Can You Get SSDI For Temporary Disabilities?

If you’re faced with a terminal illness or debilitating physical condition that is going to keep you from working, you might be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), even if you hope to return to work at a later date.

SSDI benefits provide a valuable safety net for disabled South Carolina residents who can’t work. However, the stipends can be small and a lot of people who go on disability do so hoping their conditions will improve and they’ll be able to go back to work one day.

Fortunately, SSDI provides avenues for that. SSDI doesn’t have to be forever.

No short-term disability

While you don’t have to stay on disability forever, you also can’t get disability benefits for known, temporary conditions. There are no SSDI benefits for maternity leave, for example. In order to qualify for SSDI, you will have to be disabled for at least 12 months or be expected to be disabled for at least 12 months.

Going back to work

The Social Security Administration encourages disabled workers to find ways back into the workforce, but administrators know that returning to work from disability is difficult.  Many people who try realize it’s too hard or too painful after a short time. For that reason, disability recipients can return to work for a year without losing benefits, regardless of how much they make.

After the first year, SSDI recipients have a special status for 36 months that will allow them to work. If their disability again renders them unable to make a living, they can return to the program.

During those three years, disabled workers who make less than the monthly threshold, which is $1,040 in 2013, can get a stipend through SSDI to make up the difference.

Medical benefits

SSDI recipients who try to go back to work can continue receiving Medicaid benefits through the program until they are completely independent again.

If you have questions about qualifying for Social Security Disability Insurance , talk with the experienced legal team at George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers. We can help you navigate the complicated application and appeals processes; and weed through information if you want to attempt returning to work without losing your benefits. Contact us today to schedule an appointment at any of our offices in the greater Charleston, Columbia, or Greenville areas – or we can meet with you at your home at a time that is convenient for you.