You're out of work because of a serious illness or accident. You have no income and you're about to lose your medical insurance. You just applied for Social Security disability--your only financial lifeline. How long will it take to get a decision?
Social Security is one of the slowest agencies in the federal government. It is slow for at least 3 reasons:
1) It is slow because it is under-funded and under-staffed. Congress does not appropriate enough operating funds for Social Security offices and hearing offices to do their job.
2) It is slow because of the horrendous backlog of cases. There are now more than 1 million disability cases pending appeal and the system cannot deal with them quickly.
3) It is deliberately slow because Social Security wants to be sure nobody gets a benefit who doesn't deserve one. Therefore, they review every application in agonizing detail.
It will take 90 to 120 days to get an initial decision on your disability application. Unfortunately, about 7 out of 10 applications will be denied and will require an appeal before you can be paid. The appeal, if required, will take around additional months.
"How am I supposed to live while waiting 2 years for my Social Security to be approved?"
This is a question for which I have no answer.
You must have the answer to this question.
My hope is that people are reading this post who are not yet disabled, and therefore have time to plan for a disability. You must plan before disability strikes. Knowing that Social Security is very slow and uncertain, you must have a plan to survive financially up to 24 months while you wait them out. Here's what I advise:
1) Seek disability insurance from another source so you don't depend solely upon Social Security. If your employer has a group disability plan, be sure you are enrolled. This will be much quicker and easier to get than Social Security.
2) Set aside some savings out of each paycheck and have an emergency fund set aside. Experts used to say to save enough for 6 months of living expenses. However, this simply isn't enough. As I have explained, a Social Security check may take 24 months or longer.
3) If you have a mortgage, find out if the mortgage company has an insurance plan that you can buy that will make mortgage payments if you become disabled. At least, this could save your home. (Sadly, Many honest, hard working people become homeless due to disability).
You should be aware that there are precious few resources out there to help you financially if you suddenly become unable to work. You are mostly on your own, at least for several months. Social Security is not dependable. It takes a long time, is very difficult to get, and should NOT be your first line of defense.
After you become disabled, it is too late to plan. I ask you to seriously give this some thought today and begin a survival plan in the event that disability strikes. You may eventually get Social Security but it must not be your only source of financial survival.
Social Security is one of the slowest agencies in the federal government. It is slow for at least 3 reasons:
1) It is slow because it is under-funded and under-staffed. Congress does not appropriate enough operating funds for Social Security offices and hearing offices to do their job.
2) It is slow because of the horrendous backlog of cases. There are now more than 1 million disability cases pending appeal and the system cannot deal with them quickly.
3) It is deliberately slow because Social Security wants to be sure nobody gets a benefit who doesn't deserve one. Therefore, they review every application in agonizing detail.
It will take 90 to 120 days to get an initial decision on your disability application. Unfortunately, about 7 out of 10 applications will be denied and will require an appeal before you can be paid. The appeal, if required, will take around additional months.
"How am I supposed to live while waiting 2 years for my Social Security to be approved?"
This is a question for which I have no answer.
You must have the answer to this question.
My hope is that people are reading this post who are not yet disabled, and therefore have time to plan for a disability. You must plan before disability strikes. Knowing that Social Security is very slow and uncertain, you must have a plan to survive financially up to 24 months while you wait them out. Here's what I advise:
1) Seek disability insurance from another source so you don't depend solely upon Social Security. If your employer has a group disability plan, be sure you are enrolled. This will be much quicker and easier to get than Social Security.
2) Set aside some savings out of each paycheck and have an emergency fund set aside. Experts used to say to save enough for 6 months of living expenses. However, this simply isn't enough. As I have explained, a Social Security check may take 24 months or longer.
3) If you have a mortgage, find out if the mortgage company has an insurance plan that you can buy that will make mortgage payments if you become disabled. At least, this could save your home. (Sadly, Many honest, hard working people become homeless due to disability).
You should be aware that there are precious few resources out there to help you financially if you suddenly become unable to work. You are mostly on your own, at least for several months. Social Security is not dependable. It takes a long time, is very difficult to get, and should NOT be your first line of defense.
After you become disabled, it is too late to plan. I ask you to seriously give this some thought today and begin a survival plan in the event that disability strikes. You may eventually get Social Security but it must not be your only source of financial survival.
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