It is worth noting that the SSDI is a program in which regular employees and self-employed individuals are paid monetary benefits and other non-monetary assistance based on their tax contributions to the Social Security funds and on their work history. On the other hand, the SSI is a program that does not base on the workers’ work history, but rests solely on the basis of their low income and resources.

Medical Eligibility

The SSA determines your eligibility to receive either the SSDI or SSI benefits. Their basis rests on your evidentiary documents, particularly those related to your medical condition. Since the SSA has its own definition of disability, it is obvious that you have to provide medical proof to show that your current disability prevents from working.

When you apply for Social Security Disability claim that contains filled-up application forms and evidentiary requirements, the SSA will not be the only ones who will go over it. The Disability Determination Services (DDS) will also take a look at your claim, especially your medical proof. The DDS is a state-run agency that is tasked to determine if your disability is severe enough to give you benefits.

Moreover, the DDS will take a look at the List of Impairments, colloquially known as the “Blue Book”. It is a manual that contains a list of medical conditions that are considered severe that will entitle you to receive disability benefits. If they see that your condition matches one of those listed in the said manual, then you are automatically eligible for benefits. If not, the DDS will try to match the severity of your condition to the one listed on the “Blue Book”.

Also, the DDS will look at the possibility of you returning to your past work based on limitations that you have. If they saw that you can only exert light work given that your previous job requires you to exert work in the medium level, then you are not expected to get back to work.

However, the DDS may also look at the possibility of you doing “other work”. If they do find out that you are capable of doing other work, then you cannot anymore be eligible to receive benefits.

According to a US treasury report, instead of investing revenue from social security funds the government borrowed the social security funds. These funds were revenue received from payroll taxes of baby boomers who fully expect to retire in the next 20 years or less. Ironically, the government borrowed $4.4 trillion in social security and Medicare surplus from itself.

According to CBS News, America owes China $843 billion, paying $50 billion yearly in interest alone. The Census Bureau equates that debt to approximately $10,000 worth of debt per American family. It is assumed that China financed the war on Iraq.

America owes Japan an estimated $541 billion, about $1,800 or more per American citizen; or at least they will owe Japan when the US bonds that Japan holds mature. Tragically, World War II was between the United States and Japan. It would have been politically incorrect to ask Japan to finance the war on Iraq. Investing in the US was more appropriate.

The list of investors and American debt appear endless and continue to rise. The unemployment rate in America is at an all time high. Is it realistic to think that Americans will just stand idly by and allow the government to make us responsible for the deficit?

Why are things so bad for older workers?  Why is there so much to fear?  There are several reasons, and when they are put together the picture is bleak.  Among the factors affecting men and women over fifty are:

1.  Many jobs that were lost in the recession will not return.  Businesses that learned to survive with fewer employees will continue to make do with less staff.  Outsourcing will often be preferred as an alternative to hiring.  Full-time positions will give way to part-time jobs with less pay and benefits.

2.  Men and women over fifty years old have trouble competing for available jobs.  Younger workers are often viewed as more energetic, flexible and enthusiastic.  Their financial needs are often less and their commitments fewer.  This is what Corporate America frequently prefers to the wisdom and experience of older workers.  This is not inherently good or bad—it is simply the way of things. 

3.  Social security benefits will be stretched beyond their limits when the Baby Boomers retire.  This is even more of an issue with high unemployment—men and women who lost their jobs in the recession are not funneling money into Social Security or their retirement accounts.  Because laid-off workers are using their savings to survive, they will need Social Security benefits more than ever—and it will not be there.

4.  Many Baby Boomers were in debt before the recession began.  Even a frugal lifestyle is difficult to manage when debt chips away at paychecks and savings.  Choices made during prosperous times now seem reckless. 

This is not an indictment of economic policies past or present—nor is it a judgment of anyone finding themselves in dire straits.  It is simply the stark reality facing many under- and unemployed workers each day. 

In response, Baby Boomers are re-entering the work force as entrepreneurs.  They realize businesses are still looking for the work ethic, experience and judgment older workers offer—they’re just not hiring them as full-time employees.  When Corporate America turns to outsourcing and contract labor, the Baby Boomers have resolved to be there to answer the call.  They are selling their services in a highly competitive global market, but they aren’t giving up.  American business should not give up on them, either—the country needs their expertise, and America needs older men and women to remain self-reliant.  A true crisis will result if an entire generation must rely on depleted Social Security benefits and/or the financial resources of their children to survive. 

