For individuals who become disabled, they may be unable to carry out the duties for their daily job. To qualify for social security disability, they must have attained an insured status. In order to gain this status, you must have enough earned credits by reporting a certain amount of income. There are varying credits awarded based on your income. Based on different age groups, a different amount of credits are required to qualify for social security disability. A person can earn up to four credits a year.

Those who are under 30 years old have special rules regarding the credits that are needed to qualify. People who are ages 31 to 42 need at least 20 credits to qualify for disability. Individuals that are older than 42 need additional credits every year. At age 60, you need to have required at least 38 credits. You can average your lifetime earnings to determine your benefits.

If an individual is disabled, some of their family members may qualify for additional benefits based on the earnings they reported. A few members have the opportunity to qualify for this situation. This includes unmarried children under the age of 19 and in high school, unmarried children if the disablement happened before age 22, a spouse if they are caring for a child under 16 or disabled and a disabled widow over age 50. However, the widow may only be eligible to accept disability if it occurred within seven years after the spouse’s death.

How do I apply?

When you wish to apply for social security disability, you can go to your local U.S. Social Security Administration and apply there. However, you should wait at least six months after the onset of your disability. This is only if the disability is not life-threatening. You may only receive retroactive benefits one year prior to the date that you filed your application. The disablement date must be within five years from the date in which you last worked and you must have earned 20 credits within the last 10 years.

To best set up your case, seek a doctor immediately to document your disability. This documentation can be important in proving the date your disability was acknowledged. When doing all the paperwork, this date can be vital.

If you are in need of experienced legal counsel for matters of personal injury, medical malpractice, medical device injuries, unsafe drug injuries, consumer protection, bankruptcy, SSD, or criminal law in New Jersey, please contact Tomes Law Firm, PC and we will be happy to assist you.