[cashart10]

Today at my psychiatrist appointment, my doctor interrupted what I was saying and asked me how many years I worked. I told him that I worked about 10. Then he asked me if I knew if I had 40 quarters or not. I had no idea. He then told me I should get SSDI. He thought I would qualify. I am only 31 years years old so this discouraged me a little. But, I went home and checked. I am one quarter short of 40 quarters. The person from Social Security told me that I needed $1200 to qualify. So, I can't get SSDI. I'm feeling a little frustrated. Any input or suggestions?

[Justugh]

SSDI and SSI

they are a bunch of putzes .....they are going to tell u NO automatically and force u to get a lawyer for the appeal

if your doctor is telling u to do it .........then that means u have him backing u this is one of the most important things ........the rest of it is 18 to 20 months of u jumping tho hoops appointments with their doctors request for more info and to fill out paper work

Paperwork anything u get for paperwork u send it back to them signed mail so u have proof that it was sent and the name of the person that signed for it (they lost mine 3 times before i did that)

u will still get rejected in the end and need to file a appeal with them using a lawyer (they get paid if u win they take 33% of the first check )

[jesusplay]

I was 21 when I got it... you need years of work or something like that.

[shortandcute]

Why would you need $1200? So you can pay them to put you on SSDI?

[cashart10]

No, they were saying I need $1200 in income to get to 40 quarters. My doctor told me I need 40 quarters to get approved since I am married.

[sabby]

That one quarter will make the difference between qualifying for SSDI or SSI. You don't want to get SSI if you can find any way at all to earn another $1200 so that you get your quarters in. The difference between the 2 can mean hundreds of dollars.

I might talk to a lawyer who handles disability cases and ask if they have any creative advice. Or someone from the Soc Sec administration if they would be willing to talk to you about this.

I'm assuming from your post that you're not working right now. Is that correct? If so, how long has it been since you earned the last "quarter" credit?

You can read about all the "quarter" stuff at ssa.gov if you feel like wading through it.

[A18793715]

Check out Myler disability. That's who I used. You don't have to pay anything unless they win your case and they stay on top of everything. The day I would get denied, they would appeal it. It only took me 5 months and I barely had any medical proof. If they do win your case, they only get a portion of your back pay, which is how much money you would have gotten if you got accepted from the day you applied. I got like 4,500 and they took like 1,200. So to me, it was free.

[A18793715]

Oh. And you can make a profile on ss website to see your exact work credits and how much you've made in your life. They have to mail you a code in the mail first to prevent other people from making an account under your name but it's interesting to look at.

[pinkflower17]

Like another poster asked? Are you working now? Is there anyway you could....I don't know, find a spring break job for a couple mos and then have to quit because of your mental health issues. That's probably not the most PC way, but maybe if you could stick it out for a couple months, you could qualify. It sounds like your life would greatly improve if you did qualify...

[pinkflower17]

Wanted to add, I'm only 30. Qualified when I was 26. I had a lot of reservations as well. A lot of shame, embarrassment, anger at myself, frustration with myself etc. I don't know if that's some of your hesitation, and I don't really know what to say to make it go away, but I just wanted to say I do understand that, if that's what you're dealing with right now.

[Rose76]

What Sabby says is exactly the way I understand it. I would recommend taking the advice of trying to get back to work to earn that last quarter.