You have an illness or an injury that is creating a disability for you. You know that it’s impossible for you to work at this time. You’re interested in seeking benefits through the Social Security Administration.
Your situation is very common, and you are certainly not alone. A lot of people find themselves unable to work and start looking into what benefits they can get just so that they can make ends meet. The one thing you have to ask yourself is how long that disability is going to last. This has a big impact on whether or not you’re going to qualify.
Will it be an entire year?
According to the Social Security Administration, your condition does not count as a disability by their definition unless it is going to last for 12 months or be fatal. This is a very strict definition that they apply to all cases. Even if your condition is going to last for 11 months, and that seems like an astronomical amount of time to have to try to get by without any income, that doesn’t count as a disability to the SSA.
For this reason, it is incredibly important to work with your medical team to make sure that your diagnosis includes a potential end date. If your doctor shows that you’re not going to be able to return to your job for at least 12 months, that goes a long way toward supporting your application for benefits.
It’s very important to get everything that you deserve during a stressful and difficult time like this. Be sure you know what options you have and what steps to take.