SSDI question about work
 

I am new to this whole thing and have been very ill so please be patient with me.

I was just aproved for SSDI. I filed in January and I received it this week. My question is is I tried to go back to work for a total of 13 hours in June with gross pay at $421.00.I failed miserably and my DR was anoyed. I was approved after I worked and I receive my first benefits for LTD and SSDI in August. I called and tried to report it but they said wait till you get your pay stub. My question is are they going to deny me now and look at this as work? Should I report it? I hope I didnt screw myself. Anyone else have this issue. I was just trying to work again, but I am/was in denial.
thanks

I'm sure someone else will come along and be able to give you more information. I just wanted to say that you shouldn't worry about losing your SSDI benefits for working 13 hours in June. You tried and weren't able to continue working so that alone prooves that you can't work.

Accepting the fact that you can no longer work is difficult and I understand that, especially since it's all new to you. It will take some time to accept your "new normal" but you can also find time to try and do some things that you are able to do. It helps you feel as if you still have some value which you do!

I do want to congratulate you on your quick approval. Many of us have to wait years to finally get approved. I'm glad you didn't have to go through that ordeal. That alone is enough to drive you crazy :crazy:

Follow the advice given to you by SS and also the knowledgeable people on this forum who have experience with the question you are asking and I'm sure you'll be fine.

Blessings,
Shari

Thanks for the reply. I know I was very lucky and that is why I hope I didnt mess things up for trying to do the right thing. I found out later SSDI loves people to try so they can deny benefits. That worrys me. Thanks again

If it were true that SSDI loves people to try to work so benefits can be denied, why are there so many work incentives such as unsuccessful work attempts which is what your work activity sounds like.

Go to socialsecurity.gov and read the entire Red Book of Work Incentives and then see if you still believe that conclusion.

Perhaps you believe that everyone who files a disability claim should approved, regardless of anything. Or that no one who could work would pretend not to be able to work.

The Social Security Administration likes to apply the rules and regulations that are established by Congress. And that includes denying people who are not disabled and approving people who are disabled.

Are you kidding me? No I do not think or believe everyone should receive or deserves benefits. I have read everything on SS.gov site and the free booklet I was given. However you are very narrow minded if your think the government doesn’t do its best NOT to award money. It’s everywhere on the internet! There is even a site by two ex SSDI workers that confirm that people are denied on purpose for small errors in paper work or work attempts. So please save me the lecture about everyone not needing SSDI or SSI. I work in a field that sees the abuse first hand and have worked solid all my life and served in the military. I have a work ethic. This post wasn’t about who should or shouldn’t get it. This was about if anyone else has run into the problem of trying to be productive and getting penalized for it. Thanks for your unwanted opinion about another very flawed system by our government.

I don't believe that "SSDI loves people to try so they can deny benefitss." I believe SSDI is trying to figure out who CAN work and who CAN NOT.

I do believe SSDI is interested in seeing who DOES go back to work (not just try) because they needed money and couldn't "wait" for SSDI to decide their case. I believe those people SHOULD be denied as they have PROVEN they are capable of working. I believe SSDI should be for people who CAN'T work (at SGA) and not for those who would find it easier not to work. I just had a conversation today with a woman who's boyfriend is waiting on an SSDI decision. She says he is frustrated because he was out of work for months (because of well documented, legitimate back issues), but "couldn't wait for them to make a decision" so he is back to work.....doing construction 40 hours per week. It does cause him more additional pain, which he takes pain meds for. I think if he CAN work 40 hours per week doing construction, that he SHOULD be working and not collecting SSDI. My suggestion to him would be perhaps he should consider doing work that is less physical to lessen the likelihood of further injury to his back and hopefully decrease his pain. It would be easier for him, and on his back, for him not to have to work, but he obviously CAN do it because he IS doing it.

I don't know if you just started working on your own with your failed attempt.....or if you notified SSDI that you were going to try. The ticket to work program is about letting people try to work without fear of losing their benefits, until the can establish that they CAN work....or not.

Your unsuccessful work attempt sounds like further proof they made the right decision.

I would be careful about trying to work again IF it is against doctor's orders.

I give up.

I will tell you this I made way more working. I would rather be working than on SSDI. Its not a choice. They do punish people who TRY to work. Its a fact not a maybe. The system should be set up so a person can try to work and then get back to work. Ticket to work programs make SSDI suspicious and people loose even if they folow the rules. Thats not my opinion its what others have experienced all over you can read about it. Now you can find people that it has worked for but lawyers and others would advise against it. I have told SS FYI and was wondering what my outcome might be. Like I stated again, I wasnt trying to get around the system just asking for input and thanks for yours.:mad:

Sometimes it's best to agree to disagree, it's just not worth getting riled up about with each other.

