Overview. Social Security Disability Insurance ("SSDI") is an insurance program administered by the United States government. It is funded by working Americans who pay Social Security tax generally through payroll deductions. SSDI, managed by the Social Security Administration, is designed to provide income to people who are unable to work because of a disability. SSDI benefits are intended to provide income to the recipient until such time as his or her condition improves. SSDI benefits are only granted after an applicant proves their disability, which can be a complex and lengthy process. Many people refer to SSDI as Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) or Title II benefits, named for the chapter title of the governing section of the Social Security Act.

By law, anyone may file for his or her own Social Security Disability benefits directly, but statistics clearly show that claimants who are represented by Quikaid win their Social Security insurance benefits much more often - and more quickly - than those who apply on their own. We have been in the business a long time and it simply makes financial sense to utilize Quikaid's services. We have seen many, many claimants who think they can "do it on their own" only to enter an incredible maze of complexity, frustration and, ultimately, failure.

The government makes the process of obtaining the benefits you deserve very difficult. Remember the government also operates the Internal Revenue Service! At Social Security, waiting lines are long, forms are complicated and ever-changing. SSDI benefits are regularly denied to people who have legitimate claims and who need the financial awards they are being denied, but who cannot successfully navigate the process. Due to the complexity of the process, many people who apply for benefits on their own become discouraged and intimidated, so they simply give up, even when they are genuinely entitled to significant and important benefits. At Quikaid, we do not let the government intimidate us or our clients. We are always active, aggressive advocates for each and every one of our clients. It is not an easy job, but we have been doing it for a long time, and our success rate suggests we are good at what we do. We combine the strength of a national organization with the personalization and attention to detail that have become our hallmark.

Benefits of SSDI. The most obvious and well-known benefit of obtaining disability benefits is the regular monthly income that is provided (assuming a recipient maintains his or her eligibility). However, in addition to the monthly income (which include annual cost-of-living increases), there are other significant benefits, including the following: (1) retroactive award (or back pay) is calculated as 5 months after the date of the onset of your disability (your "entitlement date") through the date of your award. For example, if the onset date of your disability was January 1, 2005, and you were awarded SSDI benefits on January 1, 2009, the SSA would provide a lump-sum payment to compensate you for 43 months of disability benefits. As such, providing evidence of your date of onset is of critical importance as it determines the time period covered by your initial retroactive award; (2) medical benefits such as Medicare (Part A hospital benefits and Part B medical benefits) are available to SSDI recipients, regardless of age, 24 months after your date of entitlement to SSDI benefits; (3) prescription drug coverage is available concurrently with your eligibility for Medicare benefits; (4) COBRA benefits can be extended for up to 11 months if you receive SSDI benefits; (5) your private long-term disability benefits can be protected by complying with your insurance company's requirement that you seek SSDI benefits; (6) retirement benefits can be protected because, when you reach retirement age, SSDI ends and you transition to Social Security retirement benefits. SSDI entitlement "freezes" your Social Security earnings records during your period of disability. Because the years in which you collect SSDI benefits are not counted when computing future Social Security benefits, your Social Security retirement benefits may be higher than if your earnings were averaged over a greater number of years; (7) your dependents may receive benefits if you receive SSDI and you have a dependent under the age of 18; (8) return-to-work incentives provide SSDI recipients the opportunity to return to work while still receiving disability benefits.

Eligibility Requirements. Social Security Disability Insurance ("SSDI") is intended to provide benefits to people who have worked, and therefore have paid into the "system" via mandatory payroll taxes, for at least five of the previous ten years. In addition to having worked, you must meet the Social Security Administration's definition of "disabled", which is a complex task. A disability can be physical, mental, or a combination of both. In order to be awarded benefits, you must have a disability severe enough to keep you from working in any regular paying job for at least twelve consecutive months. In addition to this general criteria, Social Security follows the following five-step process to determine whether you are disabled: (1) you cannot be working or engaged in "substantial gainful activity" (SGA) due to your disability; (2) the disability must be severe enough to limit your ability to perform basic work-related activities, such as walking, standing, sitting, seeing, hearing, speaking, carrying out simple instructions, responding appropriately to usual work situations, responding normally to changes in work routines, etc.; (3) determines if the disability meets a medical listing; (4) determines whether you have the ability to perform work you performed in the past. If you cannot do the type of work you previously did, then your claim proceeds to the final step; (5) determines what other work might reasonably be performed by you (which you have not performed in the past), taking into consideration your age, education, work experience and physical and mental condition. The SSA will utilize vocational experts who follow medical vocational rules to determine what other work may be performed, if any. If you believe you may qualify for disability benefits, or if you would like to discuss the specifics of your situation, we invite you to contact us.

Supplemental Security Income ("SSI"). SSDI is contrasted with Supplemental Security Income ("SSI"), a welfare, or needs-based program administered by the Social Security Administration for people who demonstrate financial and resource poverty, in addition to medical disability. SSI claimants generally do not have substantial work histories, while SSDI claimants generally have paid into the Social Security system through their previous work. Applicants for SSDI are often required to concurrently apply for SSI to determine if they may qualify for that program, and vice versa. At Quikaid, we handle all aspects of your application, including SSDI and SSI, to ensure you have the maximum probability of success.

Informative Websites. In addition to the information contained on the Quikaid website, we encourage you to review other sources of information. We believe the following websites provide particularly useful information for those going through the SSDI process: