I am receiving Social Security Disability benefits and I Want to get Married – will my Benefit Check be Affected?

Posted on 09.11.13

If you are receiving SSDI (Title II disability benefits) your monthly check will not be impacted if you get married. This is because your SSDI payment is based on your earnings record and household income is not a factor in determining your eligibility.

By contrast, your SSI payment most likely would be impacted by your marriage, especially if your spouse-to-be is working. SSI (Title XVI disability) is a welfare program and your benefit payment is subject to something called the “deeming rules.”

The deeming rules are quite complex but the net result of these rules would be to cause you to lose some or all of your SSI monthly check if your spouse earns even a modest salary. Further, if you get married and certain assets end up in your name, those assets can also serve to reduce your SSI benefit payment.

If your spouse-to-be is also collecting SSI, you will both likely see a reduction in your total monthly benefit. This is because the maximum you can receive for SSI (in 2013) is $710, but the max for a married couple is $1,066.

So, the bottom line here: if you are receiving SSDI, your check will not be impacted by a marriage, but if you are receiving SSI, your check will most likely be negatively impacted.

Does Social Security Take into Account You Local Job Market or Your Lack of Transportation?

Posted on 07.16.13

Social Security frames its definition of disability in terms of work capacity. If you have a medical or mental health condition that prevents you from performing the tasks of a simple, entry-level job, you stand a good chance at winning your SSDI or SSI claim. ¹

When you appear at your hearing, the judge will most likely call a vocational witness to serve as an expert [Learn more about what actually happens at a disability hearing by clicking here]. The judge will ask the vocational witness a series of question to help the judge understand whether any jobs exist in the regional or national economy that you could do, given your medical limitations.

Because Social Security is so focused on work capacity, you may be wondering if non-medical factors are considered by Social Security – matters such as:

you have no transportation to get to a job
a very poor job market in your community
the pay offered by one of these simple, entry-level jobs would not be enough to support your family
the likelihood that you would not pass a pre-employment physical
your personal experience that employers are not likely to hire a person with XYZ impairments
difficulty getting back into the workforce after being out for months or years
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Of course, you need evidence from treating doctors to diagnose your medical issues and to issue opinions about your reduced capacity for work. ↩

Why Would an Obviously Disabled Person Not Qualify for Social Security Disability?

Posted on 08.22.11

I recently received an email from the relative of a person who likely qualifies for Social Security disability in terms of her medical issues, but perhaps is not eligible on non-medical grounds:

I have a brother who lives in your state and his wife has become disabled. She is in a wheelchair now. They talked to someone about social security and they told them that she did not work enough. That has kinda of upset me because I thought social security disability was for people who can’t work anymore. They have to cut back on her physical therapy because there copay is high and they live on one salary. This doesn’t make sence to me I see people who can work on this and it is not right. Would you please send me information on who can get SSD and who can’t so I can understand this and they can understand this too.

Here are my thoughts: first, I am going to assume that your sister-in-law has a serious medical problem that has left her wheelchair bound, and that her medical problem has lasted or is expected to last 12 consecutive months. This 12 month “duration” requirement is part of Social Security’s definition of disability, and short term impairments do not qualify.

If she is truly wheelchair bound, more likely than not she would qualify medically based on a listing, or on the basis that her capacity for full time work has been so reduced that she would not be able to perform the duties of a simple, entry-level job.

Thus, based on what you say, it appears that your sister-in-law meets Social Security’s definition of disability. What, then, is the problem?

It may be that she does not qualify for either SSDI or SSI.

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