…But How Do I Live?
Disclaimer: The information below is not legal advice and is intended for informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Please contact us directly to discuss any specific, particular legal matter.
The decision to apply for Social Security Disability or Supplemental Income should not be undertaken lightly. If you currently have income from working, you are looking at a drastic decrease in your quality of life if you go on disability. If you have no income, this is not a “quick fix.” No matter what, you are going to have to plan to live with extremely reduced or nonexistent income for months or years during the pendency of your case. If you are successful, there are often income and/or resource limitations as well that will greatly affect your standard of living.
Social Security Disability (SSDI)
This is a disability benefit available based on your earnings history. Because the amount you are entitled to is calculated based on an average of your earnings over the past 35 years, the monthly amount is nearly always less than your current income; and sometimes significantly less.
Supplemental Income (SSI)
This is essentially a welfare program, available to disabled people who meet certain income and resource limitations. The maximum amount Social Security will pay to an individual SSI recipient tops out at $914 for an eligible individual or $1371 for an eligible couple in 2023 (though this amount rises every year). However, the amount will be reduced for any money or “deemed income” (usually room and board) that you regularly receive. You are also limited to owning no more than $2,000 worth of countable resources for an individual, or $3,000 for a couple.
This is going to take awhile…
Disability claims of any type can take a very long time.
Some people are lucky enough to apply and be approved almost immediately…which
usually means within around six to nine months. However, a large number of
people are denied on their initial applications. If that happens, we will have
to appeal. The appeals process can take two or more years to get in front of an
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to have a hearing.
A lower-level denial does not mean that you are not
disabled; nor does it mean your claims do not have merit. It just means that there
can be a factual question about whether the effects of your conditions meet the
very strict standards for Social Security disability, and some lower-level
adjudicator within the Administration thought that the severity of your
symptoms did not quite meet that very high standard.
A denial by an ALJ is different. If you are denied by an
ALJ, we must analyze the case very carefully to determine whether there is
“legal error.” It’s not enough to disagree with the ALJ; we also have to find
an argument that will convince an appellate adjudicator that the ALJ misapplied
a very complicated body of law. If we can do so, we will—but that involves
going first to Social Security’s Appeals Council, which can take well over a
year to get a decision; and potentially filing suit in the US District Court,
which can also take well over a year or two for a decision. The appellate
decisions we’re usually looking for are for a new hearing, called a “remand,”
so even if we’re successful, we’re still waiting for an ALJ to make the
ultimate decision about disability.
So how do I live, if I can’t work?
The answer to this question will be different depending on your individual circumstances. Some people stay with family or friends. Some people qualify for government or charitable housing assistance. Many of our clients receive Medicaid and SNAP benefits. Some mental health facilities have housing assistance programs for severely mentally ill people or people in substance abuse recovery. To be perfectly frank, many of our clients are unhoused.
If you are in a situation where you are unhoused or about to be (i.e. you are receiving eviction notices or utility shut-off notices), we can alert Social Security in an attempt to expedite your claim. However, this is Social Security’s idea of “expedite,” which is still pretty slow; and this does not guarantee a favorable outcome because Social Security does not consider financial need when making decisions about your medical qualifications.
We maintain a list of resources on our website at hlfaz.com/community-resources/. We are always trying to expand our list to serve a greater community of clients. If you know of a resource in your community that we don’t have on there, please let us know at admin@hlfaz.com.
Working while disabled
When you apply for disability, you are telling the government that you are unable to work because of disability. (For this reason, we strongly discourage seeking unemployment benefits at the same time as disability, because unemployment typically requires certification of the physical and mental ability to work.) However, “work” only counts for SSA purposes if it is “substantial” and “gainful.” Therefore, you are able to work and earn some money, so long as you don’t exceed the dollar amount that Social Security considers “substantial gainful activity” or “SGA.” In 2023, that amount is $1,470; although we tell people to keep about $1,000 in mind as a maximum.
It is up to you whether you choose to work or not. We don’t want you to hurt yourself trying to do something outside your capabilities; but at the same time, we don’t want you to refrain from working out of fear that “it will look bad for my disability claim.” There is risk, of course, that an adjudicator will see you working part-time and think that you are capable of working full-time. However, we tell people to make life decisions for life reasons. There’s the disability claim, but you also have to eat, and your life and survival must come first.
If you’re able to earn greater than SGA, that does not mean your case is over. If you attempt to work for greater than SGA during the pendency of your appeal but because of your disabilities, you cannot continue to do so and must stop within six months, the work may be considered an “unsuccessful work attempt” and would not count. If you can work for longer than six months but there was a period of at least 12 months during which your limitations prevented you from earning SGA, we can seek out a closed-period award for the time you could not work.
And, if nothing else, in almost all cases you’ll earn more money from working than you’ll ever get out of Social Security. Disability is a stopgap, a last resort. We consider cases where you heal enough to go back to work to be their own kind of win—and we’re happy with those wins as well.
