(Guest Lecture): September 2023 - How to File for Social Security Disability and Tips to Getting Approved the First Time

Diana, it's my pleasure to introduce her. She is a financial program manager and she specializes in financial help for multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia patients. As a professional financial advisor, excuse me, and former caregiver of her husband who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, Diana perfectly understands the issues, especially the financial issues that are facing the myeloma and AML communities. So Diana, with that being said, thank you for being here and thank you for all your preparation you've done for this webinar. I'll turn the time over to you for latest financial updates. Great, thank you, Audrey. Thanks for everyone joining us today. Hope everyone had a great weekend. So I wanted to give you an update on what's going on. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, last Tuesday announced the first 10 drugs, the high-cost drugs that will be under negotiation with the pharmaceutical companies. And those drugs are Eloquist is a blood thinner, Xeralto a blood thinner, Genuvia a diabetes drug, Jardians, another diabetes drug, Embryol, a rheumatoid arthritis drug, Imbruvica, a drug for blood cancers, Farziga, a drug for diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. And that's Intestro, a heart failure drug, Stellara, a drug for psoriasis and Crohn disease, and Physiop, a Novolog for diabetes. Now, I think this is really important for you all to understand because these negotiated prices will go in effect in 2026. After 2026 for 2027 and 2028, there'll be an additional 10 drugs for those years. And then after that, there will be 20 that will come up in subsequent years. The reason they're doing these, because a lot of these drugs do not have biogenetics or biosimilars. They do, they're very high cost drugs and they affect a lot of the aging population. So it's kind of surprising that one in 10 people have heart, at this age have heart conditions that put them at risk of blood clots. About 28% have diabetes, about 27% have coronary heart disease, about 15% have heart failure, and about one in four have chronic kidney disease. And I think this will go hand in hand when you're looking at, when we're going over our webinar today, talking about social security disability and things like that for people who are taking some of these medications to anticipate what may happen because of our age, aging things and chronic disease, illnesses, and how you can best prepare yourself for social security disability. Now, a lot of the drug makers are pushing back, Bristol Meyer Squibbs, Johnson and Johnson are pushing back on this. The only problem with if they were to not participate in this, they'll have high tax penalties. The high tax, but they have an option to opt out and pull those drugs completely out of Medicare scene. And we know that probably will not happen because they will lose a lot of income, right? So anticipate there's gonna be some legal battles going ahead, but there's gonna be some options for people who have chronic diseases and people who are in Medicare as well. I think there's gonna be a win-win for everybody. So why don't you wanna be aware of that, keep your eyes on the information on that because it may be affecting some of the drugs you may be on now or maybe in the future. So with that being said, let's get into our topic of social security disability. Now, how to file for social security disability and tips to getting approved first time. I thought this is very important because a lot of the financial coaches get a lot of questions regarding how to file for social security if you can still work while you're getting social security or prior to getting approved and the best way to get approved some tips for doing that. So I thought it very important for us to go over this. And so I want also to you to be aware of a lot of people have more than one illness going on at the same time. They're taking maybe drugs for multiple illness like diabetes, kidney disease while they're on treatment for their multiple myeloma. So what's really important when you're filing for social security disability is to make sure your doctors are aware of any of the other medications, the other illnesses you have and they are updated as to what kind of symptoms you are having as a result of the ongoing treatment and medications from your other diseases or illnesses. Because if the more you have in your documentation for your medical profile that you're going to do for social security in your application, the better you are able to fight and prevent yourself from being declined the first time. As you're aware, it takes a while to be approved for social security disability. Sometimes it's taken four or five months and that could be with an attorney. There have been some people that approved within a month which is exceptional and it's not journaling the rule. So when I'm going through this, take notes as to things you need to be aware of and things of actions you need to do if you're in the process of getting your social security disability or thinking about applying for social security disability. Next slide. So some of the things we're gonna go over is to explain exactly what is social security disability income. Some people get confused with SSDI. Who's eligible? When you can apply? Do you qualify if you can still work and earn some income? How to apply? What documentation is required? Next slide. Tips for improving your chances of getting approved the first time. Why are a lot of applications denied? What to do if you're denied? And if you need an attorney, if so, where do you find one and how did they charge? We're gonna go over these things. Next slide. So what is social security disability income? It's a payroll tax funded federal insurance program with the US government. It is managed by the social security administration and