Will Your Social Security Disability Claim Be Denied If You Take Some College Courses?

09/17/09

Q: Are there any restrictions about attending classes after I have applied for social security disability benefits?

A: You can attend classes while your social security disability insurance claim is being processed. If you have applied for benefits based on a mental impairment, however, be very careful about the details of your status as a student. Although common sense tells us that there is a big difference between the workforce environment and that of being a student, the disability examiner for your case might not see it that way. The claims examiner for your case may believe that your condition would not prevent you from working, if you are a student in an academic program. For this reason, applicants are frequently advised to tread lightly when declaring that they are attending classes while awaiting approval for social security disability benefits.

Q: If you are awarded social security disability benefits, when are you eligible for Medicare?

A: Once you have reached two years past your date of entitlement for social security disability, you can qualify for Medicare. Your date of entitlement is the onset date established by social security plus the required waiting period of five months. Your entitlement date is basically when you start collecting your social security disability payments. Add two years to that time and that is when you are eligible for Medicare. You are eligible for Medicare, if you have been approved for SSDI (social security disability insurance.) You will be eligible for Medicaid if you were awarded Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. If you receive both SSI and SSDI, contact the representative assigned to your case to determine whether you will receive Medicare or Medicaid.

Q: How can you determine how much your social security disability insurance payments will be?

A: Your payments are determined by how old you are, your earnings, your years of employment and the amount of social security contributions you have made through payroll taxes. The current maximum an individual can receive each month in social security disability benefits is just over $2100. The limit for dependents is about $3700 per month.

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