Online SSDI application

[Carl the Engineer]

I just filled out the online application for SSDI.

There was no place or question regards my VA disability rating of 100% and being P&T.

So, I just copied and pasted my P&T awards summary into the last comment text block.

Anyway, you would think they SS would have VA disability as one of their questions, but,

That would be too easy,

Carl

This should be a fun trip...

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Carl the Engineer
cause I can

[pwrslm]

They will call you. You get a phone interview first. Did this for my wife in September, the SSA can get your VA medical records through Govt channels. 

[deedub75]

You'll get a packet in the mail from the SSA with some forms to fill out and send in. You'll be able to send in a copy of your 100% P&T letter. Unfortunately, all you get by being 100% P&T is expedited processing of you SSDI application. They give little to no weight to VA ratings. They will obtain you VAMC records and it's the medical records they will take into account in making their decision. 

[Carl the Engineer]

Thanks for the replies.

At the end of the online application, they let you print a letterhead for sending in medical records.  I was thinking of sending them a couple inches of VA records, but since they are going to get them anyway, maybe I will rethink that.

Today, the portal says that a person is working on it and will take 4 to 6 weeks.

About the only thing I got going for me is that the last two years since I stopped working, is when my ailments got worse and I went to therapy and many medical exams and procedures.  So, the timeline fits.

While at least three of my ailments can be found in the SSDI list of maladies, most of them are of a moderate nature.  I'm hoping they take the totality of it all into consideration. 

Time will tell,

Carl

 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Carl the Engineer
cause I can

[pacmanx1]

A copy of your rating that rated you 100% P & T should do, They may still contact the VA or your treating doctors, but your rating should help. Keep in mind that some veterans even though they are rated 100% or TDIU may still have to file an appeal. This is one of the ways that they deter people from filing claims, if they make you wait long enough you may just give up and try to go back to work.  

A hidden secret is that you may have to get a lawyer. I hate to say it but it seems that the SSA and lawyers have an unwritten agreement that forces claimants to sign on with lawyers for their benefits. Yes, you may have to sign an agreement of about 20%-30% of your SSDI benefits that the SSA Office will take out of your retro pay before you get anything. You know the old saying 80%-70% is better than 0%.

Edited October 8, 2021 by pacmanx1

[pwrslm]

When you apply online, they let you include the VA letter documenting disability. The letter trigger the investigator to get your VA Health Records. They set up coordination on that years back. Once you notify them of health records within the government system they will automatically get them for the investigation. SSA is required to review all of the medical records that you tell them about if it can access them. The VA and SSA regulations for disability are as different as day and night however, and for SSDI the hurdle is an all or nothing issue, whereas the VA can rate partial disability for multiple conditions, and eventually provide for TDIU. SSDI can take education and experience into account. SSDI will literally make allowances for anyone over 55 who only has a high school education or less, and grant the SSDI/SSI based on the condition combined with the likelihood of rehabilitation going from a labor intense occupation to a sedimentary one. The VA is not allowed to use age or education in making its claim decisions.
 

[Carl the Engineer]

Thanks,

I am over 55 (60), but I do have an Associates Degree, so there is that.

I went through this with my wife (suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for over 25 years) in 2015.  Denied, denied, then court date, then paid a paralegal SSDI organization to represent her.  They settle within 2 months, disability pay right away (to include retro), deferred Medicare for an additional 18 months.  I had good employer insurance, so it worked out for us.

Yes, the SSDI (and I'm sure the VA) can and do make deals at the Judge level,

Carl

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Carl the Engineer
cause I can