designed to provide monthly benefits to people who have a medically determinable disability that restricts their ability to be employed. Not to be confused with SSI, which is social security income, which is determined by age, disability, and limited income and resources. Next slide. So who is eligible for social security disability and what criteria must be met? So those who have met the required work requirements have a medically disqualified disability that prevents one from working and I've got her, especially say medically qualifying and we're gonna go through that. And you expect to be out of work for at least 12 months or longer or your illness is gonna result in death. If your impairment does not meet any of the criteria, then it must prevent you from performing any of your past work. And you must not be able to do any other type of work based on your impairment age, education, past work experience, or have any transferable skills. And of course, social security is gonna look at that as if you can talk, even if you can't do anything else, then you may be able to have a job. So it's very important for you to make sure everything is documented as to why you cannot work. Next slide. So can you work and still get social security disability? Yes, you can. However, it's best not to work at all until you've been approved for benefits because the social security administration can say, if you can work this much, then why can't you work anymore? So that presents another dilemma. If you need the income, how do you continue to manage your expenses if you cannot work and you're waiting for that in that period of time, five months or whatever, or longer to be approved for social security, that is a big dilemma. But there's other things I think that you can look at to tie you over or bridge you over until your social security disability is approved. So after you get approved, you can't perform work earning less than $1,470 a month. Anything above this is considered gainful employment and you will be denied benefits or your benefits can be cut off. So even if you're working below those amounts, social security may still look to your work activity as potential evidence of your ability to do more. And social security may consider your work to be substantial if it is similar to the effort performed by other non-disabled people in the same position. So you have to be very aware of what you're making if you're in the process of applying for social security disability and what job you're actually performing and how you can bridge your gap between current working income and social security disability. Next slide. So I'm gonna go over some of the disabilities that can qualify for SSDI, I'm not gonna go over all of them but because of your age and how some of these diseases affect people as of your age, I want you to make sure that you are including all of your illnesses and the medications and the treatments when you're applying for social security disability, not just your multiple loan or your AML or CLL. I want you to make sure you include all of that and make sure all of your specialists and doctors are aware of all the treatments and medications you're getting for each illness because all of this will add up, especially when those records are pulled by social security administration when they are considering whether you qualify for social security disability. So musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. These include bones, ligaments, cartilage and other connective tissues. This system connects your bones and helps you maintain movement. No one can adequately sit, stand or walk without it and a lot of people have gotten joint replacements, hips, knees, these things are part of that musculoskeletal system, arthritis, fibromyalgia, spine disorders, scoliosis, ruptured disc, carpal tunnel syndrome, degenerative disc disease and that is very common and I have it when you can become owners cause stenosis of your vertebrae, that's very, very common, cause the back pain, unable to walk, all kinds of problems and that's an age, these are age related illnesses that can qualify for social security disability. Next slide. Mood disorders can distort someone's mood or emotions that might feel irritability, extreme sadness or emptiness, anxiety and depression can significantly affect someone's ability to work and that has become more common during COVID and post COVID, bipolar disorder, cyclothymic disorder, seasonal affective disorder, persistent depressive disorder, depression related or mental illness, premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Next slide. Other things, nervous system and sense organs. The nervous system helps all the body parts communicate, it's also responsible for decision making, it's made up of the brain, the spinal cord, sensory organs and nerves. Some of these disabilities will include things like meningitis and polio, functional disorders like epilepsy and neuralgia, degenerative diseases like MS, Parkinson's, myostavia gravis, structural disorders like Bell's palsy and brain and spinal cord injuries. There are a lot of diseases that fall under this category so I'm only listing some of the most common ones. Next slide. Intellectual disabilities, according to the American Association on Intellectual and Development Disorder, an intellectual disability involves limitations in your ability to reason and to problem solve. And you can see how that can really impact your ability to work. Adaptive behavior, intellectual disabilities can make it very challenging to learn, retain information and communicate. So that could be very, very limiting and disabling for anyone. Next slide. So types of intellectual disabilities can include fragile X syndrome, developmental delays, Down syndrome, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Prader-Willis syndrome. These can start before the age of 18 and can actually get worse as you get older and can prevent you from having those orders that you