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Social Security Benefits: Your Questions about Social Security Credits

Q: Social Security tells me that I don’t have enough credits to qualify for benefits. What are Social Security credits, and how can I not have enough of them when I’ve worked and paid taxes for years?

A: Credits that go towards qualifying you for benefits from Social Security are earned by working and paying your Social Security taxes. The number of credits you receive is based on both income and the number of years worked. With each year that passes, the amount of money you need to make in order to earn social security credits rises; in 2008, it is one credit for $1,050 of earnings. You can receive a maximum of four credits annually (which is why credits are also called ‘quarters’), and any credits you earn will remain on your record even during periods in which you’re not working.

A certain number of credits or quarters are required in order to qualify you to receive social security benefits. The number of credits you need for social security is based on your current age, and is calculated by the number of years you have worked. If you’re looking to be eligible for social security benefits for retirement (and are of more than 62 years of age), you will need to have 40 credits (the equivalent of 10 years of work).

It does occur, however, that a person of retirement age who has worked for what seems to be the correct number of years does not have enough credits to qualify him or her for social security benefits. This occurs to workers who, during their working careers, did not (or do not) have social security taxes taken out of their wages. This situation mostly occurs among Federal employees hired before 1984, railroad employees with ten years or more of service, and state and local government employees whose employers do not participate in social security.

Q: When will I receive my first payment after I have been approved for social security disability insurance?

A: You are not eligible to start receiving social security disability benefits until you have been injured for five months. The way the billing cycles work, though, you will not actually receive your first benefits check until six months after the date of onset of your condition. If you are awaiting back pay benefits, they are usually paid within 2 months of approval. Please note that you will not be given backpay for the 5 month waiting period after your onset date. If you have any questions regarding backpay or the length of time it is taking for you to receive your benefits, it may be wise to speak with a social security lawyer.

Q: Will your dependents also receive disability payments?

A: Certain family members may be eligible to receive benefits, as well. Unmarried children under the age of 18 are eligible. If your child is a student, he is eligible until he turns 19. If your husband or wife is 62 or older, he or she might be eligible for benefits. At any age your husband or wife may be eligible if he or she is providing financial support to your children that are under the age of 17. The amount of benefits your qualified family members receive may be as much as half of the monthly payment amount to which you are entitled. Contact a social security lawyer, if you have any concerns about eligibility or applying for disability benefits for any of your family members.

Q: When you are currently receiving social security disability payments and your file is reviewed, what does it mean?

A: Social Security conducts regular reviews of all disability cases that were awarded benefits. When your claim is approved, a review schedule is set and is dependent upon the particular details of your condition. Most reviews are usually conducted every one, three, and seven years. Many state social security agencies have a bit of a review logjam right now, which means that many reviews are not happening on the one, three, seven year timeline. Because of that, you should be ready for a review at any time. The purpose of the reviews are to make sure that Social Security has the most current information about your medical and employment situation. Disability examiners are interested in determining whether your injury has improved, worsened or remains the same. A social security lawyer can assist you with any issues that may arise as a result of a continuing disability review. The experience and knowledge of a social security lawyer can be invaluable, if you are worried about losing social security disability benefits due to changes in your condition or employment.

Q: How long before I am covered for Medicare?

A: If you talk to a social security lawyer, he or she will talk about Medicare for retired persons as fairly simple. If you are 65 years old or older, and worked for at least ten years in a Medicare covered job, you will generally be eligible for Medicare even if you’re working. If you are under 65 and suffering from a disability, you may also be eligible for Medicare. But for these applicants, it may be a good idea to speak to a social security lawyer or advocate about several complications involved with receiving coverage for a disability.

If you don’t talk to a social security lawyer or advocate when your disability first presents itself, you may not know that you will have to wait 24 months for Medicare coverage. This waiting period begins at the time you become disabled. To be eligible for Medicare due to a disability, you must also quality for Social Security Disability benefits. When you combine the waiting period for Social Security Disability with the waiting period for Medicare, it can be a very long time before you see coverage. It’s generally a good idea to speak with a social security lawyer at the beginning of the process to gauge how long your wait may be.

Q: The SSA says I am short one credit to apply for disability insurance. What, exactly, do they mean?

A: The SSA has so much small print and obscure rules that nobody but a social security lawyer could learn them all. In order to qualify as “insured” under SSD, most adults need to have earned 20 credits during the last ten years (counting towards your total number of working credits). This is a rolling ten year period that is supposed to end on the day that your disability is judged to have begun.

Unfortunately, due to the combination of rules requiring a certain number of credits for people of a certain age, and a certain number of those credits earned in the last 10 years, not meeting the credit requirements is easy. A social security lawyer will tell you that this often happens when an applicant simply hasn’t worked enough. But it also can happen due to delays in application, or a “disability onset date” which is adjusted by a judge or other official during the application process. If this happens, your first step should be to consult a social security lawyer or advocate to find out your options.

Q: Can I work while I have a claim pending?

A: A social security lawyer will define an SSD eligible disability as one that will prevent you from making a gainful income in your or any other field. Eligibility doesn’t, however, require you not to work at all. If the salary you earn with your work falls below a certain limit (which is set annually but the SSA), you may still be approved for benefits. You may want to speak with a social security lawyer to learn more.

Q: Should you have a social security lawyer if your disability claim was denied?

A: The next step after an initial claim for disability benefits is denied is a reconsideration. It may be wise to seek the counsel of a social security lawyer if you plan to have your claim reconsidered, since many claims must go on to the hearing process. You will need to submit all the required paperwork within 60 days of when your claim was denied. If you do not submit the paperwork in that timeframe, you will likely have to start the application process all over again. A large number of applications are not approved the first time. Many cases are actually not approved until they have been through a hearing. But your case must be denied an appeal to be reconsidered before you can ask for a hearing. That is why it is so crucial that you meet the deadline for reconsideration. As previously mentioned, a social security lawyer can be a tremendous help, as your claim navigates both the reconsideration and hearing processes.

Q: How long will it take until a hearing is scheduled for a social security disability case?

A: The time it can take to schedule a hearing once it has been requested can vary greatly. It can take a year or two until a hearing is scheduled. The time it takes to schedule a hearing varies from state to state and is affected by the number of claims that are currently in the hearing process. Make sure you make a hearing appeal as soon as you receive notification that your appeal for reconsideration was denied. If you do not already have a social security lawyer, it would be wise to seek one to represent your case during the hearing. A social security lawyer will assure that your case has been properly prepared and will be presented comprehensively during the hearing.

Q: Do social security disability claimants receive any status updates, while waiting for a hearing to be scheduled?

A: A claimant does not often receive much communication while he is waiting for a hearing to be scheduled. Typically, a claimant will be sent a letter confirming the request for a hearing, another to provide the information about a scheduled hearing and one notifying the claimant of approval or denial once the case has been heard. Claimants in some states may also receive an exhibit list, which provides details of everything in your file. If you have concerns about the status of your claim, contact a social security lawyer.