How Do You Un-join This Hadit Board?

[LarryJ]

Somebody?

Please?

Help Me.

I can't find the EXIT door.

The ESCAPE hatch.

Carlie, T-Bird, Berta, Pete............SOMEBODY get me the heck outta here!

[halos2]

What the heck is this all about LarryJ? We enjoy your assistance. Is this a december fool's joke? :)

[sharon]

Sorry, you have a lifetime membership. 'til death do us part. :)

[free_spirit_etc]

You don't have to leave Larry. I will.

Free

Somebody?

Please?

Help Me.

I can't find the EXIT door.

The ESCAPE hatch.

Carlie, T-Bird, Berta, Pete............SOMEBODY get me the heck outta here!

[sharon]

Tis the season to be jolly :) . Lets agree to disagree and use the knowledge we have to help those in need of our services. My Christmas wishis Peace on Earth, Good will toward men. Help me out.

[halos2]

Sharon I read the posts where this occurance arose, but LarryJ gave factual information regarding SSDI. We all want peace too but people need to read the information throughly and not try to shoot the messenger. I am sure you as well as I and others have found posts we don't agree with the content someone writes, but one must look at the facts...sometimes we all may be quick to judge but the facts remain and are valid regarding eligibility for SSDI 100% benefits. Thanks Sharon for trying to mediate here too. You offer priceless info on your post responses.

quote name='sharon' date='Dec 20 2009, 10:32 PM' post='181571']

Tis the season to be jolly :) . Lets agree to disagree and use the knowledge we have to help those in need of our services. My Christmas wishis Peace on Earth, Good will toward men. Help me out.

[free_spirit_etc]

Sharon I read the posts where this occurance arose, but LarryJ gave factual information regarding SSDI. We all want peace too but people need to read the information throughly and not try to shoot the messenger. I am sure you as well as I and others have found posts we don't agree with the content someone writes, but one must look at the facts...sometimes we all may be quick to judge but the facts remain and are valid regarding eligibility for SSDI 100% benefits. Thanks Sharon for trying to mediate here too. You offer priceless info on your post responses.

quote name='sharon' date='Dec 20 2009, 10:32 PM' post='181571']

Tis the season to be jolly :) . Lets agree to disagree and use the knowledge we have to help those in need of our services. My Christmas wishis Peace on Earth, Good will toward men. Help me out.

Halos,

I was not attempting to shoot any messenger for delivering any factual message. I do agree that Larry is right, that generally a person has to be not working to be approved for SSD. However, I respectfully disagree with the idea that most members present that it is impossible to get SSD while working.

You will not get SSD while working full-time. You will not get SSD while engaging in SGA. You will not get SSD if Social Security determines you are [bold]capable[/bold] of engaging in SGA, regardless of whether you are doing so.

However, there are certain circumstances where people are awarded SSD, while still working, if their disability is such that though they are still able to work some, they are no longer able to work enough to earn the Substantial Gainful amount. This can sometimes be the case in progressive conditions. The person begins to work less and less, and often eventually becomes unable to work at all.

I read in a Social Security forum (SSA Connect) that people often lose a significant amount of benefits because they list their date of onset of disability as the day they stopped working, rather when their income dropped below substantial gainful employment.

When my husband first applied for SSD, he was initially told by the intake worker that his period of disability would start December 2005 (the point he quit working). We asked her to check and see if they could consider the period from July 2005 – November 2005 also, because at that point his earnings had dropped below the substantial gainful amount, though he was still working. They approved his disability effective July 2005 – and so December 2005 became the first month he could be paid benefits, rather than the first month of his 5 month waiting period.

So one thing that really stood out to me was the fact that the Original Poster indicated he was finding it harder and harder to keep working.. That indicated to me he may well go through that period where he keeps trying to work, but finds himself earning less and less. I would recommend that if this becomes the case, that he does speak with Social Security, and / or an attorney to find out his options.

He does need to be fully informed on this matter, and not just go by what someone told him somewhere, because they have all kind of rules about what constitutes SGA (Substantial Gainful Activity) and what constitutes TWP (Trial Work Period). The threshold for TWP is lower – and a month can count as a month used in a Trial Work Period, even if the person did not earn enough to constitute SGA.

With that being said – my real issue was not that the poster was being told that in order to qualify for SSD he had to be completely unable to work at all. That seems to be the general consensus of the group. And that is also the general rule in most cases.

My real issue was that I believed the poster was in all sincerity asking a legitimate question. He had been told he could work while waiting to be approved for SSD, and he wanted to know if that was true.

If I were gobbling pain pills and putting myself through significant pain to try to keep working to support my family, I would most likely ask the same question – if I had been given the same information the poster had been given by his neighbor.

Is that true? If Social Security sees how much pain I am in and how much it is killing me to try to keep my family fed, will they find me disabled so I won’t have to keep going through this?

Unfortunately, we do know the answer is no. We do know that they will not say, “Yes. You are disabled – so you don’t have to work anymore. You can quit now.” (It would be nice if it did work that way though, in some cases.)

But I still thought the poster had a sincere, honest, legitimate question. As such, I pointed this out in response to the eye rolling post.

At this point, I wish I had not done so. Because it did not result in more respect for the poster. It resulted in his question actually being called stupid, and Larry wanting to leave the board.

I do not want Larry to leave the board on my account. If my actions caused Larry to want to leave the board, then I would prefer to be the one to leave. And I have stated such. Well… I didn’t actually state it – but did tell Larry that he doesn’t have to leave; that I will.

Larry contributes a lot to this board. I contribute from time to time, but am not consistent in doing so.

I am not leaving in anger. Though I do leave in sadness. But if I have only been back on the board for a few days, and have already created turmoil in a thread, caused a fellow member’s post to be called stupid, and made another fellow member want to quit the board – then maybe I am not ready to be back here yet.

Maybe in time I will be ready.