need to qualify for a social security disability. So there's a lot of things for you to look at when it comes to these intellectual disabilities. Next slide. So the circulatory system, also known as cardiovascular system, this is something that really affects people who are older and maybe taking medications for high blood pressure and things like that. So heart attack, arteriosclerosis, arrhythmia and dysrhythmia, heart failure. Next slide. High cholesterol or high blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the big diseases when you get older or younger, depending on some of your illnesses are, is very, very, very, very prevalent. Stroke, peripheral artery disease, another common illness that affects people who are a little bit older. So if you're Medicare, pre-Medicare, Medicaid, or if you just happen to have these illness that can affect diabetes, all of these things come into play. These can qualify for social security disability income. Next slide. So schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders can include systems like hallucinations, delusions, catatonic behavior, disorganized speech, psychosis. Now this is not to be confused with other illnesses that affect the ability to reason, mind, think, remember things such as Alzheimer's. This is different. Next slide. These are called hidden illnesses. Next slide. So other mental disorders, there are so many of them there, and there are more popping up every day. There are so many, there are too many to list. These just happen to be on the social security administration's list of illnesses that can qualify you for social security disability. These mental orders are considered hidden diseases because it's not something you see physically. It requires a lot of testing, a lot of other things in order to verify that that is a medical or a mental health issue. Next slide. So injuries, we know injuries such as falls, which become very prevalent when you get older. If you have an illness such as neuropathy as a result of treatment from multiple myeloma, some of the medicines that can cause neuropathy. And a lot of people have mentioned it's not just feet, it's hands and ability to use fingers and all the other things that come along with it. Social security administration shows that 3.5% of people became disabled as a result of injuries causing to not work as they had before or not at all. And that does not include those people like I mentioned who have some of these illnesses that are as a result of medications. Next slide. So they're organic. This is the difference between the mental disorders that we mentioned earlier with schizophrenia hallucinations. Organic mental disorders or chronic organ brain syndromes. And some of these things that you've heard in the news, some of the actors and people are becoming, is becoming more prevalent. And every get there, a lot of doctors are researching how these things are becoming more prevalent by early diagnosis of Alzheimer's. These are brain affliction that cause severe psychological behavior disorders or issues. These illnesses can be temporary or lifelong. Surprisingly, these disorders do not include psychiatric disorders that I mentioned earlier. Diseases, injuries or death that affect the body might cause organic mental disorders. Some of the symptoms may include brain function loss, confusion and memory loss, such as dementia, amnesia, Alzheimer's disease, delirium. A lot of these things are becoming more prevalent as we become aware of how, where families are actually saying it's not just old age dementia. These are things that are actually happening and illness that can qualify your social disability. And it becoming more and more people are becoming younger and younger when some of these things are diagnosed. Next slide. So neoplasms or an abnormal growth that forms as a tumor or lump in the body. And some people find some of these tumors as a result of multiple aloma, as my husband did. Neoplasms can be cancerous or benign if it grows uncontrollably, it can affect other organs and become life threatening. Fibromas, adenomas, lipomas and hemangiomas. So these are all these types of tumors that can grow and can affect other parts of your body, the pressure on nerves, things like that that can cause a disability. Next slide. So what illnesses automatically qualify you for SSDI? And whenever we're looking at this, be aware of the difficulty or the extreme effect of the illness on you. Cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease, cardiovascular illnesses, whatever those may mean, endocrine disorders and muscular dystrophy. And it's the extent of the illness on your ability to perform gainful employment. Next slide. So when do you apply for Social Security Disability? I hear this question from quite a few patients. And as soon as you and your doctor in your department, you cannot work due to illness again, whether it's for a year, you're anticipating a stem cell transplant, RT, any of these things, it's a good idea to start looking at Social Security Disability and apply as soon as possible. Remember, you can't apply for Social Security Disability because remember when you apply for Social Security Disability, there's gonna be a period of time it's gonna be knocked out. Five months it's gonna be knocked out. So you can be approved for Social Security Disability say in January, for example. You consider disabled as of January, you may not get paid out, it won't start effective until maybe June or July, because they're gonna automatically take five months off. So you gotta understand how to bridge that gap from when you actually are disabled and when you actually apply and get approved for Social Security Disability in order to keep your, keep paying for your expenses and everything is going along with that. Next slide. So should you employ an attorney? If you can, yes. Do you have to come out of pocket to pay for that disability? Generally, in most cases, no. The way attorneys