Eligibility for Social Security Disability in the State of Georgia

If you are disabled due to illness or injury in Georgia, you may want to know whether you are eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI or SSD) benefits. This blog post explains how you can determine your eligibility for SSD and what you can do to increase your chances of getting your SSD claim approved.

If you need more information, contact us at The Keener Law Firm, where we focus our full attention on fighting for the rights of the disabled, including winning our clients’ Social Security Disability benefits. We’re here to help you and your family get the benefits you are entitled to.

Who Is Eligible to Receive Social Security Disability Benefits?

Social Security Disability Insurance is a federal program that provides financial support to workers and former workers who become unable to work due to a nonwork-related illness or injury. The program is funded by contributions withholdings taken from every worker’s paycheck. Self-employed workers pay into the program through their self-employment taxes.

Though every worker pays into the program, not every worker who becomes disabled is eligible to claim SSD benefits. To become eligible, a worker must accumulate a minimum number of “work credits.”

Work Credits

The 2023 rate at which a worker acquires work credits of one for $1,640 an employee earns, but no more than four per year. Workers who make at least $1,640 in a quarter qualify for one credit. Generally, a worker must earn 40 work credits to become eligible for Social Security Disability benefits. This requires ten years of employment, at least half (20) of which must have been earned within the ten years immediately preceding the date the worker files their Social Security Disability claim.

When younger workers (under age 31) become disabled, a lower number of work credits will qualify them for SSD benefits.

For those who are ineligible for SSD benefits because their work history is not extensive enough, the federal government administers the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, for which eligibility is needs-based. The program is targeted to help disabled people with low incomes and very limited available financial resources.

Is Your Disability Severe Enough to Qualify for Social Security Disability?

Because the term “disability” can be interpreted in a variety of ways, the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a strict definition of a “disability” to prevent any confusion about how the term applies to people claiming benefits.

What is a disability?

“A disability is a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that lasts or is expected to last 12 months (or result in death) and prevents the person from performing substantial gainful activities.”

When deconstructed, the definition has the following mandatory components:

• The impairment must be supported by medical documentation,
• The impairment must last or be expected to last 12 months (or result in the person’s death),
• The impairment must be severe enough to prevent the claimant from earning a minimum income.

What Are Substantial Gainful Activities?

Substantial gainful activity (SGA) is the phrase the SSA uses to measure a claimant’s ability to earn income. To qualify as “disabled” under the SSA’s definition, a claimant must be unable to earn more than $1,470 per month. Blind SSD claimants may earn no more than $2,460 to qualify for SSD benefits.

According to the rules and regulations of the Social Security Disability program, any claimant who can earn more than $1,470 in “countable” income is, by definition, not disabled. Therefore, they would be ineligible to receive benefits. But the system is not that simple. There are many exceptions to this general rule, including programs that permit SSD benefits recipients to attempt to return to work (called the Trial Work Period or TWP) earning an unlimited amount of income for nine months and still retain their full monthly SSD benefits.

How to Maximize Your Likelihood of Getting Your SSD Claim Approved

There are several steps you can take to increase your probability of winning approval of your Social Security Disability claim. The process requires organization, ensuring that your claim package is complete, and maintaining regular close contact with your treating healthcare providers and your disability lawyer.

Gathering and preparing all of the documents needed to support your SSD claim can be challenging for a claimant working without professional help. The task is further complicated if your impairments affect your mobility or ability to maintain concentration.

At The Keener Law Firm here in Georgia, we provide all of the legwork and disability claim preparation to ensure that your SSD claim is thoroughly supported by all of your medical records, highlighting the essential entries that strengthen your claim. Our trained disability advocates and full-time disability lawyers have years of experience analyzing every sort of claim. And our daily interaction with the administrators and claim reviewers in the SSD bureaucracy enables us to understand precisely what the government needs to know to approve your disability claim.

Let us take the burden off your shoulders. Contact The Keener Law Firm when you need help preparing your SSD claim and fighting for your Social Security Disability benefits. We’re here for you and your family when you need us.