Many people like the convenience of starting the Social Security Disability application process online at the official website of the Social Security Administration. If the online process is not for you, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to speak to a representative who will schedule an appointment to apply for SSD benefits by phone or at a local Social Security field office.
A phone or in-person appointment allows you to ask questions about how to file for SSD. Regardless of the method used for an SSD claim submission, remember your claim must be supported by medical documentation to be successful.
Meeting the Social Security Disability medical criteria to qualify for benefits can be challenging because you must be unable to do substantial work-related activity. There must be medical documentation of an impairment or impairments lasting or expected to last for at least one year or result in your death.
Fortunately, Social Security lists SSD qualifying conditions severe enough to cause eligible disabilities for SSD approval. If you have one of the listed impairments that qualify for SSD benefits, it makes the approval process easier. However, as long as you have a medical condition that meets the eligibility requirements, you can be approved without a listed SSD approved medical condition.
The SSD application process requires evidence that you meet work and medical SSD eligibility requirements to be approved for disability benefits. The work history needs to be long enough and recent enough at jobs subject to payment of Social Security taxes. SSD medical qualifications require that you meet Social Security disability criteria by having a physical or mental impairment caused by a medical condition that prevents you from doing substantial gainful activity. The impairment or impairments must last or be expected to last for 12 months or cause death.
The government has a goal of seven months for Social Security Disability processing time, but the actual SSD approval timeline varies depending on several factors. For example, the SSD claim decision duration will be delayed if your medical providers do not respond to Social Security requests for medical documentation.
The complexity of your medical condition or the need for a medical evaluation may increase the length of the SSD application waiting period. The Social Security Administration website estimates how long for SSD approval as six to eight months, which is close to its seven-month goal.
Don’t be surprised if you receive an SSD claim denial. The majority of applications submitted for SSD benefits each year are denied. If you’re wondering what to do if SSD is denied, you can appeal it through the Social Security Disability appeal process.
The appeal process has four levels, beginning with the SSD reconsideration process. If you receive an unfavorable decision after reconsideration, the next level is a hearing by an administrative law judge. The next level is a review by the Appeals Council, followed by filing a civil action for review by a federal district court judge.
You can work while on SSD benefits, provided you comply with Social Security Disability work limits. The first rule about SSD benefits and employment involves substantial gainful activity (SGA).
Social Security rules say that if you earn more than the SGA monthly income limit from working, you are doing substantial work activity and no longer meet the disability criteria. The SGA amount changes yearly. It is $1,620 monthly in 2025.
Social Security work rules, including trial work periods, let you try working and earning income on SSD without losing or reducing SSD benefits. This even includes earning more than SGA limits.
Your SSD benefit amount depends on several factors, including your lifetime earnings. The formula used to calculate SSD benefits uses a worker’s average monthly earnings, so you get more if you worked at a higher-paying job or for more years than someone else.
Federal law caps the income on which workers pay Social Security taxes, so this results in SSD monthly benefits. The maximum SSD benefit amount you would be eligible to receive in 2025 is $4,018, but the monthly average SSD payment eligibility, as reported by Social Security, is only $1,580.
As a veteran, you can receive Social Security Disability and VA benefits, provided you meet the eligibility requirements for both. The criteria for SSD benefits for veterans is the same as for people who did not serve in the military. If you meet the criteria for VA disability and SSD payments, you may be approved for both.
SSD benefits with military service do not depend on being approved for VA disability compensation. You may have a medical condition meeting the eligibility criteria for SSD benefits that was not service-connected. This is why veterans SSD eligiblity does not depend on approval from the VA.
The SSD benefits and healthcare coverage can seem complicated. Medicare benefits for SSD recipients become available 24 months after SSD approval. The confusion about SSD recipients and Medicaid benefits stems from the income and asset limits for eligibility usually exclude people receiving SSD benefits.
You may be eligible for Social Security Disability and Medicaid benefits while waiting for Medicare, provided your SSD benefits do not exceed Medicaid income limits. If your monthly SSD benefits are low, you may qualify for SSI benefits and be eligible for Medicaid through dual eligibility. You retain SSD and Medicare eligibility while also being eligible for Medicaid.