work, Social Security Disability attorneys work, if they find that you actually have a case, they will talk to you first and there's no cost generally for them to do their first initial evaluation. If they determine you have probably a good case to be approved for Social Security Disability, then they're gonna get all the information, they'll do a lot of the legwork for you or get to fill out waivers or requests to have medical information sent to them. They are gonna do a lot of legwork. Once they do that and if you're approved, a lot of times you get approved faster and the first time when you do an employee, employ an attorney, they get paid by the amount of Social Security that you get, they will take a percentage off. Most times between 30, 35% of what you get, they'll take that off of your benefits. So you can expect to lose that or pay out to your attorney in order to get that claim approved. So they'll get paid after your claim is settled. If it's not settled or if you're denied, they're not getting any money. That's why they're gonna do that pre-work to see if you have a viable case. So how does Social Security Disability pay out? Timelines, if approved, they will go back to the date of disability and then take six months from the date of disability. So you're not gonna get paid for that six months. That's a bridging where you have to find income to bridge that period of time. Do you have to reapply? You may have to review period. You may have a review period periodically, one, two, three years to confirm your continued disability, or you may have to reapply if you go back to work and end up with another subsequent disability down the road. So keep all your records, talk to all your doctors, make sure that everything works together, that they know that your treatment, the medications you're on are affecting you. All your doctors need to know that because your medical records will be pulled by all of your doctors. And the more information you put in there, the better off you're gonna be. There is no such thing as too much information when you're applying for Social Security Disability. Be aware of the terms you use, be aware of being consistent with your illnesses and your medications and putting everything down because if it gets all messed up and convoluted it's gonna be difficult for Social Security Disability to actually determine timelines and medications and treatments and doctors, make sure you have everything in place. That's why it's very important to consider working with an attorney from the start. Next slide. Can you go back to work after you've been disabled and on SSDI? There are trial periods for Social Security Disability and there are also limitations as to how much you can make. That's $1,460 per month. So how long does a process take? Oh gosh, it varies. I've heard recently of a patient, it took them maybe a month to approve within a few weeks. You're using an attorney from the start. Other cases I've heard, if you did it yourself and you missed some of the information on your application or you didn't respond back in time, you start all over again, it could take five, six months or over a year. I've noticed people have taken over a year to get their Social Security Disability. Again, that may be where it's very important for you to consider using an attorney because they will make sure that you don't miss things and everything is turned in in a timely manner. Next slide. So how can you apply? You can apply in person, you can apply on the phone, you can apply online and can someone apply on your behalf? Yes. Attorney can be doing all the work for you or you can have a spouse or family member do all the leg work for you. And there's gonna be a lot involved in pulling your records requiring your doctors, all of your doctors, wherever you get treatment, those facilities to send documentation in, you're going to call each one of those, have them sign the paperwork and then you're going to wait for them to get it back with you. That could be the time eater that's gonna take up a lot of time. That's why again, you're gonna hear me suggest an attorney because attorney can do a lot of this work for you and when things are coming from attorneys versus patients that may have things and that you can't read or that they're missing out information, then a lot of time that's gonna be set aside. So look at your options carefully and make a good decision. Next slide. So what are some of the documentation that's gonna be required for you to put in your social security disability application? You're gonna need that medical report. This is the biggest part on applying for your social security disability. It's gonna pull all that information from every single doctor, every single lab. Don't miss any of those things because you can get all that supporting documentation, all the doctors, all the treatment, all the symptoms that your doctors are gonna have to have in your medical records. That is gonna be all the supporting information you're gonna need. The social security is going to, that is gonna be the first thing they're gonna look at that's gonna help you determine whether you even have a case to look at. I would also suggest you get a doctor's statement which explains the severity of your condition. They need to know how the treatment is affecting your ability to work, to think, to do anything and how it affects your ability to work now and later on. Medical records, documentation such as official diagnosis, hospital room visit logs, a lot of people seem to forget those. Diagnostic testing and results, lab results, medical treatment history, prescription medication history. If you've had to go to the hospital via emergency room, don't forget emergency room history as why you went to the emergency room was a result of your treatment. There is no such thing as too much information when it comes to providing medical documentation to the social security administration. Submit as much as possible and make sure