A disability can make it very hard for employees to make a living for themselves. Most times, a disability can impair individuals physically and mentally, thereby preventing them from accomplishing their work and making them unable to hold regular jobs. While the ability to adjust to this new condition can already be hard enough, the loss of income can further toss disabled individuals into security disability.
This is where disability programs becomes a crucial part of security retirement. Know the benefits that you can get when you apply for a supplemental security income program.
What do you get with a supplemental security benefit?
Also known as the SSI program, the supplemental security program is cash assistance that is based on the need of an individual. This program is funded by the U.S. Treasury, and created mainly for the blind, elderly, and disabled that have no other means of earning a living for themselves. The main difference with the social security disability insurance is that pays individuals according to their financial needs.
Those who are eligible for the program are able to acquire a monthly check which they can spend for their daily necessities. They are also qualified to access monthly food stamps and Medicaid for hospital bills and check-ups.
A fair estimate of the benefits that you can get from the supplemental security income program includes the living arrangements, the previous income that you were getting, and the state you live in. In some states, there are already set benefit amounts. For instance, in California, an individual can get $845 monthly and $1,400 for a couple.
Depending on the work history prior to the disability, you can get into other programs that will aid you. Some of them may include short-term or long-term disability programs funded by private sponsors, health coverage like Medicare, private health coverage like COBRA, OBRA or Cal-OBRA, and the California State Disability Insurance.
What should you prepare to qualify for the SSI program?
Every day, applications for a social security disability program and a supplemental security income program are numerous so you have to make sure that you have all the necessary paperwork ready to avoid any delays.
Check the following documents and make sure that they are complete before applying. One of the important things that will be asked of you is your social security number and proof of age, so you will need a copy of your birth certificate. You will also have to give the addresses, names, and contact details of all the health care providers that you have received treatment from.
To complete an application, you will have to undergo a background check, this means that your medical history and medical records will also be checked. To check the income basis of your financial need, you will also have to give a summary of your work experience, a copy of your recent W2 Form or a federal tax return for those who are self-employed, and proof of application to other benefit programs.
Other requirements include information on dependents, mortgages and leases, and other records like payroll slips, insurance, and resource information.
How do you qualify for an SSI disability?
Unlike with the social security disability insurance, which requires one to earn credits to be able to avail of the benefits, the SSI disability insurance is propelled by finances from general revenues. This type of benefit is available for people who are part of the lower level income bracket of the population.
Individuals of any age, from adults even over the age of 65 to disabled children under 18 years of age, can get supplemental security income. They do not have to have worked in the past, especially since they had disabilities.
There are also other criteria for applying. Since the SSI disability benefit insurance is controlled by the government, you have to be a citizen of the United States of America. Non-citizens of the U.S. would have to meet the requirements to be eligible. These criteria include the location of your home, your living conditions, monthly income (if any), and the amount of stocks, bonds, assets, and cash in one’s possession.
Eligibility to the supplemental security income requires one to be medically disabled, because the benefits of the program are targeted to helping those who do not have the means and the capabilities of working to gain their own income. According to the social security’s definition, a medical disability involves the inability of an individual to be part of any substantial activity because of a conditional impairment.
Those who are part of this bracket are not able to continue, engage or have the ability do to basic work that they have been doing. The catch is that the elements, skills, and talents that the person cannot execute are primary in the job that he was doing, hence his inability to engage in the work.
What is the difference between SSI and SSDI benefit programs?
Most people are not aware of the difference between the social security disability program, or SSDI social disability benefits program and the SSI program.
While the social security disability program is also targeted to aiding disabled individuals with their financial needs based on the deductions from the income that they have earned, the supplemental security income program allows individuals who have not yet worked but have been disabled to get monetary assistance to aid their livelihood.
Another difference is that the SSDI program comes from FICA deductions from wages during the time from when the individual has been earning a salary. However, the SSI program comes from general funds, so those who have not stopped working or have not had the chance to work can get funds.
Apply for both the supplemental security income program and the social security disability benefit program as early as now to safeguard your livelihood, because accidents can always strike and preparedness is the only counter one has against them.