Originally Posted by lorilie

Here it is in a nutshell.

John worked for 28 years for the same company doing very physical labor. He does not know how to do any other type of work. He is 51 years old. During his employment he had been diagnosed with arthritis in his knees and back. Medical records will prove this. John was fired. Applied for unemployment and it was granted. Since his time on unemployment he has medical records showing that the arthritis is now in both knees, back, hands, shoulder and not verified yet, but probably his hips. He has seen our family doctor, the surgeon, an arthritis specialist and two physical therapist many, many times which are all in his records. His hope was that they would "fix" him so that he could work again without ungodly pain. He has 6 months of unemployment left. He has actively searched for work this whole time but can't find any that he can physically do. Should he complete the unemployment cycle or apply for disability? Losing the unemployment income will be detrimental to our already shaky finances but will staying on it hurt his chances of receiving disability later? The unemployment is just over the $1200 per month which means he can apply for Disability while receiving it.