How long after you complete your application for Social Security disability benefits (or Supplemental Security Income – SSI benefits), does it take to get a decision?

In Colorado where I practice, it usually takes between four and six months after you apply to get the initial decision. Sometimes, Social Security will describe this as between 120 and 180 days.

If you wonder if you are eligible for Social Security benefits, Social Security has an interactive website to help you answer this question.

Visit Social Security’s BEST (Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool). 

BEST checks if you are eligible for the following benefits:

• Medicare
• Social Security Disability
• Social Security Retirement
• Social Security Survivors
• Special Veterans
• Supplemental Security Income

Have you tried BEST, share your experiences in the comments!

Social Security has a fact sheet answering common questions about Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for disabled children:

• How does Social Security decide if a child is disabled?
• How can I get ready for the disability interview?
• How does Social Security decide if a child can get SSI?
• How will I know what Social Security has decided?
• Will my personal information be kept safe?
• What if I am more comfortable speaking in a language other than English?

The fact sheet also has information about:

• Medicaid.
• State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
• Other Health Care Services.
• Work Opportunities for Young People Who Are Getting SSI.

You can get the factsheet as a pdf here.

There are several ways to start an application for Social Security benefits:

At your local Social Security office

While this make take the longest amount of time (depending on the wait times at your local office), applying in person has the advantage of having a live person to ask to if you have a question.  The downside of applying in person is that if you are missing a critical piece of information, you may not be able to complete the application.

If you need help finding your local Social Security office, click here.

Online

If you prefer to work at your own pace, you can apply online.  Start here and follow the three steps to get an application started.

If you are applying for a child, start at the children’s disability page.

By telephone

If you need help or if you cannot complete the application online, you can call Social Security toll-free at 1-800-772-1213. If you are deaf or have hearing problems, you can call the toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.  Social Security representatives are available Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

When you are ready to apply:

Don’t forget to check out this article about the documents you need to apply for Social Security disability benefits.

Also, check out all the articles on applying for Social Security.

Tim Moore writes about his experience with claimants who wait patiently for Social Security to contact them after filing a claim or an appeal:

In the case of disability applications, some found that while they continued to wait on an answer, a decision had already been made on their case. In fact, the decision had been made so long ago that the 60 day period in which a claimant is entitled to file a disability appeal had already elapsed. In the case of disability appeals, some claimants who patiently waited on an answer regarding their claim…eventually discovered that the appeal they had mailed in had never been received, or had been lost.

Tim’s article discusses the stages where it is critical to know what Social Security is doing on your case. This is especially true if you are going it alone without a lawyer.

If you have a attorney working with you, he or she knows how long it takes your local Social Security office to complete the steps in your case, and can check the status if things take longer than normal.

I would also add the following tips:

• Beyond calling to make sure Social Security has received your appeal, I recommend sending appeals certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have proof of mailing and receipt.  
• If you file or appeal online, print out the confirmation pages that the Social Security website provides. You never know when you may need to prove you filed or appealed. 

For more tips to prevent Social Security from losing your appeal, read my earlier article.

Also, check out Tim’s article at My Disability Blog: Calling about your Social Security Disability Claim (can prevent problems).

Are you struggling with working because of physical or psychological impairments?  Have you stopped working because you just could no longer do the job?

You may be going back and forth on whether to apply for Social Security:

Maybe I will get better.  But, what will I do if I am not able to go back to work?

Filing for Social Security benefits is not something to rush in to.  But, if you are disabled, you should file as soon as you can. 

If you wait, you may loose several critical advantages. These include health insurance, access to medical care and financial support including savings, family or spousal assistance.

All Social Security disability cases require medical evidence.  The longer you wait to apply the greater the chance that your health insurance will run out or that you will be in a worse financial position to get the medical evidence you need.

• If you have health insurance, take advantage of it.  Make sure to take every opportunity to develop severity of your condition:  talk to your doctor about your disability, get tested, and obtain treatment.  The longer you wait after you stop working to treat, the greater the chance that your treatment options will be diminished.
• Tell your doctor that you are thinking of applying for Social Security and see what she or he says.  Having a supporting physician is often a critical part of a Social Security case.
• Get legal help early on.  Once you have started the application, start talking to attorneys.  A skilled attorney can help you gather evidence including statements from your doctor(s) in support of your disability.
• Get your medical records.  While Social Security may get most of the necessary records, you will not know what records they received until the initial decision is made.  If the decision is a denial, you do not get to obtain the missing records and ask for a new initial decision.  Your only option is to appeal and get your case ready for a hearing in front of a judge.  That may take an additional 6 – 18 months (based on my experience in Colorado).

Did you know that Social Security has a fact sheet on “What You Should Know Before You Apply For Social Security Disability Benefits?” 

