Security Administration speaks its own language and you will have to learn how to decode some of it.

The single, most important word you will need to learn is what the Social Security administration means by 'disabled'. (I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but you must know this type of facts in order to press your case successfully.)

According to Social Security, you are disabled if you are unable to engage in 'substantial gainful activity' as the result of one or more medical conditions that has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or that may result in death.

In plain English, this means that you are considered disabled if you cannot perform any work because of a serious medical problem.

'Substantial gainful activity' is a critical Social Security phrase you need to understand. To Social Security, it means competitive work that generates more than the allowed amount per month, school or "work-like activity," regardless of whether you are getting paid. Learn about the allowed amount here:

Here's another way to think about Social Security and disability: Imagine the easiest job that exists. Perhaps...

- a ticket taker at a movie theater

- a hand packer

- a surveillance system monitor

- a textile inspector on an underwear assembly line

- a parking lot attendant

Each of these jobs can be performed sitting down most of the time, in non-pressured surroundings.

Would you be able to perform this job 5 days a week, eight hours a day? It doesn't matter that you have never done this type of work before. It doesn't matter that this type of job would bore you. Nor does it matter that you cannot drive and could not get to a work site.

The only question that matters to Social Security is this: If a simple job like the ones above were available to you, could you perform it on a full time basis?

To WIN your Social Security Disability case, you need to provide evidence to them that you could not. Almost all of the Social Security Disability forms deal with this question and your response to it.

Here are four things you must remember while you're filling out your application:

1. Social Security defines disability in terms of your ability to perform "work like activity", regardless of whether or not this activity is paid (or how much you get paid for it).

2. Your disability claim must be documented by medical records.

3. Social Security does NOT provide benefits for disabilities that last less than one year.

4. Social Security disability is not like Social Security retirement. In a retirement case, Social Security (should) contact you on around the age of 66.5 years to tell you about your retirement benefits

To receive disability benefits, you must qualify for Social Security by meeting all the criteria above.

These 4 standards mean that you will probably NOT win your case (1) unless you have been treated by a doctor, (2) unless you know and understand exactly what your medical condition is, and (3) unless you can prove why your condition keeps you from performing a simple, sit down job.

On the other hand, if you have a solid work history, if your doctor has diagnosed a specific medical condition, and if your doctor supports your inability to work you have a much better chance of winning your case.

This is the bottom line: when you make the difficult decision to apply for Social Security Disability (and this is a hard decision for many people), you will face the uphill task of proving that you have a medical condition that is serious enough to prevent you from performing any type of work. Do not lose sight of this bottom line!

Why your condition prevents you from working must be the focal point of every communication you have with Social Security, every form you fill out with them, and every form your doctors submit to them.

In other words, Social Security is not particularly interested in your diagnosis or the medical issues relating to your claim. What matters to Social Security are the specific work limitations that arise from your medical condition.

Stay focused on the idea of work limitations, you'll have an edge over 95% of the other applicants.

You now should have a good understanding of what Social Security means by the word disability and the importance of paying attention to Social Security’s definition of work capacity. I urge you to keep their definitions of work capacity and disability in your mind whenever you are dealing with your case. Quite simply, using Social Security’s own terms and criteria from the very beginning is the best approach for winning your case.

You will receive lots of information about how to keep refining your case through our various FREE lessons, strategies, and expert interviews. All of this information has only one purpose: to help you maximize your chances of winning your disability case.

This Disability Approval Course is a comprehensive, step by step guide that helps you understand what to do and not do to get approved. But it does not the work for you.

This information has helped over 10,000 win because if provides expert information, supported by a solid strategy separate your case from the 2.6 million others that apply and maximize your chances of winning.

Information Needed To Apply

This lesson is designed to help you communicate with the Social Security Administration employees regardless of where you are in the claims process. As you begin the Social Security disability application process, you will want to start a file that contains the following information:

1. Your complete and accurate job history. Social Security will ask you to identify and describe in detail each and every job you have performed over the past 15 years (Job History Report - Form SSA-3369-BK).

During the course of your application process, Social Security will ask you for this same information three or more times in different forms. You can save yourself a lot of aggravation and provide consistent answers by creating your job history file early on in the process.

2. Your complete and comprehensive medical history. At a minimum, your medical history file should contain the name, address, and phone number of each and every doctor, hospital, emergency room, clinic or other health care provider you have seen, including the dates of office visits and treatment for as far back as you can remember.

While Social Security will be most concerned about doctors who have treated you for your disabling conditions, do not assume that older medical history is not relevant.

More often than you might think, a claimant ends up at a hearing only to find that his Social Security claims file is missing the records from one or more doctors. Judges hate this. It can result in a delay to the decision making process. Here are a couple of tips that might help:

TIP #1: Don't forget to include on your list the name of doctors you may have seen only once or twice.

Tip #2: If you are having trouble remembering the names of all of your doctors, ask your current or past primary doctor's office for help. Frequently physicians who see you for a one time visit will send a report of that visit to your primary treating physician.

Thus, a current or past doctor who you saw regularly may have the name and address of other doctors who you saw only once or twice.

Tip #3: It is a good idea to keep your own medical records file. Most doctors' offices and hospitals will provide you with a copy of your records for free or at a reduced cost if you want it for the purpose of completing a disability application.

Tip #4: Read the denial notices sent to you from Social Security. Included in each denial notice is a list of the medical records, sorted by doctor, used to make the decision. If one or more doctors or hospitals are not listed, collect these records and send them to Social Security.