Fussing won't change the system good or bad...:(

I was working all through the application process and continue to work. It is limited though. I make about $500 month and work less than 20 hours a month. They understand that I can't work more than that because of my disability. It's never been a problem for me.

While applying for SSDI benefits,you aren't suppose to work. Doesn't matter about about the hours. If you go before a judge,the first question asked is, have you returned to work? If the answer is yes,then you application goes into file 13.

One of the work incentive rules that could be applied in the original poster's case would be an unsuccessful work attempt. If a person tried to work and worked less than 90 days and stopped because of their medical condition, the policy allows for SSA to consider that an unsuccessful work attempt. A person can have multiple unsuccessful work attempts but the work does have to end because of the medical condition. I knew of a young man who made a good initial impression and managed to get many entry level jobs in the fast food industry. However, his unmedicated schizophrenia symptoms would quickly rear their ugly head and he would lose every job within a month or two. SSA called them all unsuccessful work attempts.

SSA employees do not have a personal stake in any decision made on your claim. What they like to do, what they are paid to do is to follow the law. They do look for ways to deny or pay a claim (according to policy) because that is what they are paid to do. Their salaries are the same if you are approved or if you are denied.

Now some people may think getting approved should be easier with fewer questions asked and fewer policies to apply. But it is the existance of many of those policies that allow SSA to deny people who are not truly disabled. And although this site is a good support system for applicants for SSA, none of us can tell the truly disabled from the non disabled by a post.

Having said all that, I do think the process should be faster and more responsive, but that will take hiring enough staff and SSA has never had enough staff, IMO. And now with a hiring freeze, it will get worse and employees may end up taking short cuts which can either pay or deny the wrong people.

SS knew I was still working, limited hours, at the time of my application. I've always been very upfront about it. Never went before a judge as I was approved on first try within 2 1/2 months.

People who work and collect SSDI are usually given a quick review and have their benefits taken away. I knew someone who went before a judge and they had returned to work because their STD ran out and the judge threw the case out. That was the first question I was asked when I went before a judge. Its ok to attempt to work and fail but to continue to work only proves that you are able to work and not disabled.

Hi RMP,

It sounds like you are taking offense where I don't see that any was intended.

That can be a natural reaction. Most of us, especially those with 'invisible' disabilities have gotten comments from firends, family, or acquaintances implying we could be working.

I don't see that anyone in this thread has said or implied that about you.

I have seen reactions to your blanket statement, "They do punish people who TRY to work. Its a fact not a maybe." Some of us do seem to disagree with that. I don't believe your statement to be true. That doesn't mean it isn't, it just means I don't believe that a department of the US government would be given specific instructions to TRY to hurt US citizens. I will say that making blanket statements about SSA encouraging people to work JUST so that they can take away or deny benfits IS in direct conflict with the stated goals of the incentive programs that I have seen. It is also in direct conflict with some of your own comments, like...."Now you can find people that it has worked for "

Also realize that some of our posters work in the field, so naturally that could cause resentment if you say that the SSA DEFINITELY has certain policies or practices meant to deny benefits, when someone in the field knows that to be untrue in their practice.

We can all have different opinions. On that.....often we do have to agree to disagree.

When something is presented as FACT, but comes with no documented proof, people who feel strongly that is not true will often voice their opinions. On whether or not something is a FACT, there really shouldn't be any disagreement.

I feel like some of us are commenting on your statements about the SSA having policies/practices meant to trick people into working to deny benefits.....and that you are taking that as a personal assessment that YOU should be working......and I hope that you aren't taking it that way.

Your failed work attempt SHOULD help your claim.....or, not hurt it going forward, as you have now gotten approval for SSDI.

When I first received SSDI benefits I was filled with similar questions laced with paranoia about losing my benefits if I worked. I tried but also wasn't able to hold down a job for longer than a month. The information that I got directly from a SSA rep. was that I may go back to work without it effecting benefits as long as it is less than $1100 a month before taxes.
That's interesting about the ticket to work program because the literature on their web site states that it will not effect your benefits should you enroll in the program. I was leary on the program wondering how legitimate it really is and if it can get you in trouble down the line by putting you in line for a case review. They are very clear that it will not do this though. Check it out for yourself and see what you think.