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*Beth* · Aug 15, 2020, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innerzone

Over 50 does help, but not all that much. The money made *does* matter with SSDI. The more you *did* make in the past is helpful for your benefit amount, but if it's currently any more than the total Crook gave, they say you are just fine, even though you are broke af. Also, IIRC, that amount is before taxes. They pretty much make the living thing impossible unless you've got savings or support from someone. And it's VERY hard to get it working even that small amount. This I was told by someone well acquainted with many relevant people.

And yes, hospitalizations help. And yup, if you can push a broom, they also say you're just fine.

They make it extremely hard. It's also quite arbitrary. I had providers that had clients less worse off that got it and I fought for 4 or 5 years. It was very demoralizing, especially when you are doing badly (which I very much was at the time). I hope my current good streak stays forever, because I never want to go through that again.

Sorry to be such a bummer, but that's how it can go sometimes.

I was just awarded SSDI last month after working for 22 months to be approved. My lawyer and the hearing judge payed a lot of attention to my age (57; they mentioned age being significant multiple times). Of major significance was that I've been with the same mental health providers for almost 3 years. I have not been working for 5 years; although part of the reason I got SSDI is for bipolar disorder and PTSD, I also really cannot push a broom without significant pain.

It seems to me that the type of work one does is a determining factor. For example, I worked for 15 years in a cafe. The work was very physical, on my feet at all times (usually no opportunity to take breaks). My body is beat from the hard work and I truly can't "work at my usual job."

The bottom line it seemed was that the judge gave most of his attention to documentation provided by all of my health providers. I did have one 5150, almost two years ago.