How To Apply For Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits Online
How To Apply For Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits Online
Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance online is not complicated if you follow S.S.D.I. directions concisely.
If you wish to apply for your Social Security Disability Insurance online, you can only file for Social Security Disability Insurance at this time, not SSI.
The online disability applications process requires that a claims representative contact you to complete an Supplemental Security Income application if you wish to file.
What this means is a Supplemental Security Income claim is not considered to be officially taken without the prospective claimant being contacted. Whereas, a Social Security Disability Insurance application can be initiated online any time by the claimant.
To apply for Social Security Disability Insurance online you must:
- A person must be age 18 or older
- You are not currently receiving benefits on your own Social Security record
- You are unable to work because of a medical condition that is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death
- A denied disability benefits has not been received by you in the last 60 days
A side note, if your disability application was recently denied for medical reasons, the Internet Appeal is a starting point to request a review of the medical determination made by the Department Of Social Security.
If you file a Social Security Disability Insurance claim online, make sure to complete your “disability medical report” online as well.
An online Social Security Disability Insurance application requires that you print, sign, and mail a medical release form to your local Social Security office. This medical release form must be completed as part of your social security disability application.
At this time, the medical release form is one of the few forms that still require a pen and ink signature to be valid.
Strict medical privacy laws are the reason that a medical release form must be signed.
Numerous Social Security Disability Insurance informational websites state that it is probably better for you to apply for disability by phone or do an in-person disability interview, because it allows Social Security to get all the necessary information at the time of your disability interview.
However, that certainly was not my experience. I was too ill to travel, my poor autoimmune system would not allow me around people and I would not have been able to think clearly.
So, even if I had to mail in a medical release form, it was much more convenient than waiting inside a Social Security office.
In my medical situation it was more efficient and practical for me to file a Social Security Disability Insurance application.
However, whether you file online or by phone, it is imperative that you return your signed medical release form within thirty days of filing your Social Security Disability Insurance application.
If the Social Security office does not receive your medical release form within a thirty day period, your disability claim may be denied for failure to cooperate.
This means that your disability claim will never be sent to a disability examiner for a medical disability decision.
If there is no medical decision by the disability examiner then your disability claim is denied.
Resources:
https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityssi/
I hope you How To Apply For Social Security Disability Insurance online has been useful.
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