If you are approved for disability benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, then the monthly SSDI payment you receive from the Social Security Administration (SSA) is considered “Title II” benefits.
What Are Title II FZ Benefits
If you are statutorily, or legally blind, you can continue to work and still receive SSDI benefits. Your benefits are required to be designated Title II FZ under the SSA’s rules governing disability for statutory blindness.
This designation simply means that the years that are Title II FZ are not counted against you:
- When the SSA computes your eligibility to receive disability benefits in the future
- When they later look at your eligibility to receive standard Social Security or old age/retirement benefits.
OR
This is considered a “disability freeze”, meaning that your earnings record is frozen.
This in turn means that when the SSA performs later earnings requirement tests and earning record evaluations, the years that are marked FZ in your earnings history will not be factored in to the determination of your eligibility for benefits.
The disability freeze of earnings records only applies to legally blind disabled workers that are still “wage earners”. In other words, Title II – FZ is only recorded in the earnings record of legally blind workers that are also receiving disability benefits through the SSID program.
Next Steps to Take
Before applying for Social Security benefits, you need to make sure you have as much medical evidence of your condition as possible. The more medical evidence you have, the better your chances are of being approved. Your Social Security attorney will be able to help you gather your medical evidence.
