Many Los Angeles residents might qualify to receive Social Security disability benefits, and they don’t even know it. They may have suffered an injury in a work accident, or perhaps they have been diagnosed with a serious illness that prevents them from working. Regardless of the circumstances that lead to a person’s disability, they will probably have the same question: What are the basic requirements to qualify to receive SSD benefits?
The Social Security Administration screens applicants based on the medical requirements and work history requirements that are set by federal law. First, the work requirements designate that a person who is applying for SSD benefits must have worked for a long enough period of time to qualify, and also must have worked recently enough to qualify. Each applicant’s situation is different, and it can be extremely important to attempt to make sure that the work history requirements are met before an application for SSD benefits is submitted.
Next, the medical requirements to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits can be stringent. After all, these benefits are intended for people who are truly unable to work for an extended period of time due to their disability. Medical documentation of the disability must be presented in the initial application to show that a person is unable to work, and that the disability is expected to either last for longer than 12 months, or lead to the applicant’s death.
The medical requirements and the work history requirements are just the basics when it comes to applying for SSD benefits. The federal government has been working for years to make the application process more accessible, but the requirements remain high bars to meet. Any Los Angeles resident who is thinking about applying for SSD benefits will want to make sure that they have all of the most recent and accurate information about the application process.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Who Qualifies for Social Security Disability Benefits?,” Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Dec. 14, 2015