that it's legible, make sure that the timelines are consistent because if you have to go back and they ask for additional information, you need to know where to get that information from and get additional supporting documentation. The next slide. So some of the common obstacles that cause a denial is gonna push your application approval way back. It's gonna take a lot longer. Having too much income, we mentioned this earlier. Unwilling to cooperate with the social security administration when they need additional information because if they say we need additional information, they're gonna remind you two times, two or three times. And if you miss that timeline, forget it. They're not gonna compromise with you. They're not gonna argue with you. You're just gonna go back and resubmit your application so that's pushing you further down the road. If you fail to follow your doctor's orders regarding treatments for your disability, this is very important. A lot of people say, well, I'm not gonna take this medication or I don't object to that medication. And if it's not recorded your doctor's records as to not taking that medication and why you didn't take that medication, maybe they approved a different medication for you or they felt it wasn't necessary at that time, then your social security administration is gonna look at that. Oh, you didn't follow your doctor's orders regarding your treatment. So if you're not cooperating with the treatment, it sounds like you just wanna get social security disability and not work. Make sure everything is buttoned up tight, not having all the information required. Make sure you fill out everything. Can't have too much information. Failing to meet deadlines. Again, if you don't meet those deadlines as of the date, make sure things are time stamped with mail on those dates or you're gonna miss a deadline, you'll start all over again. Next slide. So working through a denial, this could be time consuming, it's frustrating, but it's very important. Keep an eye on the timeline to respond and the social security administration is gonna give you that timeline. If you wait too long and go past the response date, you will have to start the process over again from start. When answering questions, be as clear as possible and thorough. Keep everything in order of the request. If necessary, seek out assistance from an attorney. I would suggest you do that. Again, from the jump, from the beginning, it will help your process be, your application be more thorough, more complete and to push your timeline ahead up. So keep copies of everything. And if you're overnighting documents, keep the shipping tracking records just in the event there's a time stamp on there that you actually sent something that you can argue if it went past the timeline, they say they didn't receive it. Review your paperwork for accuracy. Very, very important. Make sure your timelines are straight, but when you got labs, when you went to the emergency room, make sure those things are right. And another thing you may find when you get your documents from your doctor, your medical records, the things may not be accurate. You may have talked to the doctor about something and it wasn't recorded or they missed something or something was just not transcribed correctly. This is the time for you to look at those things and make sure they are correct because it will be in your documentation that goes through Social Security Administration. That's gonna affect whether you're gonna be approved or declined. Next slide. So some very important tips. Terminal illness or chronic illness can get you immediate payments depending on what those illnesses are for chronic. Must be certified by your doctor. You can't just say, oh, this is, they could be this. This has to be certified by your doctor. You will be immediately qualified if you're on a nationwide list awaiting a major organ transplant. Kidney, liver, heart transplant, you are immediately qualified for Social Security disability in those cases. Presumptive disability gives you payments before a formal hearing. The Social Security Administration may approve immediate payments if you're suffering from a select number of conditions, some of those we went over. For instance, total blindness gives payments before hearing while partial blindness does not. Other presumptive disabilities may include leg amputation at the hip, total deafness, inability to complete simple tasks such as bathing and eating, or a stroke that results in impaired mobility, end-stage renal disease, cerebral palsy that leads to difficulty in using hands, speaking or walking, and that includes some other illnesses as well. A condition with a life expectancy of below six months. Now let's just say you've got Social Security disability and the doctor said your life expectancy was below six months. Then if you're at the seventh month, eighth month, ninth month, they may require you to do a hearing or where they may go back and just review your disability to make sure that condition is still in effect. Next slide. So signs that you will be approved for Social Security disability. Present sufficient medical evidence, the official medical resource that the Social Security Administration uses to determine eligibility. The blue book, you can get online, look for that blue book, lists all medical conditions and accompanying symptoms that qualify claimants for Social Security disability income benefits. You should submit a booster, you should submit the following things to boost your claim. The record of medical history is very, very thorough. Diagnostic reports, x-rays and CAT scans, prescription of your treatments, prescription drug receipts, medical report, a document signed by your doctor that confirms the accuracy of every diagnostic test to be part of your medical evidence you submit along with your Social Security disability insurance claim. Make sure that if you're seeing several specialists for different illnesses, such as