r/SSDI_SSI

29 years old, never had a job due to anxiety and depression (and undiagnosed autism) that caused agoraphobia.

I applied like 5 years ago (before I was diagnosed with autism) and got denied. Immediately went into a depressive state and gave up.

Ready to try again now that I’m diagnosed as autistic, still unable to leave my house alone without severe anxiety.

Is it worth it to get a lawyer this time?

I’ve read on here some people say they’re just a third party slowing everything down and others that say they’re great. I suppose it depends on the lawyer.

I’m easily overwhelmed or need clarification when answering questions, if that weighs in on the discussion at all.

Hello,

I got my award letter telling me about my pay and back pay. The issue is, I have been told I can't keep it in the bank or it will be an issue (not by SS, but by people with experience). So, I don't have a bank account with a bank that has a physical location that's close (about an hour +), it's USAA and the ATM limit is probably not going to be as high as I need it to be.

What should I do? My grandma said she left the money in her bank account and had no issue, but my therapist said her mom had to take the money out.

Thanks!

I applied for SSDI in May of this year. I have ADHD, Depression, Anxiety and PTSD. I am 36 y/o. SSDI had me attend a regular Medical Exam and a Mental Health Exam. They also scheduled me for an X-ray which is ridiculous because I have no back injury and only put that I have some back aches after holding my baby for a period. After finishing the Mental Health Exam, the examiner said “we will get you started on benefits.” I was surprised, as I didn’t know that they made the determination there. I am obviously happy but don’t want to get my hopes up, as I have had a rough past few years and am not used to anything going my way. Should I expect benefits, or is it possible I still can be denied even though the mental health examiner determined I am disabled?

I read the rules.

I don’t know what to do. Hearing was to be at 1 pm Monday, via a phone call. I got the letter if you haven’t gotten a call call us. At 1:10 I start calling that number.
They pick up at 1:20 and tell me I don’t have a hearing scheduled 🤯
I’m now crying and telling the lady I have 2 letters confirming that I do. She was very rude and told me to talk to a different department. I got sent to voicemail I still haven’t heard back.

I then called my attorney it’s now 1:40 and I had to leave a message she called back at 2 and told me she just realized that it was canceled and not the judge running late. She would try to figure out what was going on with the judge and what the next steps are. She said that I’ll probably be put at the bottom of the pile.

I still haven’t heard back from anyone and I’m so frustrated.
Has this happened to anyone else? How is this fair? I requested a hearing nearly a year ago. So does this mean I’ll have to wait that long again?

Hello all,
I am currently waiting for a hearing date and my attorney has not gotten back to me yet. Has anyone prior to hearing request their SSA electronic file to see what information is included and what is missing? Do I reach out to the hearing office my case is assigned to?

Do you think submitting past work records with all the time missed, opened FMLA, ADA accommodations would be helpful? This shows I at least tried to work until my previous employer retired me under their policies due to the lack of ability to attend work regularly. I was taking 3 to 4 months a year off until I left the job in 2023.

Any information would be helpful. Thank you!

Any

* Forgive me if I didn’t use the right flair *

I had my hearing on 7/7 and got my denial on 7/29. I have Migraines, PTSD, Hallucinations, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety etc.

I’ve been trying since August 2021 for SSI and I keep getting denied. I talked to my lawyer today and a former appellate judge who works in his office says it’s not “strong” enough to go to the appeals counsel.

He says I need to just start over on a new application.

I’m just so tired and drained. This month makes 5 years. I’ve cried so much since being denied it’s sent me into such a depressive state all I feel like doing is sleeping. I lost my job in March due to my boss/dad having a stroke and due to my conditions I know I wouldn’t be able to go work a job because I’ve tried in the past and it didn’t work out…I worked at one job 4 days and another one 1 day.

I just need some advice and someone to tell me to keep fighting for it because right now I just feel so defeated.

This will be my 3rd application and second hearing with an unfavorable decision.

Thank you for reading 💓

So today i woke up with a email saying my hearing for my alj case started today and will begin reviewing info.

It seemed to start with stage 1 in aug 11th and now stage 3 on Aug 17

My daughter has had SSI for 8 years due to being legally blind. She wants to try to get a temporary seasonal part time job that likely won't pay more than minimum wage. How much can she earn without losing her SSI payments? I know she can't have more than 2K in her account but will having any type of income mess with her benefits?

Hi, I started working again just a few months ago.
My medical condition was due to using a substance that I no longer use. I still have troubles that I am handling with slowly, namely psychosis.. my current income has decreased from $45 an hour ($90,000-100,000 annual) to $15 an hour, with around 30 hours of work per week. I have 40 work credits.

