Supplemental Security Income

It helps to know what the Social Security Judge is thinking when deciding your case.

If you are under 50 years of age, the Social Security rules say that if you can perform any work full time, then you are not disabled.

This is a pretty high standard for you to meet. There is usually some type of sit down job that a vocational expert or judge may think you can perform.

You have to convince the Administrative Law Judge that you cannot perform any job.

If you are 50 years of age or over you may be found disabled even though you can still perform certain jobs.

For instance, if you can only work a sit down job then you can still be found disabled. This is general statement because depending on your past relevant work and transferable skills you may be found not disabled.

As you can see it gets complicated. As are the arguments you must make.

But it does happen. Only about 60 percent of the cases at the hearing level result in approvals.

If you do lose you have the option to appeal.

The appeal goes to the Appeals Council in Virginia.

The appeal is a paper appeal. You write an argument explaining why you think the Administrative Law Judge was wrong.

It takes anywhere from 2 to 12 months to get a response.

You can reapply while the appeal is pending.

You should do both. The reapplication usually takes less time than the original case because the case has already been worked up.

You may win on the new application while you wait for the appeal.

You must not give up. Keep trying. Social Security Disability is about medical treatment and persistence.