Many social security claimants don’t fully realize that, when they file their initial application to prove they are disabled and receive Social Security, they can file under two programs with two distinct technical requirements. One program, Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB), is based on how much a claimant has paid into the system, through Social Security taxes, over the past 10 years. The other program, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), is based on how few assets, and how little income, the claimant’s household has. However, after being found to meet the technical requirements of one or both programs, a claimant still has to be found medically disabled under the Social Security Administration’s policies and procedures.
To apply for both programs, a claimant will have to complete an Adult Disability Report, either online, by hand, or by interview with a representative at the Social Security Administration. In order to apply for DIB, a claimant can go online to SSA.gov, and complete the online application, or the claimant can complete the application by interview with the SSA. However, the SSI portion of the application can only be completed through an interview with the SSA, either in person or by telephone. This fact is especially important if a claimant has completed the Adult Disability Report and the Online Benefits Application, but then has found out he/she does not have the wage credits to qualify for DIB. The claimant will then absolutely have to complete the SSI interview with the Social Security Administration in order to continue with the application.
Applying for both programs from the beginning of the initial application is an ideal action for many claimants. Sometimes claimants think they have paid enough into the system, or that their conditions became disabling while they were still insured under the Social Security Disability system, but find out after applying that this is not the case. Applying for Supplemental Security Income in this case may rescue these claims, if the claimant has the requisite few assets. On the other side of the coin, a claimant might think they have the necessary few assets and little income, but receive a technical denial for SSI after the interview, due to just being over the line. This is an instance where also turning in a Benefits Application to Social Security may be a good idea, as the claimant may still have paid enough into the system to be insured at the time their condition became disabling.
Due to the mutually exclusive technical requirements for both Supplemental Security Income and Disability Insurance Benefits, it is reassuring to know that if a claimant applies for both programs, and then gets technically denied from one (either by having too many assets, or by not paying enough into the system), that claimant will not automatically be denied from the other. The only technical denial that carries across both claims is when a claimant is, at the time of the application, making more that $1,010 per month in gross income (before taxes are taken out).