If you cannot work because of blindness or disability, your options may be SSDI vs SSI. Although each pays monthly benefits, the difference between SSDI and SSI could make you eligible for only one.
The SSDI eligibility requirements are that you worked at jobs or self-employment and contributed to the Social Security trust through taxes paid on your income and be blind or disabled and unable to be approved for benefits. You must also be blind or disabled to meet SSI qualification criteria, but SSI does not have a work requirement. Instead, there are income and resource limits.
Yes, there is an online Social Security Disability application process for you to use, but first, gather the information needed to complete an SSD claim submission online. A checklist published by the Social Security Administration explains how to apply for SSD online.
The checklist explains the information and documents needed to complete an SSD online application. It also explains how to create your “My Social Security” account if you don’t already have one.
You also may apply over the phone by calling 1-800-772-1213. Applications may be completed in person at a local Social Security office, but call first for an appointment.
Whether you apply online, over the phone, or in person at a local Social Security office, your first step in the Social Security Disability application process is gathering the information and documents needed to complete the SSD claim submission procedure. After submission, the SSD application steps begin at a local field office, where it is reviewed to determine if you worked long enough and recently enough for eligibility.
The application then goes to a Disability Determination Services office, where it is reviewed to determine if you are disabled. The SSD application timeline is about six to eight months.
You have the right to challenge or appeal denied SSD claim through a four-stage appeal process. The letter informing you of the adverse decision explains how to appeal SSD denial.
The appeal process begins by requesting an SSD claim reconsideration. If reconsideration does not result in a favorable outcome, the next stage in the SSD appeal process is a hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ).
The Social Security appeal process lets you challenge an unfavorable decision from an ALJ by requesting an Appeals Council review. The last stage of the appeal process is filing a lawsuit in federal district court.
The Social Security Disability benefit period lasts for as long as you have a medical condition severe enough to cause you to be disabled. As long as you maintain SSD ongoing eligibility, your SSD payment timeline continues until you reach full retirement age when SSD benefits duration ends and automatically become Social Security retirement benefits.
A factor determining how long SSD benefits last is working and earning more than the monthly substantial gainful activity amount, which is $1,620 for non-blind recipients and $2,700 for those who are blind. This does not affect your SSD benefits duration during a trial work period.
Returning to work while on SSD may not affect your disability benefits. The circumstances of your return determine the impact of work on your SSD benefits.
The Social Security Administration encourages people to try going back to work with SSD work incentives, such as a nine-month trial work period (TWP). It combines keeping SSD benefits and returning to work. An extended period of eligibility (EPE) lets you keep SSD benefits after employment under a TWP ends as long as you do not earn more than the substantial gainful activity amount during a month.
Nothing prevents you from receiving SSD and workers’ compensation benefits. However, combining SSD and workers’ compensation payments may reduce your disability benefits.
Receiving SSD and workers’ comp or other public disability benefits is not prohibited, but you must report it to the Social Security Administration. Federal regulations state that public disability benefit payments cannot exceed 80% of your average earnings before becoming disabled. If they do, a deduction of the excess is made from the SSD benefits.
If you receive Social Security Disability with workers’ comp, report it immediately. This also applies when you get SSD with workers’ compensation eligibility for a lump-sum settlement.
Simply stating you are disabled does not satisfy the SSD medical evidence requirements. The SSD application medical criteria require proof in the form of medical documents for SSD approval.
Social Security Disability medical records proving you have a medical condition causing disability may include:
- Doctors’ notes and findings from physical examinations.
- Reports of laboratory tests and pathology results.
- X-ray, MRI, CT scan, and other diagnostic test results.
Depending on the nature of the medical condition, SSD proof of disability may be supported by written statements from friends and family, employers and co-workers, and others.
Call Our Bentonville, AR Social Security Disability Lawyers Today
At GCC Law Firm, our Arkansas Social Security disability attorneys provide personalized, solutions-driven legal advocacy to clients. If your SSDI claim or SSI claim was denied in Bentonville, we can help. To set up a free, completely confidential initial consultation, please contact our law firm today. We represent clients in Bentonville and throughout the surrounding communities in Benton County.
Call (479) 340-0002.