disability, kidney disease, as well as your multiple myeloma, that you get statements from each one of those doctors. Prove you cannot do any prior work. The Social Security Administration requires disability claimants to prove they have not worked for the last 12 months. Your employer submit documents that proves you didn't work over the past year, but you should also supplement your employer's information with copies of your paycheck stubs and monthly bank statements, very important. If you do have income that's even though it's at that 14, $1,460 a month, be aware of that. They may say that you can still work and make it work better more than what you're doing now. That is going to be a pushback probably from the Social Security Administration, even though they have those regulations in it, you can work, so be very aware of that. Next slide. The Social Security Administration may deny a disability application if you don't provide sufficient evidence to prove your disability that prevents you from working for at least 12 months, or it's gonna lead to death. Sufficient medical evidence also includes how well you're responding to treatment and what the likely outcomes are going to be. You can also submit a disability doctor letter of support for your payment that I mentioned earlier. You must have earned enough work credits. You earn credits by paying into Social Security taxes. If you've not paid in Social Security taxes, you are automatically denied Social Security. In 2023, American workers gained one work credit for every $1,640 generated from company wages or self-employment compensation. The Social Security Administration establishes the number of work credits needed to qualify for disability by referring to the age when the applicant first experienced symptoms. Again, first experienced symptoms of a disability that is gonna be qualified by your doctor. You earn less than substantial gainful activity. The fourth sign that Social Security Administration may approve your claim is that you are not able to participate in substantial gainful activity, work activity. The Social Security Administration guidelines set the minimum monthly gainful income based on the severity of an applicant's disability. Again, the severity of an applicant's disability. For 2023, the monthly wages for a blind applicant of the monthly benefit for Social Security for a blind applicant is $2,460, while the monthly income, disability income for a non-blind applicant falls to $1,470, which is greater than the federal regulatory standards required, which require a higher amount for a blind applicant. So partially blind or fully blind, your ability to, for gainful activity, all of those things work hand in hand. Next slide. So you must meet non-medical requirements. That means, are you working, you know, other things that apply that comes in hand with applying for Social Security disability income. Next slide. So in conclusion, the timeline, three to five months in order to be approved, if everything is done correctly, you have all the information they need, and in some cases, if you're working with an attorney from the start, 65% of applications are rejected, 65%. So that pushes your timeline way down the road. So there are four ways to improve your odds of getting approved sooner. Work with a qualified attorney, a qualified attorney, they understand how the system works, pick a local and very experienced attorney. File your application immediately after showing signs of a disability. Ensure all critical data is included in your application, including diagnosed disabilities and medical records and lab records and everything. Seek proper medical care, ensure you complete requested recommended tests and keep supporting documents in these records, strengthening your case and maximize your chance of getting approved. Lack of sufficient evidence is among the leading causes of denied disability benefits. Avoid work if at all possible, find other ways to bridge the gap for income that you need between your inability to work and getting approved for social security disability income. Concentrate on your case. If you seem disabled, you stand a better chance, if you seem and are disabled, you stand a better chance of getting approved. You may contradict your call, you may contradict your claim if you return to work. Next slide. So remember that timing is everything. Make sure that if you have additional information that social security administration is requesting from you, look at that timeline. Usually it could be 30 or 60 days to get information back. If you go over it, you gotta start all over again. There is no such thing as too much medical information. Keep it cohesive, keep it in order, be aware of work limitations while applying for social security disability of registration income. If you work with financial advice, if you work with financial advisor, see if they can find ways to bridge that gap with income that you, with assets that you may possibly already have. And we've talked about that with pulling money out of cash value, life insurance policies and so forth. Apply as soon as you know you'll be unable to work for 12 months or your illness is leading to a death. Seek the help of an attorney from the start. It is well worth the time and the money for a lot of people to do that to prevent from having to start all over again and having issues with the application process. Next slide. I think that's it actually. Awesome, thank you, Diana. I really appreciate the information you gave us. And again, just the preparation that went into getting that information. And we already have several questions that I'll start asking you, but I do invite our audience. If they would like to participate and enter in a question, they can click the Q&A icon that they see near the bottom of the screen and they can type in their question and I'll be happy to moderate those questions that are most frequently asked and most relevant to the webinar, which looks