Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are two programs offered by the Social Security Administration that offer cash benefits to those who are disabled. The key difference in the SSDI and SSI programs are the qualifications required to be approved.
SSDI Benefits
Social Security Disability Insurance is a cash benefit available to those who have physical or mental disabilities that prevent them from working. The impairment must have lasted — or be expected to last — more than 12 months or be fatal.
These benefits are only available to workers who have “paid into” the Social Security system. The systems is funded by the Social Security taxes workers, employers and self-employed people pay.
The approval process for SSDI benefits can be slow unless you are suffering from one a condition on the SSA’s Compassionate Allowance list. If your claim is denied, you have the right to appeal the decision.
SSI Benefits
Social Security Income is a benefit system for low-income individuals who are either 65 years of age or older, blind, or meet the SSA’s definition of disability.
SSI is strictly a need-based program and to qualify you must meet the income and assets requirements. The program is financed through general revenues, and not through payroll taxes, so the benefits are available to those who have not paid into the Social Security system or who have not paid in for long enough to qualify for SSDI.
The SSA will add up your resources, which includes wages earned from work as well as assets such as bank accounts, vehicles, personal property, and anything else you own that could be converted to money for basic necessities. Not all assets are counted. For example, in general your home and one vehicle won’t be counted as assets. To qualify for benefits, your resources must be under the limits, which are $2,000 for an individual or child and $3,000 for a couple.
Do you need help with an application for Social Security disability benefits or assistance appealing a denial? Contact The Law Offices Of M. Stanley Whitehead today to get help from a disability lawyer in Houston.
