SSDI Disappointment

I recently applied for Social Security disability income because of my multiple mental disorders and the guy on the phone said it is still in the works and if I am approved my first check would not be until April or May of next year and it will be something small like $235, I said omg that’s nothing, why!?? He said “because you haven’t worked that much so your work money social security portion that is automatically taken out of your checks has never added up to a large amount so we can only give you this amount monthly.” Why is that? Can anyone answer? I thought, and from what I saw on google, the average amount most people get a month from SSDI is around $1166. So why am I getting only around $235 a month? I think that’s ridiculous. My illnesses disable me too much for me to hold even a simple part time job. Why will I be getting such little amount from them? Can anyone explain to me what he meant when he told me that? Please help.

wow, if that’s the case I would reapply for SSI, at least then you would get around $600. ? I wish I could make you feel better. I paid quite a bit into social security before I got sick so I make a decent amount on SSDI. good luck.

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Apparently I have earned so little that they just disqualified me completely. I wonder if getting disability is just like getting your social security check early or something like that. Although they said I haven’t worked at least 3 years but I have so I don’t get where they got that from.

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The guy on the phone could be wrong or misinformed. Its not unheard of for office workers to make mistakes. My understanding of SSDI is that they look at how many years you’ve worked. I always thought that if you worked two or three years as an adult that you qualify. I’m not positive about it though. If I were you I would talk to some one else in the office to either see if they agree with that guy.

I don’t want to get your hopes up erroneously but to show you how mistakes are made about 6 years ago somehow the Social Security Administration informed me that my SSDI was being stopped because they don’t give SSDI benefits to prisoners currently in prison in Alabama.

Well, for one thing, I’ve never been in prison. Secondly, I live in California and I’ve never been anywhere near Alabama.

Anyways, it took me five or six phone calls and a visit to the Social Security office to straighten this out.

Like I said, I don’t want to give you false hope but I just showed how Social Security can make mistakes.

You might want to ask for help about this matter from your family, a case worker or a friend.

Generally if you qualify for such a low amount for SSDI then you automatically qualify for SSI which is a State funded program similar to the Federal SSDI the most you can receive from SSI is around $765 and it is not fully based on your employment earnings. So call the Social Security Administration back and ask about your States’s SSI program.

I did not qualify for SSDI but did get approved for SSI. Actually should be getting my first check next week. Mental disorders generally get approved depending on your medical records. The paperwork takes forever and is a real hassle but it worked for me. You may need a payee for them to issue your checks to, they seemingly do not trust us to handle our own finances without explicit doctors approval stating you are able to do so.

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I would think that someone that made $1166 per month probably made at least $25,000 per year for a while prior to becoming disabled. Think back at how much you made and how much you worked this can make a big difference in how much you are gonna get. I would think that if $235 is all your gonna get then you probably only worked very part time.I can’t image you ever worked full time if $235 is all your intitled to.

make sure you applied for both SSI and SSDI, you could get $765 a month for SSI plus $235 for ssdi

http://www.disability-benefits-help.org/faq/ssi-ssdi-same-time

SSI has some rules though SSDI doesn’t, with SSI you can’t have more than $2,000 in assets excluding car, house and wedding ring. look up SSI rules