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SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

APPEALS PROCESS

  • Common Reasons for Denial of Social Security Disability Benefits.

Will You Be Denied Disability Benefits If Your Medical Record Indicates That You Can Return To Work?

Yes. If the medical records show that the physicians believe you are able to return to work, then there is a very good chance you will be denied benefits. The crux of the social security disability system is to pay people who are unable to be gainfully employed due to an illness or an injury. So if your doctors believe that you can return to work and you do not, then your chances of getting disability benefits are greatly reduced.

However, if it is the social security administration’s record that says you can return to work, such as from a consultative examination, then you can still get disability benefits, because that is a onetime evaluation. If your treating physician has expressed that you are not able to work, which is really a legal determination instead of a medical determination and if they give specific restrictions that would prevent you from being gainfully employed on a continuous basis, then you can still get disability benefits even if there is a consultative examination in the file that says you are able to be gainfully employed.

Can You Be Denied Social Security Disability Benefits If You Have A Certain Amount Of Money In A Savings Account Or Set Aside?

Savings accounts and resources in general only affect SSI or the Title XVI benefits. For the Title 16 claim or SSI, there is an asset and income test. If you have more than $2,000 in assets as an individual or $3,000 as a married couple, then you will not qualify for the SSI. Title II, also referred to as DIB, and is not affected by a savings account or any other resources that are earned from working. So if you have worked five out of the last ten years before your disability onset, then you would generally be qualified for Title II or DIB and your savings or any other assets will not make a difference. It only makes a difference for the Title 16 or the SSI, which is basically a welfare based program.

In that regard, not only your savings account, but any other assets that you have that are not on this list that will be excluded. You can find that list online, but it is for things such as one house, one car, burial expenses that are in a certain policy or things like that, that are excluded from that asset list. However, a savings account is definitely included in the assets list.

© 2021 Franco Law Group P.A. Attorneys At Law. All Rights Reserved.

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