Tip #5: Get your report from M.I.B. (Medical Information Bureau) report. An M.I.B. report is similar to a credit report and may provide helpful information about past medical providers. M.I.B. reports are used by insurance companies to determine insurability. Most people don't know this, but you can request your M.I.B online or by phone here.

3. Create and maintain a medications list. This should be an on-going list, because you will need to reference both past medications and medicines that you currently take. Keep track of both prescription and non-prescription drugs. You can usually get a list of all prescriptions free of charge from your pharmacist.

4. Start and maintain a pain and symptom diary. Remember, the Social Security disability process can take up to two years. In two years, you will not remember how you are feeling now.

Your pain and symptom diary can be something as simple as a drug store calendar in which you make brief daily notes about how you feel. Or you can use a spiral notebook where you keep an actual diary. If your case goes to a hearing and you are asked about your pain level from two years ago, your testimony will be much more compelling if you can bring up specific incidents and give details.

The reason you are providing all of this information to a Social Security employee is to permit that employee to request records and documents from your doctors, former employers and other people who may have useful information.

It is recommend that you keep your own file of this information. Realize that when your case is over, Social Security will not send you your file - in fact, after a decision is made, your file will probably be shipped out of state never to be seen again.

Secondly, Social Security employees have very limited time to follow up on information requests. Thus it is good practice to provide records (sometimes the entire file) to Social Security.

Just because you have given them the names and addresses of your doctors and employers, don't assume they will follow up. More importantly, Social Security employees will not ask the right questions of your doctors. Remember, in the first installment of this series, we taught you that work capacity was the most important element of proving your claim.

The videos below will show you what you will need and how to organize it.

Social Security Disability Benefits Online Application Guide

Where To File And Answers And To The Questions

If you are filing your application on you own the options are to apply online with the directions in the video above or, by phone 1-800-772-1213 or in person at your local SSA office.

Please realize that this toll free number is used by Social Security for many purposes. You will need to work your way through many levels of voice mail to get to a live person. What you are trying to do is apply for Title II Disability Benefits.

In a disability case, you can't wait for someone to call you - you have to be proactive.

You should start your applications as soon as possible. Unlike retirement Social Security, which looks at your lifetime earnings record, Social Security disability looks at approximately the last ten years. If you delay applying, you may run out of credits for disability.

You can also apply by calling or visiting your local Social Security office. Depending on where you live, applying locally may take longer or it may be quicker. You can find the telephone number for your local office in your local phone book.

When you apply, you will be asked many questions. You need to know the correct answers to the following:

1. Are you working now? Your answer needs to be no or I have been trying, but I keep losing my job because I am out too much. If you are still technically employed but not actually performing any work, you can answer no, I am not working. If the Social Security operator concludes that you are still working, he/she may not take your application.

2. When did you become disabled? This date will become your onset date. This is very important. In many cases, your onset date is the last day you were able to work.

However, if your last few weeks or months of work were part time -- if you missed a great deal of time -- or if you received special considerations or extra help from your employer or co-workers -- then your onset date may be several weeks or even months before the day you actually stopped work.

While it will be hard to prove an onset date more than two or three months prior to the day you stopped working, the point to keep in mind is that generally, the earlier your onset date, the better.

3. What is your Social Security number?

Here are a few other tips:

Tip #1: Social Security has several disability programs. If you think that you might qualify for any of these, make sure to ask the Social Security operator. Here are some (but not all) of the programs that may apply to you:

- Supplemental Security Income benefits (SSI). This disability program pays benefits to people who have not earned enough work credits to qualify for Disability benefits and who have very limited income and resources. In some cases, Disability claimants can also qualify for SSI. Since there is no harm or cost in applying, every disability applicant should also tell the operator that he/she wants to apply for SSI as well. Learn more here

- Disabled widow's benefits (DIWB). This is a disability program in which claimants can apply for benefits based on their deceased spouse's earnings record. You become eligible on your 50th birthday if the onset date of your disability is within seven years of your spouse's death. You must apply between the ages 50 to 60.

- Divorced spouse's benefits. This is a disability program in which a claimant can apply for benefits based on his/her divorced spouse's earnings record. To qualify, you must be at least 62 years old, currently unmarried, and were married to your ex-spouse for at least 10 years.

- Benefits payable to your children. If you have children under the age of 18 or if you are caring for a disabled child, dependent children of a disabled parent will generally receive about 50% of the disabled parent's monthly benefit. The 50% is divided equally among all eligible dependents.

Tip #2: Before you apply -- check your online account with Social Security to confirm your eligibility.

This will tell you if you are eligible for disability benefits. Also, it will tell you how much money you are likely to receive each month if your application is approved.

Here are 3 easy steps to find out your check amount.

1. Go to this web site and watch the video on the right side of the page to learn how to create your free account: http://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/

2. In your account select the "Estimated Benefits" tab at the top of the page. Children under 18 will receive different check amount until age 18.

3. Under Estimated Benefits you will see text like this. " Disability You have worked enough credits to qualify for disability benefits"

An alternate approach is to call Social Security at 800-772-1213 and ask if you have worked enough credits to qualify for disability benefits and what your check amount would be.

If you believe that your earnings record is incorrect, you can start the process of correcting your your earnings record by completing Form SSA-7005

Your earnings record could be incorrect if an employer did not properly report salary income you earned. If you have proof that you worked for an unreported period, you can get your record corrected.

After you file your application, you should receive a confirmation in the mail. If you don't get any letters, pick up the phone and call again - Social Security has been known to lose applications and files.

Once you start the application process, you need to take an active role in collecting and submitting medical and work activity information. Unless you have a representative that will do some or all of this for you.