Ah! It definitely sounds like you are set up differently than what I have heard. Many times individual companies offer group plans called disability insurance, or a person can simply take out such policies on their own for years prior to getting hurt or sick, not knowing what the future holds just like any other insurance. Each month a person pays into those policies just like they would for life insurance for example. Then when they actually suffer from an illness or an accident they apply to receive the benefits from the plan that they have paid into. They must meet certain criteria in order to qualify for those benefits. Then after a period of time of receiving benefits, 3 years in some cases, the insurance policy is set up in such a way that the insurance company moves the claim over to Social Security, if the person is eligible. In such cases there, the disabled individual also must fill out eligibility forms to meet the necessary criteria. Like I said previously, I don't know what percentage of disability insurance claims are set up this way. Yet I do know that is the way that some are.

our Social Security Disability forum - be sure to explore all the sticky threads there too.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum28.html

Yeah I don't think I qualify under that because it's not offered to me as a gov't employee. Dang, I got a loooong road ahead of me don't I!

Thanks for the info Jo Mar!!!

Here's the great thing. As a group, we are never alone.