I have had many veterans who are unaware that they can collect
VA disability benefits, as well as their SSDI benefits. I did a bit of research and here is what I
found. I am also attaching a link to
their website so that you can get further info on your own, as well as access
to any forms that you will need. If you
have any questions or comments please post them.
As always, thank you for your support.
TTYL – Be blessed.
“Disabled veterans can
collect Social Security disability benefits and veterans disability benefits at
the same time, so disabled vets will usually find themselves dealing with the
Social Security Administration (SSA) at one point or another. Many vets may end
up very surprised when they learn how different the two systems are. In this
article, we'll discuss the principal aspects of the Social Security system as
well as the differences that exist between the two systems.
How Does Social
Security Disability Work?
A person applies for
disability benefits at a Social Security office or online, and receives an
initial decision within three to four months. (Veterans with service-connected
disabilities can have their cases expedited by asking Social Security to file a
form called I-2-1-95. Exhibit – Critical Request Evaluation Sheet.)
The claimant's file is
then assigned to a disability examiner, a specialist who will gather the
claimant's medical records and, then, in consultation with a physician and/or a
psychologist who is assigned to the examiner's unit, make an approval decision
or denial decision. Unfortunately, the decision that is made is often a denial.
If the claim is approved, the claimant is considered 100% disabled, and will be
paid either SSDI benefits
based on their prior wages or SSI benefits
based on the amount of income they have (only those with low income and low
assets qualify for SSI).
If the claim is
denied, the claimant may follow the disability
appeal process and get a reconsideration review. Then, after a
very long wait, the claimant can get a hearing with an administrative law judge
(ALJ). It can take an extremely long time to have a hearing date set. Depending
on which part of the country the claimant resides in, and how backlogged the
local hearing office is, it may take a year or longer to have a hearing date
set. Asking Social Security to expedite your case for a service-connected
disability can help.
How Is the Social
Security Disability System Different From the VA System?
Primarily, the SSA
system is different from the VA system in that there are no percentages of
disability. While the veterans disability system allows the VA to conclude that
a vet is 10% or 40% or 100% disabled and then receive benefits based on that
determination, in the Social Security system, it is all or nothing. In
addition, the definition of disability used by the Social Security system
stipulates that your condition must last or be expected to last for at least
one year or to result in death. For more information, see Attorney Joel
Ban's article on the differences
between Social Security and Veterans disability benefits.
Medical Records and
Social Security
If your primary source
of treatment is a VA medical center, don't assume that the Social Security
disability examiner who is assigned to your case will be successful in
obtaining your VA medical records. The VA is notorious in some areas for not
supplying needed medical records to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
For this reason, it's never a bad idea for vets to personally obtain their
medical records themselves so they may turn these records in to the SSA when
they apply for disability or file an appeal. One word of caution, though: never
submit anything to Social Security without making a copy first, since the SSA
is fairly notorious for losing things that have been submitted. Learn more
about the medical evidence
required by Social Security.
What About the Role of
Attorneys?
In the Social Security
system, an attorney works off a contingency-fee basis from the moment they
represent a claimant. In other words, if they win the case, they get paid up to
25% of whatever backpay that SSA decides it owes the claimant. The corollary of
this, of course, is that the attorney receives nothing if the case is not
won.
Is an attorney always
needed in a Social Security disability case? No, there are some outstanding
disability representatives who are not attorneys and are referred to as
"non-attorney representatives" (some of these non-attorney reps are
former Social Security employees who put their experience to use representing
disabled individuals). (Read our article on disability
attorneys vs. representatives.)
The rule of thumb for
getting an attorney (or non-attorney rep) is usually this. If you get denied on
your initial claim, you should probably get an attorney, because you can appeal
for a hearing in front of a judge, and it will help to have an experienced
representative at your side during the hearing. Find out more about how legal representation works in Social Security cases,
or use our attorney locator to
find a local disability attorney.”
