r/SSDI

Pretty sure I had my first panic attack.

Both hypothetical workers were “not able to maintain employment”.

Going to go sleep.

Then wait 6-8 weeks.

Realized I should give more information.

I have Long COVID, which took 3 years to get diagnosed.

It has slowly been getting worse, and I ran out of FMLA hours last July, last day of work was in June.

I did not have an attorney, but I did have over 800 pages of medical records, letters supporting my claim from my doctors, and prescriptions for permanent handicapped tags and permanent disabled homestead exemption.

The judge was nice, the expert was nice.

The two hypothetical workers were both unable to keep employment (I was moved from a court clerk position to a records position to a scanning old documents before I finally couldn’t work anymore.), so I think that is in my favor.

Every word I expected a “Gotcha” moment, a red light flashing and “DENIED!” To be played over loudspeakers, and security to throw me out.

Going to get a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and nap.

I was looking through a post by a former SAHM who was talking about how due to being a stay at home mother she now does not receive enough money to live. Instead of empathy, many people were scolding her and defending the system, with some even saying that they didn't pay to subsidize people who chose to stay at home and raise their kids. They were saying she shouldn't feel entitled to a living wage because she didn't pay into it enough. This is incredibly toxic and not conductive at all to this forum. Thankfully, there were some actually helpful comments, but it was hard to see them while wading through judgement and nitpicking about her words.

I've seen these dreadful comments on almost every post where someone was terrified about their monthly pay and what they would do for housing and basic living. I'm not saying that we should lie about reality. Most people on SSI and SSDI have to leverage rapidly shrinking programs just to live in abject poverty, and many will become homeless as a result.

As someone who became disabled early and does not have enough credits for SSDI, knowing that is my future if I lose support from others or do not recover is terrifying. But seeing people in a disability forum defend these horrific policies is incredibly disheartening. Do better, people. Fix your hearts.

Edit: did you not see the part where I said "I'm not saying that we should lie about reality"? It is entirely fine to clarify those policies. Please get some reading comprehension. What it is not okay to do is to make statements that act like these policies are fair or reasonable, or act like someone is entitled because they'd like to not live the rest of their life in abject poverty due to becoming disabled at a young age or not having recent work credits. Please read up on the "Just World Fallacy" -- I think a lot of you are operating under this.

Edit 2: Holy shit some of you seem to not want to end disabled poverty, but avoid it yourselves.

Just need to let it out. I called my local SSA office today after the portal moved to step four. Denied at reconsideration. I haven’t been able to work for two years now. Originally applied in May 2024. Appealed in January 2025 with lawyer. Now second denial May 2026. I know this is typical but I’m so ready to give up. My mom has gone into so much debt and scared we’ll have to leave our home soon. She’s disabled as well but only on SSI. I just need someone to tell me to keep fighting. I feel so defeated. I can’t do this much longer. I don’t want to feel the pain anymore.

Hello, everyone!

I received a fully favorable decision on April 20, 2026 with an onset date of Nov, 2023.

My benefits verification page states the same information as above, but my back pay was shown to be December, 2025 through March, 2026. Was this a clerical error? My benefit start date should be 5 months after Nov, 2023, so my back pay should be from March 2024 onward. When we received the check it was $20,000 short of what it should have been.

I owe no child support and have no student loans. Other than a possible clerical error, is there ANYTHING that could explain what happened?

Will a determination of Individual Unemployability and Permanent and Total disabled from the Department of Veterans Affairs have any impact on my SSDI claim?

Hi everyone,

A little backstory - I applied for SSDI last week. I'm worried I don't have enough evidence to prove my disability. I am agoraphobic, have a major anxiety disorder, GAD, PTSD, ADHD and past trauma. I'm 52 years old and have worked in the same field for the last 20 years (customer service specialist from home). I was always too afraid to go out and work. When working from home became available in 2007 for me in my state, I thought I'd be able to work with no issues. Though it helped financially, I still struggled really bad with concentration and anxiety. I pushed through all those years. I applied for SSDI a couple of times during those 20 years, but withdrew my applications because I did not want to depend on government money even though I paid into the system. Again, I struggled really, really bad, but stuck with. I can no longer do it. I am tired, exhausted and overwhelmed.