Will America prosper twenty years from now, or will it find itself struggling to care for the men and women it cast out of the work force twenty years earlier?  The answer to this question will be decided in the upcoming months and years—not decades.  If short-sighted business practices remain standard procedure, the United States will face continued hardship.  If the Baby Boomers become forgotten citizens, a price will eventually be paid.  It is time not just for difficult decisions to be made, but visionary ones.  Nothing less will suffice.

You must be a low-income individual of at least 65 years of age, to or be blind or considered disabled in order to qualify for Social Security and the SSI benefits. Your doctor must state that you are disabled and be willing to sign paperwork proclaiming this. If your doctor does not claim you to be disabled, you can not file for emergency SSI benefits. You can be 18 to file for SSI, however, as you are not a adult yet, you need your parents or legal guardians to sign all of the paperwork with you.

Navigate to the government’s Social Security Web page, provided in the “Resources” section.

Click on “Applying for Disability Benefits” and select if you are over or under 18. If you are under 18, you will need a parent or guardian to fill out and sign the form for you.

Click on the link for “Online Application for Social Security Benefits.” Here you are going to be asked for your Social Security Number, plus additional information such as age and current address.

Complete the form, then fill out the “Adult Disability Report.” This form can be found on the same page as the “Applying for Disability Benefits” form, and it is similar to the Social Security form; however, you will need to fill out what your disability is. The federal government will then review your information and will contact you once the review has been completed.

Frank received his Social Security on the third of the month. He died on the 17th of the month.

Social Security stopped his next check and went back and took his last check paid.

Frank’s wife had to file to get his last check paid, but taken, returned. Even though his next check was his the Social Security kept that check.

Linda was paid her Social Security check on the 11th of the month. She died on the 2nd of the month.

Linda’s husband received her next check and Social Security allowed him to keep her last check paid as well.

Harvey’s wife received her Social Security check on the 11th of the month, she died on the 9th of the month.

Social Security stopped her last check, did not take the last check paid but gave Harvey the last check owed after he filed for it.

Mac received his Social Security on the third of the month. He died on the 19th of the month. His last check was stopped but his wife was allowed to keep his last check paid. She was denied, when she filed for his last check owed.

It’s a crap shoot.

If you have a spouse or someone else on your checking account, keep one full Social Security check in the bank. Or your survivor will be facing overdraft and bounced check charges. 

The word was, “Get Out and Vote. Make your Vote Count.” And yet some still wonder why so many people did not. Why didn’t they? Are there really so many of us that are so lazy that we will not even try to choose the best leader for this great country of ours? Or are there more and more of us that are simply trying to make their non-vote a clear statement to a government that does not allow them to vote on matters which are truly more important in their everyday lives (not to create an excuse for those who truly are too lazy)? Maybe people are just tired of their opinions being so limited. Options that are so basic. Even our President was elected by the book before every state was counted. Don’t tell us one thing, then blatantly contradict yourself.

When were any of us asked whether or not our Social Security Benefits should be handed over to anyone who has never even contributed to it? Did I miss that opportunity to voice my opinion, or was that some secret ballot that only concerned others who do not contribute to it either? Who in the hell did that make sense to? How did it matter more to them than it did to any of us? Can a man who just lost his job find free food to feed his family, in a store that his hard earned money paid for? Can he apply for the same benefits to open his own store, or does the fact that he is only a U.S. Citizen keep him from the same options? And why does the media not demand answers to these same questions? They sure do pound out stories about the affect it has on all of us.

Who voted on whether or not Congress deserved a raise? They did? In a time when unemployment has reached an unprecedented high and U.S. Citizens are losing their homes in record numbers, they voted themselves a raise? How was our opinion expressed then? Who asked any of us what we thought then? Wasn’t it our hard earned money involved there too? Vote yourself a raise and see how far you get. Would it not depend on your performance? Minimum Wage went up $0.42 in my state, I saw it clearly plastered across a billboard on the side of a very busy intersection. How much did Congress raise their own income? I could not find it on the ballot I never had when my vote did not count. Help to set your company back 20 years, go in for a raise, then wonder why your voice no longer matters.