An article in Forbes magazine claims that people are using Social Security Disability Insurance instead of looking for work, thereby driving up the numbers of unemployed. The article, titled “Add Disability to Obama’s Anti-Jobs Policies” by contributor Paul Roderick Gregory lays out his firm belief that people would rather claim disability than look for work in this kind of a job market.
Based on the difficulties many people already encounter in attempting to get SSDI benefits, those who are not truly deserving will have their claims rejected straightaway. Increasing the number of unemployed is not something SSDI claimants are doing.
Why Claim SSDI?
It’s easy to blame people for being lazy or undeserving of a government program that some may disagree with. However, SSDI beneficiaries have paid into the system and are only getting benefits because they suffered a medical condition that will keep them out of the workforce for at least a year or a condition that will ultimately result in death.
The truth is that many people, even those who deserve it, will be denied the first time they apply for SSDI benefits. Benefits are very hard to get and the government pays close attention to the reasons someone may want them. Many people consider the idea of SSDI as an option humiliating.
Reasons attributed to the number of increasing SSDI claims includes a rise in the number of women working, an aging Baby Boomer population, increases in life expectancy, and better medical advances that keep people alive, but disabled.
It is not for us to judge someone looking to get their SSDI benefits, and we are not going to blame the disabled for causing a rise in unemployment numbers. Work is scarce for many, both able bodied and disabled. Most people want to work and want to have some control over their future finances. The admission of needing SSDI means something catastrophic occurred for claimants.
What we can do is help you figure out the SSDI paperwork, why you may have been denied benefits in the first place, and help you resubmit to get them for badly needed financial support.
If you have questions about your SSDI claims, or would like to find out more about SSDI, please contact Kalfus & Nachman today. We serve the Norfolk, Newport News, and Roanoke, Virginia area.