Do I have options to utilize with the administration, or is it likely unable to help me by much?

I am scheduled to lose my home & all of my belongings inside of it are at jeopardy come next month. There is significant property damage to the home, a behavior I wasn’t able to control was destroying drywall and also hoarding.

I am thankful to be staying at home with my mother right now, but it’s difficult on her because I still have not made enough income for myself to be able to afford a vehicle ( the ticket to a higher earning job, perhaps..) and I also have two children I have been unable to support until fairly recently ..

Probably not a lot of these things matter to help my situation any, if at all, and are the consequences of illicit drug use I feel unfortunately. I just would like to feel less like a burden and more like the person I used to be .. ( the one that I still am, minus the pay)

I was trying to make the most of my situation and join the military this year, and it was not a success for me as I was deferred for two years due to “ADHD” - just the symptoms of the drug I had been taking

That was one big issue with me, the fact that I was hindering myself so hugely that I was ineligible for a family past-time .. but not the biggest factor that would eventually lead me to the point in time I am in right now (11 weeks sober) ,.. the biggest factor for that becoming a reality was love, and I have pretty much lost mine - the woman of my life, and rarely I am able to see my children because I don’t have the brain capacity yet to work my way through the proper legal channels to obtain any custody at all , but I also don’t have a place anymore that is my own to be able to achieve any proper visitation..

Ok, just some ranting & raving, I doubt I am considered severely disabled enough to get disability whilst I am working , if that even exists or not I am unsure, but even if I could get some kind of benefits I haven’t been able to navigate any channels of any kind for so long now I wouldn’t even know the first step to take or how much money I could have possibly paid into over the past ten years or so of my adult life, that I could use every bit of right now.. slowly returned to me over a predictable period of about two years (the rules I was issued from the military are the ones I have applied to some meaning in my situation here) .. in order to maybe save my kids living situation & possibly my love partners interest, if I had any extra money lying around it should be going to help her living situation as much as I possibly could anyways because she’s been through the most by dealing with me.

Is this something that is real and I can take advantage of, or just a figment of (my) reality ( the one I am puzzling back together, through my slowly declining psychotic memories and thoughts that have deceived me )

Sorry, if this is too long to read, it does sound a little psychotic in nature to me but I just was rudely waken up by a member of my family whom I shouldn’t be living with right now but I currently am , sadly.. they receive $1500 per month in social security benefits at 18 for whatever reason, just bothers me a bit because this is more than my current income and she’s not disabled at all just a random tidbit of information that bothered me

Ok, back to sleep now., I am hoping the people of Reddit have some insight for me but I have my doubts here as well

Got this settlement from one of my accidents when a car hit me on my bike and because of that they stopped my disability which I needed and idk what I’m gonna do I’m freaking starving and noo money and my gf and and I fight so much to where it scares me knowing I have nowhere to go and no income now I wanna give up

On SSDI since 21 yo, now 39. Mental illness. Went to work for 3ish years from 2016-2019, used all work credits. Went back on full SSDI.

Been with a DVR rep, went back to school and got my masters degree. Might get a full time job offer soon. What will taking this job for me in terms of losing my disability benefits? If this job doesn’t work out, can I go back to SSDI or am out of luck? I will make well over allotted amount. I understand I will lose all benefits. This is huge decision for me. I’ve worked hard to become self-sufficient and stable, but this is a terrifying possibility. Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.

Hello, my 30yr with intellectual disability and speech impairment has worked at Goodwill since 2019. She qualified for SSI at 18 in 2014. She has been getting SSI since then. When she started at Goodwill, I started reporting her wages and her SSI has increased/decreased accordingly. She recently got approved for SSDI, so now she is getting both SSI/SSDI AND working. I have looked up the calculations and see that she should not be receiving SSI, and will end up being overpaid. I have called the SSA, and was told to just keep reporting her wages monthly and the correction will be made. Well, it's been 2 months of getting both and the correction has not been made. It will soon be 3 months. She lives with me, and is on my insurance for as long as I live, but we use her Medicaid for whatever my insurance doesn't cover. I don't want this coming back on us. Has anyone else been in this situation?

I just got the denial in the mail, and I am so angry at their reasoning. Their reasoning, after the long list of physical issues I have, I can work with my knee issues. Yep, of all the things that were listed- torn meniscus that requires a full knee replacement, spinal stenosis, multi-level disc degeneration, herniated discs, arthritis in both knees, fibromyalgia- the one thing they focused on and claimed was my primary issue was knee issues: arthritis. So that is their reasoning for denial. I provided pages on how all these issues limit my daily activities, my ability to function, and how it affects me physically overall, and it seems like they didn't even look at that. I got a lawyer to help with my first appeal; wish me luck!

