TO: Jean

[Guest guest]

I am not saying you will get disability while you are working per

se. I worked, I didn't work, then I would work, then not work.

Finally after a couple months of not working, I applied. But, they

figured my wages all the way back to the time that I said I was

disabled. That is the clincher. When they figured mine, they were

under the substantial gainful employment.

Back pay is figured on the date that the Social Security

Administration decides you were actually disabled. It may or not

may not be the date you give. In my case, they used the date of

disability that I gave which was the very first day I got sick.

For an example, if you are working full time and making what SSA

calls the substantial gainful activity amount and then you just quit

and go apply for SSD they will turn you down. You have to have been

disabled one year or have a doctor say that you are going to be

disabled at least one year with your disability. I had been working

below the SGA for 18 months when I had applied for SSD.

I think there is a misconception someplace that if you have a

disabling disease, you can apply for benefits. That is not true.

Again your disability has to have disabled you for one year OR a

doctor has to confirm that you will not be able to work for at least

one year etc. etc. That is where I was at. Eighteen months down

the line and I am barely working. When they figured my estimated

earnings, it came out to less than $200 dollars a month i had been

making for the last 18 months and nothing the last 2 months before I

applied with no end in site.

If you have not read my story about SS on Marks Top 5 plus 5 board

please read it. It can explain things better.

It has been five years since all of that. The SSA has raised the

amount of substantial gainful activity which is to your advantage.

I think now it is $780 a month BUT if you make less than $560 a

month (I think that is what it is) then they don't even count that

month in their figures!

Please do not forget that one year rule though. I think that is

where folks are getting confused.

I hope this helps.

Kaye

In pancreatitis , " salliesue_7572 " <rjlind@j...>

wrote:

> So Kaye, are you saying you collected disibility even tho you were

> still working? If this is the cast, you are one in a million and

it

> sure does not work that way around here and to the many people

that I

> have known try to get it or do get it. You are correct in the way

> you explaing back pay. But am wondering about applying for it as

> soon as you quit work and expecting backpay sounds really odd to

me.

> I wish that could be the case for everyone, but in all my

experience

> with dealing with it, I have never seen that happen. Jean