Helping my mom get disability

Can your mom give permission to the retirement account administrators to talk to you about it? Sometimes elderly parents get details wrong or misunderstand procedures and just need someone who can work through all the jargon. And if they won't let you speak with them about the account, make sure your mom calls again and asks specifically why she can't withdraw the money.

My mother was a smart woman and she was denied over and over again until she got a lawyer. Then it was right away. She even was told at one point that all applications are denied on the first go-around.

Despite the fact that there's not a lot of spare money lying around - your mom needs a lawyer to handle it from here. Social Security disability is notoriously difficult to get without a lawyer - probably to discourage dishonest but persistent scammers. Unofficially requiring a lawyer's participation in the process is the SSA's way of preemptively weeding out the scammers.

Is she eligible for and applying for SSDI as well? There are two social security disability benefit programs, SSDI and SSI, and only SSI is means-tested; SSDI should be available if she otherwise qualifies regardless of how much she has in assets, although it does have requirements around length of time spent working and paying Social Security premiums that SSI does not. Really what she needs to do is to get a disability lawyer to help with her application, though - they pretty much all work on contingency so lack of funds now shouldn't be an issue for getting one.

This may be a good time to verify what your mom has said and then get your elected representative's Constitutent Services working on this. There is (or should be) no "luck" here, it's math and if they're getting a different result than your mom is for some reason, something has to give to get it sorted. I'm sorry you are in the middle of this and I wish you luck getting it sorted.

I'm a lawyer who specializes in disability. If you have any questions, shoot me a message. The real question is what programs your mother qualifies for. The retirement account creates problems if she is only eligible for SSI because she has not worked much in the last 10 years. If she has a decent work history, she may be eligible for SSDI--which pays more. Any lawyer in this field will agree to a contingency fee that seeks 25% of any past-due benefits your mother may be entitled to. This is the only fee agreement for Social Security disability allowed by federal law.

If you don't feel like you're quite at the lawyer stage yet, I'd suggest, in order - you making sure she has all the facts right re: retirement account and whatever SSI is saying (and making sure the SSI/SSDI distinction is clear) - once the facts are clear, you or her contacting her representatives. They have people specifically in constituent services who can help with things like benefits issues. - lawyer Best of luck, this is a pain in the ass. Make sure you are also taking care of yourself, drawing appropriate boundaries and maintaining self-care as you navigate through all of this stuff. It's tough to not lose yourself in it but you're no use to anyone if you can't keep your own health up.

Is a lawyer working with you on this disability thing? Because my mom got disability and she had a pension. (I mean, she wasn't collecting from the pension when she became disabled, obviously.) But they didn't say anything like "you have a pension and other assets, so no disability for you". A lawyer will work with you and take the fee out when your mother's disability is paid - she will get a lump sum backpayment, much of which will end up going to the lawyer but it's better than a poke in the eye. Also, what does her doctor say about the leg? Some conditions are practically automatic qualifiers for disability, mainly progressive neurological ones.

Does she have an attorney? Disability is done on a contingency basis, with the attorney paid by the Federal Govt if her case is approved. It won't cost her a dime to get help from a lawyer.