WHY NO SHORT TERM SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFIT?

Under the current regulations, Social Security cannot pay for a disability which fails to meet the "duration" requirement, which is 12 consecutive months of disability--or to end in death. Therefore, a disabling condition that is expected to last less than 12 months or to end in death pays no benefit.  This applies to SSI as well as Title 2 claims.

The 12 month duration requirement should not be confused with the 5-month waiting period, however.  They are very different things and impact disability claims differently.  I am not going into details here for fear it will only confuse the subject.  Suffice it to say that if anyone needs help or an explanation of this they may call me.
 
Do you have to wait until you have been disabled for 12 months to file a claim?  No.  You should not.  As soon as you believe you have a disabling condition that is expected to last at least 12 months, go ahead and file the claim.  The key is that the impairment is reasonably expected to last for at least 12 months OR to end in death.

However, the following are a few examples of things that would not pay a disability benefit:
  • You have surgery and will be off work for 6 months to recover.
  • You must wear a cast for 3 or 4 months and can't do your job.
  • Your doctor has taken you off work but you don't expect to be off 1 year.
  • You have surgery for a condition that takes you off work for 10 months; you recover but develop a different condition that will take you off work for 8 additional months.  (You must be continuously disabled by the same impairment for 12 months.  You cannot combine two different, shorter, impairments to meet the 12 month duration requirement).


 

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