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Edit avatar · 10:33 PM

Hey,

I am currently on disability and I can provide some insight. There are two different programs and while you con apply for disability online it's better to go down to the office (this is what I was told my an advocate).

The two different programs are SSI and SSDI. SSDI is based on your work credits and is not needs based. SSI is needs based and to qualify you have to show that you not only have a disability that impairs your functioning but that you also have a financial need. People who do not have enough credits for SSDI can only get SSI. The issue with SSI is that you have to meet the income requirements and if you are married they will take your spouses income into account. I don't know what the income level for married people is since I am not married but you'd probably want to go down to the office to discuss all of this with them.

If you can locate a disability advocate in your area you might want to consult them and Social Security about all of this.

If you apply and go through the entire process and get denied (that tends to be common) you can consult a lawyer. The thing to take into consideration is the fact that Lawyers only get paid if they win the case because they will take a portion of the back pay you'd be owed. Due to this a lot of lawyers only take cases that they see as being winnable. This doesn't mean that if they would not take your case that it wouldn't be winnable there are just some cases that are seen as 'easier' than others.

I know my City has a Disability Advocate center but I don't know how standard that is. You might be able to google your city or surrounding cities and see if they are there. If you can find a disability advocate they are usually better to try and get help from. My understanding is the advocates can sometimes help you get approved on the first try and they can also help you win it if you are denied and you don't have to go through a lawyer. However, I've been told that some advocates can also help people find good lawyers.

This is the most information I can supply and it's what I've picked up over my years of being on Disability. I still have a ton I am learning. One piece of advice is not to call social security because the people you talk to tend to not give the right answers and while this happens when you go in to the office, it tends to happen a lot less. Also, if you go into the office go early because they get busy right at opening. I tend to go 45 minutes to an hour before opening. This can sometimes lead to me not having to wait too long but unless I have an appointment I know that I am likely to spend a very long time in the office(I spent 5 hours in there recently). I do live in a bigger city so yours might be slightly different but to avoid long waits it's usually better to get there as early as possible.