Adapting to life with a disabling medical condition is never easy, but there is a solution for the stress of financial challenges caused by being unable to work and earn a living. By applying for Social Security Disability benefits, Illinois residents can find relief from economic hardship.
Social Security Disability Insurance is a federal benefit program through the Social Security Administration. SSDI provides disability benefits in the form of monthly cash payments. If you meet the Illinois SSDI eligibility requirements, you become eligible for medical benefits through Medicare.
The application approval process and Social Security Disability claim requirements reject over two-thirds of the applications submitted yearly. Improve your chances of being approved for Illinois disability benefits through SSDI by working with a disability lawyer at National Disability Experts.
The following is essential information about how to claim Illinois Social Security Disability benefits. It explains the SSDI filing steps and the disability approval process that your application goes through to determine whether you qualify for benefits.
What Is Social Security Disability?
Social Security Disability, commonly referred to as SSD or SSDI, is an insurance program that is part of the Social Security retirement system. It pays benefits to workers who become disabled before reaching the age to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits.
The benefits include a monthly cash payment, but everyone does not receive the same amount. It depends on your lifetime earnings. A worker’s maximum monthly benefit payment in 2024 is $3,822, and the average monthly SSDI benefit in 2024 is $1,537.
You become insured and eligible for benefits by working long enough and recently enough at jobs where Social Security taxes were paid on the money you earned. The length and recentness of the work history required for SSDI depend on your age when you became disabled. Younger workers may need a shorter work history than someone older when they become disabled.
Illinois SSDI eligibility is based on a total and long-term disability that meets the definition of disability used by the Social Security Administration to evaluate claims. According to the definition, you must meet each of the following requirements:
- You have a medical condition preventing you from doing work at a substantial gainful activity level.
- You cannot do any type of work you did in the past and cannot adjust to other types of work available in the national economy.
- Your physical or mental impairment is expected to last for at least 12 months or to cause death.
The SSDI application process begins with a review to determine if your work record meets the eligibility requirements.
Illinois SSDI Claim Process
The application review process has five steps. The first step, conducted by the Social Security Administration, determines whether you are working and capable of doing substantial gainful activity (SGA).
If you are working and have average monthly earnings exceeding $1,550 in 2024, you are not disabled. The earnings amount is $2,590 for applications based on being blind.
The SSA sends the application of claimants who do not exceed SGA earnings or who are not working to the Disability Determination Services of the Illinois Department of Human Services. The DDS continues the evaluation process using the following steps:
- Severity of your condition: The medical records and other supporting documentation must show that your medical condition has limited or is expected to limit your ability to lift, stand, walk, remember, and sit for at least 12 months. If it does, the DDS proceeds to the next step.
- You have a listed medical condition: The SSA has a list of conditions it considers severe enough to prevent someone from doing SGA. If you meet the criteria of a listed condition, you are disabled. If you do not, DDS goes to the next step.
- You can do work you did in the past: The ability to return to work you did in the past means you are not disabled. If you cannot, DDS goes to the next step.
- You cannot adapt to doing other types of work: If your medical condition, age, education, and skills do not allow you to adjust to different types of work, you are disabled.
A denial of benefits can be appealed, so do not give up. Instead, contact a disability lawyer at National Disability Experts to discuss challenging the denial of benefits.
Learn How To Apply For SSDI In Illinois
Applying for SSDI in Illinois can be done online or at a local SSA office. Although you can go through the SSDI filing steps on your own, data compiled by the federal government shows that people with a representative, such as a disability lawyer, were three times more likely to be approved for disability benefits.
Learn why people in Illinois and throughout the country rely upon National Disability Experts for experienced and skilled help SSDI applications and appeals. Contact us today for a free consultation and claim evaluation.