I have been seeing my therapist for psychotherapy for over 3 years now (online). I have only seen one psychiatrist in 1994. The reason for this is because I'm agoraphobic and was/is so afraid to go into an office or do online with to see one. I'm also VERY afraid of medication. I have been on an SSI now for about 10 years. I have had 3 increases. This is the only med I take for my disability.

During my 20 years of work, I have had to take FMLA, reduce my schedules and have accommodations. I have all this in writing from both my PCPs and therapist and also my employers with these all being approved. It does list my conditions as stress, need to attend psychotherapy, stress and can't function. This happened 3-4 times (need to check my records).

I have also gone to urgent cares and one ER for anxiety. But during these visits, nothing was mentioned about not being able to function or concentrate at work. I'm sure they only noted that I was there for anxiety. This happened about 5 times during 2013 - 2014. After that, I got on medication. Though it helped a LITTLE, I still struggle. Also, my PCP noted I'm agoraphobic and have anxiety, but work was also never mentioned until today.

I have also seeing many doctors online for anxiety, but again, no mention of work.

Can you please tell me your thoughts? Will seeing a therapist help my case? Is it mandatory to see a psychiatrist and get on different medications? Will my past FMLA, reduced hours and accomodations help? And also the trips to urgent care and the one ER visit?

Thank you for reading this long post.

I’m struggling to fill this damn report out. I’m already past the date and I’m overwhelmed. Any help? Please. I’ve done the lawyer thing for 3 years and got no where. So I’m doing it over again now that I’m 100% p&t with VA. Is there any one that can assist me or send me to someone who can help?

My husband was found fully favorable today after 3 years of fighting for ssdi. He was approved at ALJ with no lawyer and honestly neither of us expected it to be approved so we have no clue what to do now. He’s 37, and we have 4 kids. The onset date would be March 2023.
My question is what do we do now? How to estimate back pay? What’s going to happen next and what steps should we take/calls/ect! Thanks!

As the kid least likely to throw the rest of the family into the street (not unlikely just less likely) I might be looking at inheriting the house.

I'm currently on SSDI. How would the inheritance affect the SSDI? A web search says my primary residence doesn't count but since it starts as someone elses house and becomes mine i was wondering if it counts as income or something?

edit: dammit cannot edit title. Sigh. Let the puns roll...

I hope you all are doing well tonight and my hearts extends to you all. I have a question for anyone familiar with SSDI calculations. I recently received a fully favorable disability decision, and I’m trying to figure out how to accurately calculate both my Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) and my Family Maximum Benefit amount for auxiliary benefits.

Is there an online calculator or reliable method to determine these numbers myself? Every time I call the national Social Security hotline, I get different answers from different representatives, so I’m having trouble figuring out what is actually correct.

Before I applied, my Social Security statement estimated that if I became disabled, I would receive around $1,800 per month, while my full retirement benefit was estimated at around $2,700 per month. However, I’ve heard some people say that once approved for disability, your SSDI benefit may actually match your full retirement amount rather than the lower disability estimate.

I’ve seen a lot of people ask what kind of evidence actually helps at the reconsideration stage, so I wanted to share what I submitted and where my case stands right now.

Full Timeline So Far

**Initial Application**

• April 30, 2025 – Filed initial SSDI application
• June 26, 2025 – Non-medical review completed
• April 9, 2026 – Medical review completed
• April 13, 2026 – Denied at initial level

**Reconsideration**

• April 13, 2026 – Filed reconsideration the same day
• April 15, 2026 – Non-medical review completed
• May 20, 2026 – Medical review completed, moved to **Step 4** (final non-medical review)

From filing reconsideration to finishing the medical review took about 5 weeks. I have the VA TDIU P&T priority flag and an active congressional inquiry on the file.

What I Submitted for Reconsideration

Here’s what I added after the initial denial:

• **Mental RFC + Treating Source Letter** from my psychologist dated April 2026, with marked limitations checked in concentration, social interaction, and adaptation.
• **Full VA Medical Records** (285-page packet) with recent treatment notes.
• **VA TDIU Award Letter** and supporting documents.
• **Amended Onset Date Statement** (Form SSA-795) changing my onset to January 16, 2025 (the date I was terminated from my last job).
• Recent ER records from April 2026.

I made sure everything was clearly labeled when I uploaded it so the examiner could easily find the most important pieces.

Please pray for me.

In terms of doctor visits, labs, etc -- what is expected of you to maintain the benefits? Especially if you have a condition doctors cannot treat like ME/CFS?