Hello, I am the rep payee for my 26 year old son, who was found disabled in 2021 before his 22nd birthday. He was adopted age 7 from foster care and has numerous psychiatric disabilities. I spent literally months researching and attending webinars before starting the SSI appliction, and fortunately he was approved for SSI on the first try, with me appointed as his rep payee.

I as his rep payee received notice a few weeks ago that he is having a continuing disability review. I will complete the long form 454-BK and get it in by the due date. I am also working with four medical providers to let them know they will be contacted for medical records. He's been meeting with all four regularly for years.

His adoptive dad began receiving SS retirement payments late last year and we do understand that our son is now eligible to apply to have his SSI transferred to his dad's SSDI. Does anyone know if this would effect his medical continuing disability review in any way? I suspect not, since the review is already underway.

I did call SSA and was told he can apply at any time and doesn't need to wait until the review is completed.

He may have been up for review anyway, but I suspect it may have been prompted when our state's vocational services ended his case with them because "it is my professional judgement that you are unavailable to effectively engage in career services at this time."

Any advice would be appreciated!

Location: Nevada

I have been on SSDI since 2020 due to a TBI I acquired from brain surgery. Due to a compassionate allowance (Glioblastoma), I was auto-approved. My former work was as the VP of the regional office for a national franchise.

At present, money is really tight and my mom (on hospice) offered me her companion hours which have been approved through the NVDSS Frail and Elderly program. This job is really just watching TV with her and chatting. There are no real tasks involved. It would be 7 hrs/week at $18.50, about $130/week.

I have no ability to perform sustained work with my TBI. Processing new information or being in a chaotic or loud environment drains me. I also can’t multi-task or block out background noise. Even on a low stakes day, I need a daily nap usually around 2-3pm. However, I feel like this may be possible. It’s a low cognitive load and just being present with her.

I know I need to report it and stay under SGA. What I’m actually worried about: does “caregiver” on paper make this look like more than it is, and could that bite me at my next CDR? Can anyone advise me on this before I call SSA?

No opposition, just the remand offer. First good news I’ve had on my case for 2.5 years, I’m so relieved + happy. 1,000% know there’s more steps…

But now I can present my additional new symptoms at the hearing + address the deficiencies from the previous decision too.

Finally happy w/ my footing. I wrote a 45 page opening brief I poured into. (An online service helped me write it, I heard the length was standard + it was very thorough/needed I feel, plus got me the positive outcome I wanted.)

T_T ❤️

im not sure if im using the right flare... if im not, please correct me. for context, i was on SSI and was transferred to the DAC SSDI program halfway thru my job time. i dont know if that affects anything.

so, i worked at tjmaxx for about 8 months. when i was hired i reported it to the ssa office immediately, and i was diligent in providing my paystubs. i tried to quit via phone due to my mental health worsening, and my manager convinced me to do the 2 weeks so i would be rehireable. i realized i could not do the 2 weeks, i was having panic attacks and crying and even considering going inpatient because of how i felt. so i left the store manager a text saying i couldnt because of my mental health on may 7th. he never replied, but i took it as a done deal. i should not have done that.

august 1st he sends me a text, saying he never removed me from the system so i could have a "second chance when i wanted" mind you he never told me that, so i was in the system getting 0.00 dollar paychecks for months.

i told him to give me some time to think, because i wasnt sure if i wanted to do that again, and i would need to figure out what to even say to the ssa office. i turned him down last sunday. he still did not remove me from his system. according to my dad, who worked at tjmaxx for over 10 years before retiring, he gets retention rate bonuses from corporate.

i ended up going into the workday app and finding a resignation area that i didnt know about, and 3 hours after submitting it i was listed as terminated.

i dont know what to do because when i quit i reported my quit date to the ssa office as may 11th (the first shift of the week, which i did not attend) so i technically lied unintentionally, and im scared of that counting against me, especially because i applied for food stamps 2x and was denied bc i couldnt provide paystubs that, in my mind, didnt exist. now i know why that happened, i guess...

i have really extreme anxiety, im autistic, i dont know what to say when i call back. i dont want to be penalized for this... and if they ask for the 0.00 dollar paychecks, i cant provide them, because i forgot to download them before submitting my resignation, and the workday app locks you out when you quit.