Should I Pursue a Claim?

Considerations When Pursuing a SSD Claim

A repayment obligation to a long-term disability carrier can make it seem fruitless to pursue a Social Security claim, but there are advantages to forging ahead.

• A successful claimant's earnings record will be frozen. This avoids "zero years" that can affect the claimant's Social Security retirement amount years from now.
• Many private long-term disability insurance programs require claimants to apply for Social Security benefits.
• Mental illness carve-outs may make it important to document the organic origins of a disability. Some LTD insurance companies have mental illness carve-outs, wherein perhaps only two years of benefits are available for mental impairments. No such limitation applies to physical impairments.

No matter when the claimant applies, the Alleged Onset Date (AOD) should stated as the date the disability first kept the claimant from working.