How often are you supposed to go to doctors to "manage" your condition? How often have you had a CDR (Continuing Disability Review)?

I rarely go to doctors now. I've been sick with ME/CFS 16 years. Doctors are no help and I'm too ill. So if I apply for SSDI I'll have to start going often.

But what about after I finally win disability? Should I count on labs and visits every... 3? 6? months? I'm mostly housebound and partly bedbound, so this is crucial info for me.

Thanks!

I’m confused about what form my doctor should use for a residual functional capacity assessment.

Does SSA have its own I can download?

The ones online to download appear to be from disability lawyer's' websites.

By some miracle I was approved at the reconsideration stage in SC. SC has one of the lowest approval rates in the country. I already received my back pay and should receive my first SSDI in June. Total process started in October 2024. Question, I’ve been on STD/LTD Since July 2024… how long does it take to get a letter explaining all the back pay? I’m sure I’m going to owe most of it to the LTD carrier and attorney.

I am presently on stage 3 in the application process, and I have not seen this letter when going through my medical records, so I don't know if SSA would have access to it.

The doctor goes into my condition pretty thoroughly in the letter and why I should be exempted due to my vision loss. The letter was sent a few months back.

I received a call from the courts a little while after the letter was sent telling me they were exempting me permanently from jury duty.

Didn't know if sending it to SSA would help my case or if I should just let it go, as I said I am not sure if they have access to it when doing medical records research.

I went by it & i used up all my twp idk what to do foreal

I was recently approved for benefits. I was disabled at 30 years old and after 8 years was approved. My average wages were about $45,000 a year for 3 years and $36,000 for 3 years before my injuries. How much should I expect with monthly installments and back pay?

I live with family and was wondering what programs there are to help pay with housing and utilities or would it be better to try for section 8?

I have debt with student loans, credit cards, car payments and wondering if there is any help with those.

Since I read that when I reach 65 I will have reduced payments since not working and wondering if it is a good idea to start a Roth IRA or some fixed index funds with my awarded benefits.

Who sends you for a SSA medical exam…. Is it the adjudicator or the medical examiner? Thank you.

So I've been paying my bills off savings for nearly a year now. I live with my mom but she can't afford everything herself. I'm about to be bankrupt in a few months, which will have dire consequences on us. For example, my mom doesn't drive and has no car, I need to pay for car insurance for my car. We live in an area with no public transit. Have no nearby family or friends who can bring us anywhere if need be. Taxis are very few and unreliable, rarely show up even if called ahead of time.

I know that trying to work again will jeopardize the application process and show them I'm "capable of working"; the disability lawyer flat out told me this. (Not to mention I tend not to last long at jobs or be capable of working them which is why I'm doing all this to begin with.) And that this usually includes things like delivering for Grubhub or Uber etc. which are unreliable at best to begin with. So I'm scared to do much of anything.

That said, I'll need like $150 per month once my savings runs out. I can sell a few things but I don't have much to sell. And I have no idea how long it will take for me to get approved if it ever happens (here's to praying it does).

Is there any way to earn money that won't count as "work" and count against me in this application/decision process? I really can't afford to jeopardize this and have to start over. I think he mentioned that it looks bad unless if I worked at all in the past year and I'm almost at the 1 year mark since I lost my last job, in like a month I'll be at that. But I know after that point it could still take a long time before even getting to a ALJ hearing.

My brother received a letter from the SSA asking to follow up to determine if he’s still ‘disabled’ and giving him a specific date and time for a phone interview.

My brother is severely mentally disabled—he has Fragile X Syndrome, he cannot talk to where someone can understand him other than family, he doesn’t know how to do basic things like take care of himself or make food, totally dependent on me and my parents and will most likely never have a job, never live alone, never have kids and things of such (I know it’s horrible to assume those things but he’s pretty bad off even though I love him dearly, he also has a severe case of Pierre Robin sequence and has been on SSI since childhood.

It’s very, very rare that SSI ever contacts us to ask for more information or to explain something (other than those random overpayment letters) but I don’t even remember a time he’s ever had a CDR or the lengthier ones where you fill the forms out.

Is this something to worry about? Like what could they even possibly ask? ‘Are you still disabled’ well, no 💩, what he has is incurable so it’s really confusing.

If they’re coming after people this severe, everyone needs to start being concerned about their cases.