Disability benefits are a form of financial assistance offered through the Social Security Administration (SSA) to those who live with a disability. If you are disabled and have become unable to work, you can apply for disability benefits to help cover the expenses related to medical bills and everyday living.
If you have already applied for benefits and are unsure about the status of your application, don’t hesitate to check in with the SSA and continue to do so, ensuring that you are kept in the loop of your disability benefits application process.
The Disability Benefits Application Process
The stage of your disability benefits application process in which you first submit your application to the SSA and are waiting to hear back is called the initial stage, or application stage. It usually takes about three to four months for the SSA to process your claim and assign it to your disability examiner, who will request your medical records and any additional information.
If you have not heard anything from the SSA for three to four months, you may want to check in and see if the SSA has received your application and related materials. It is not at all uncommon for the SSA to be backlogged with tons of disability benefits applications – adding more time to the generally lengthy application process.
A good tip to note is to check in with the SSA on the status of your application at least once a month. By doing this, you ensure that the SSA has not lost your paperwork or forgot to notify you of any decisions regarding your application.
How to Check Your Disability Benefits Application Status
You can check the status of your disability benefits application easily in three ways:
- On the SSA’s website
- Over the phone, by calling 1-800-772-1213
- At your local SSA office
Medical Evidence to Prove your Social Security Disability Claim
As the initial review stage of your disability benefits application is such a long process, you may begin to collect new medical evidence regarding your disability. For example, your condition may have worsened since you first sent in your application – potentially, it only equaled a Blue Book listing before, and now it exactly matches it, making your approval much easier and clear-cut.
On the other hand, you may have had additional surgery, changed your course of treatment, started a new medication, or a slew of other medical updates that may affect your medical eligibility for disability benefits.
To ensure that none of this information slips through the cracks, make sure that you continuously send any new medical evidence to the SSA regarding your disability.
Getting Help with Your Disability Claim
If you are waiting on the status of your application and confused about what to do next, you should consider hiring a disability lawyer or advocate to help you throughout the process. A lawyer or advocate can help you file your application and submit it to the SSA, as well as answer any questions you have about the initial review stage of your application.