• How does Social Security decide if I am disabled?
• My doctor says I am disabled.  Is that enough to qualify me for disability benefits?
• I am getting disability payments from my job or another agency, can I automatically get Social Security disability benefits?
• How long does it take to make a decision?
• Can I do anything to speed up the process?
• How does Social Security make the decision?
• If Social Security decides that I am disabled, what type of benefits can I receive?
• Can I apply for disability benefits online?
• Will my personal information be kept safe?
• What if I am more comfortable speaking in a language other than English?
• Where can I get more information?

The fact sheet is available as a pdf document here.

I recently came across this advice on Gather about keeping copies of all the forms Social Security asks you to fill out.

Make sure everything is consistent the whole way through all of your paperwork and conversations. Keep copies for yourself …. they do read all of the forms. That is why I am saying that you must be consistent the whole way through. It is all logged in and if you have to go before a judge he goes over all of it, too. He will actually refer to certain sections that were filled out, etc.

This is spot on! I have seen this happen many times. If you say something at your hearing that is inconsistent with your answer on a form, the judge may call you on it.  Even worse, the judge may find that you are not credible.  One of the main purposes of your hearing is to let the judge see you in person and make a credibility assessment.  If the judge does not think you are credible, well… that is not good for your case.

If you can, it is useful to have a lawyer read over the forms and point out inconsistencies and show you how your words may be misinterpreted to mean something completely different from what you intended.

My Colorado clients sometimes tell me that they waited years to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. When I ask them why, I get a number of reasons:

• I did not want to appear needy.
• I did not want to believe I was disabled.
• I did not want to look like I was trying to scam the system.

Some people do not want to take a handout; even if this means not drawing on a benefit program they have paid into. Others do not want to label themselves as disabled because they view it as a sign that they will not get better.  Some of my clients want to keep trying to work. They want to test themselves, and they feel that applying for benefits will make them look like they are giving up and Social Security will look down on them.

I respect the pride, individualism, and self reliance that this demonstrates.

Unfortunately, waiting too long to apply for Social Security benefits can severely reduce their chances of winning.

Most Social Security disability cases are won or lost on the medical evidence available. Having high quality medical treatment, especially treatment with specialists, can make all the difference in a case. Social Security primarily focuses on current, regular, and on-going medical treatment and evaluations. This shows the existence and severity of an individual’s impairments.  

If you wait until after you you lose your insurance to apply, you may no longer be able to see a doctor, let alone a specialist on a regular basis. Your prior records have become historical records rather than reflecting your current status.  

Historical medical records may be important. However, while past medical records may show that an individual was disabled in the past, they often cannot show Social Security whether someone is disabled today.

Also, an individual will often need a medical opinion of what they can and cannot do in the workplace (a statement of limitations) to show that they are disabled.

Sometime, this can be obtained from a prior doctor, but that can cause its own set of problems. Generally, an individual will need to obtain a statement of limitations from a current medical provider.

I have seen a number of cases where a person had a team of doctors working with them at one point. But, by they time they applied for Social Security, they are only seeing a general practitioner or nurse for a few minutes at the public community health center.

Do not wait until your medical coverage runs out before applying for Social Security.

If you find yourself in the situation of applying after you lose your insurance, don’t despair. You still may be able to win your case. For a number of my clients, the only treatment option is the local health center or charity clinic. But, I still believe in them, and in their chances of winning.

Dr. Fink of The Bipolar Blog has compiled a great list of suggestions when you are filing for Social Security disability benefits.

• Consult your doctor and therapist.
• Keep your doctor appointments.
• Have your doctor complete an RFC form for you.
• Document everything.
• File immediately.
• Appeal.
• Keep copies.

This is just a summary, the article goes into quite a bit of detail.

However, I do not agree with every point. For example, the article says the following about when to contact an attorney:

Most disability attorneys won’t even talk to you until you’ve filed a claim and been denied, so don’t waste your time consulting an attorney until you have filed and been denied. Of course, there is a chance that you will file and be approved, in which case, you’ve saved yourself the attorney fees!

Most attorneys will not take a case unless it has been denied, but it is wrong to say that most attorneys will not talk to you until the case has been denied. There is a big difference in saying an attorney will not talk to you versus saying an attorney will not take your case.

I talk to people all the time about their Social Security cases. Sometimes, I cannot take their case (for one reason or another). However, the individual gets to discuss their case, bounce some ideas off of me and get some free information!

Sometimes I take a case before the denial, sometimes after. But, it is never a waste of time to get some early input into your Social Security case.

I often hear the following question:

I just got my Social Security denial letter. Should I appeal or re-apply?

While every case is different, based on my experiences handling Social Security claims in Colorado, I often find the you stand a better chance by appealing rather than re-applying.

As I mentioned in an earlier article, if you re-apply, your case may be reviewed by the same person who denied you the first time. Chances are they will not change their mind.

By appealing, you take the case out of the hands of the person who denied you, and put it in front of a fresh pair of eyes. Sometimes you can present the exact same case on appeal, and the fact that the new person does not have any preconceived notions about it, will allow them to approve your case.