Should You Apply for Social Security Disability? Social Security disability is an insurance program available to any worker who has paid into the Social Security program by way of payroll taxes during the course of their working career. In order to be insured for Social Security disability, you must have paid into the system for at least five of the past 10 years. You also have to have been disabled for a period of 12 months or have a condition that is likely to disable you for at least 12 months.
The Social Security Administration considers certain medical conditions to be disabling, but most people applying for disability benefits do not have a medical condition that meets or equals one of these listed conditions. In most cases, to be eligible for disability benefits, you must prove that you cannot perform your former job, any jobs in addition that you have performed in the past, or any jobs that are generally available in the regional economy. Therefore, your local community may not have any jobs you can perform, and you may be unable to perform your most recent job, but all this still doesn’t mean you will qualify for benefits.
You can apply for Social Security disability online or in person at a Social Security office. In Charlotte, the Social Security office recently moved to Coronation Boulevard in East Charlotte. If you think that you might qualify for Social Security disability, do not hesitate to contact our office to discuss your situation with one of our lawyers. Attorney Chad Winebarger handles most of our Social Security disability cases, and Chad would be happy to talk with you.
calls “substantial gainful activity,” or SGA. SGA means that you are earning a certain amount per month from work. You can find a particular year’s SGA at the Social Security Administration’s website, ssa.gov. After you have been disabled for a year under workers’ compensation, you should seriously consider applying for Social Security disability, but remember this: You need to apply for disability within five years of the last time that you earned wages upon which the Social Security payroll tax was paid.
In addition, to be eligible for benefits, you cannot be engaged in what the Social Security Administration
Photo of the Month
Ritz Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
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4 ounces dark chocolate pieces, melted 24 Ritz (or generic butter round) crackers 1 pint of your favorite ice cream
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Instructions
1. Melt chocolate pieces in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir until smooth and drippy. 2. Arrange crackers, bottom side up, on a cookie sheet. Use fork to drizzle melted chocolate over crackers, then place them in freezer to cool quickly. 3. Remove crackers from freezer and place small ice cream scoop in the center of 12 crackers. Press remaining crackers, chocolate side down, onto the ice cream scoop.
“Morely” is the injured Golden Eagle that was a resident of the raptor center at Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina, from 1984 until he died of old age last year. He was injured and could not fly. I took some photos of him a couple years ago. – Bob Bollinger
4. Freeze at least 4 hours before serving. Wrap individual sandwiches in plastic wrap to store in freezer for up to 7 days — but they’ll never last that long.
Recipe inspired by goodhousekeeping.com.
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