There are many drawbacks when you are disabled. Depending on your disability, there are a lot of things that you can’t do now. This can leave you unable to perform the manual and mental work that you once used to perform.

More than losing some of your abilities, you may also end up needing additional money for your medicines or any additional service you might need to survive.

You don’t always have people to look out for you or help you with those above-mentioned needs. During these times, it’s probably only the government that you can turn to for help. The government realizes this and that is why it came up with additional social security benefits that aim to help people with disabilities.

Supplemental Security Income—or SSI is a program of the United States government that extends assistance to individuals with a low income. Such potential SSI beneficiaries can be the elderly, blind, or disabled.

The idea of this new measure is for the government to be able to reach out and help as many disabled American citizens as possible. This effectively replaces the federal-state adult assistance programs of the past.

It could be remembered that former President Richard Nixon was passionate about bringing reform to the nation’s welfare programs. While there had been legislations aiming to help the blind, the permanently and totally disabled, and the elderly, he believed that this should be federalized and run by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

While having the same purpose with the older legislations, the newer measure has been restructured and now aims for the standardizations of the level of benefits, as well as eligibility. This incorporation to the Social Security Act is perfect not only for people of old age, but also for those who have been suffering from different kinds of disabilities.

Now, disabled people are getting their desperately needed monetary assistance to help them get by with their daily lives. For these people, receiving this kind of assistance lets them pay their bills, take care of their health, and sustain their daily needs.

Through this new system, people who need the caring of the government the most receives their end of the taxes which the citizenry has paid for.

If you are from the Los Angeles and are suffering from a disability, are blind, or too old to still perform manual work, you don’t have to worry for the government has your back.

Accordingly, a Los Angeles SSI lawyer can be of great help when making claims for SSI. He will give you that much-needed legal advice on how you can ask for SSI benefits and help you with the entire process. Just submit your application and the corresponding requirements and you may soon receive your claims.

If you have been long disabled or you got incapacitated lately and you fear for your future, you should worry no more. You can now fend for yourself and survive through your disability for your government will take care of you.

Workers who are unable to work because of a disability should keep in mind that being partially impaired doesn’t qualify them for Social Security disability benefits. Accordingly, if you have a partial disability and you want to acquire benefits, you should talk with a Los Angeles disability lawyer to explore your possible options.

To begin with, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program of the Social Security Administration (SSA) is designed to help people with total disability. Accordingly, to become eligible for SSDI benefits, you must meet the following criteria:


·         You are unable to perform work you once did;

·         You are unable to carry out any kind of work because of your disability; and

·         Your medical condition is expected to last for at least a year or is expected to result in death.


Medical proof is needed to be qualified for this program. You must have enough evidence that you indeed have a total disability, from lab results, clinical tests, doctor’s diagnosis, to your doctor’s statements regarding your limitations brought by your medical condition. The SSA would then determine if your disability falls on their Impairment Listing Manual or “Blue Book.” If the federal agency verifies your disability, then you are automatically qualified for total disability.


Incidentally, SSDI does not cover partial or even short-term disability; however, you can still qualify for other benefits, such as the following:


·         Worker’s compensation. If you got injured or you incurred a disability while you are on the job, you can receive worker’s compensation benefits. This program is designed to provide employees like you who were injured on the job with supplementary income and costs that are enough to cover your medical recovery and rehabilitation.




·         Long-term disability benefits. This is another option in which you can receive compensation so that you can recover from your injury right away. However, you may have to still work on a job, albeit on a less hazardous environment that wouldn’t compromise your condition and your recovery.

It was announced May of this year that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is providing statements online for beneficiaries 18 years old and above. This is said to be a cost-saving move that would help the federal agency save about $70 million dollars a year.

The online statement would basically contain an estimate of how much benefits an individual can receive, and the amount of money earned through the course of his or her career. More importantly, this would also keep a beneficiary informed of his or her estimated benefits that will have an impact upon reaching the retirement age.

An individual must, however, sign up a secure account to access the information. Upon completion of registration, the beneficiary may consider these important tips when looking up his or her online statement:

·         Along with the online registration for the online statement is the registration for a text service. After signing up for the service, he or she will receive a text message every time someone enters his or her account. This would help provide information security.

·         The Commissioner Michael J. Astrue has said that it is best for the individual to check his or her online statement once every year, preferably on his or her birthday. The online statement is updated every year, with new earning information supplied in the account.

·         Checking the record of earnings is a must for the individual with an online statement. The calculations of the Social Security payments are based on the individual’s 35 highest-earning years while he or she is at work.

·         The online statement’s main purpose is to help make certain decisions upon reaching the age of retirement, since it provides an estimate of the monthly payment he or she is expected to receive between the ages 62 to 70. If he or she delays claiming for retirement benefits, it is highly likely for him or her to have an increase in benefits.

An applicant can attain this new development of the SSA if his or her claim is approved. To speed up the process of the application, he or she can retain the services of a Los Angeles disability attorney. The reputable disability attorney will make every effort to help get his or her claim approved.