like all the questions we have so far are. So that's great. I'll start with this one. Retired federal employee under age 60 receiving a monthly pension, are you eligible to apply for disability? Probably not if you haven't worked under the other outside of the federal, outside of that as a veteran. Your disability program for veterans is very extensive. And I must let people know that if there was a time period earlier last month where you were a retired veteran and you're getting disability payments, you could have increased that during that period of time. Hopefully everybody took advantage of that opportunity. But unless you worked outside of that and paid into Social Security Administration outside of the federal government through veterans, then no. Okay, thank you. This says I was approved June 22 at 57. Am I approved forever as long as I am still receiving treatment and disabled? As long as you're disabled, they may require you to go back and they may review your, and make sure your disability has not changed and you cannot go out and get gainful employment. But as long as, and they may do that once every two years, three years, some people have been more often depending on the severity of their disability. As long as your doctor continues to say, yes, you're disabled and you cannot earn gainful income, then yes, you will be considered disabled. Yes. Then of course at 65, then it goes over to Social Security. Medicare and Social Security disability goes away. Yes. I'm sorry. Say that again. No, it's okay. Say it again. Regular Social Security. Yes. Patrick says the attorney gets paid part of your retroactive award. They do not get paid part of your ongoing benefit. You get the ongoing benefit in full. Is that correct? Correct. It's what you would have earned up to that period of time if you were approved. It's not going on forever. No, that would be horrible. Yeah. That'd be a ripoff. Question here. Can you define too much income? Now from what I understood, it was the 1400. Right. Right, the 1460. But again, even though the Social Security administration says you can earn that while you're disabled, if you're applying for Social Security, they may say, oh, if you could earn that, you could possibly earn more. Again, we're worried with the federal government and if they're just qualifying 65% of applications, it's almost like they're going to say no until you prove otherwise. And you don't want to give them an option to say no. But most attorneys don't work. Don't work at all. Interesting. Okay. Follow up to that. This person has been receiving Social Security disability for two years. Employer terminated employment recently. They'll receive payments for bank to vacation days as well as from my deferred savings account. Will these payments count towards the income limit even though they didn't work? That's a very good question. I have not heard that question before, but if already you could send it to me, I will find out. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I'll make sure that you get that question. We'll do some more research on it. Awesome. If a person is months away from turning 65 and able to receive the Social Security income, is there a reason they should try to get disability or should they just wait until they can turn 65 in a couple months and move? Remember, they're going to take six months off anyway. So you may not even qualify them. Yeah, yeah. By the point that all the application process goes through then. Not only that, they don't go back immediate. Like I said, if you became disabled January 1st, that was sort of just started your disability, you're not going to get paid from January. They're going to automatically take some of that time off, five to six months off. And so if you're only a few months away from getting Social Security because of age, then no, you're not going to get anything. No benefit, okay. The Social Security guidelines provide that if you have multiple myeloma and one stem cell transplant, you are automatically approved. Is that correct? Could be. I say could be because it depends on what they say your illness are. So if you had multiple myeloma and you had a stem cell transplant, I have known people who had stem cell transplant and complete remission, right? Then a Social Security administration may say, oh, but according to your doctor's records, you are in complete remission. So it depends on how, and Patrick, and I think he may be the one that asked the question earlier, great person who actually spoke to this topic, how you word everything, how your doctor word everything, any kind of residual effects of a treatment needs to be documented in your doctor's records to make sure that some of these questions do not arise. But yeah, if you are considered still able to work. Yeah, it's not a... Yeah, that's hard. I mean, I think it's great because a lot of people would like to keep working. The treatments are incredibly effective. The quality of life of myeloma patients is a thousand times better. That's a made up number, don't vote me on that. But it's so much better than it was even 10 years ago. So I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from applying to Social Security disability, but if you're just newly diagnosed, I don't want you to feel like you have to, that that's something you're gonna be so wrecked that you're not gonna be able to work if that's what you want to do. You know, I just wanted to make that distinction of just because you can doesn't mean you have to. And also if you don't qualify because your quality of life is excellent and you are in complete response, that's incredible news, you know? So anyway, just the two different sides of it. Question is private pension income considered additional income while on Social Security disability insurance? Private pension income. Is it considered additional income? That is not gainful. That's not where you put on it works and got it. I mean, that's already been saved. That's not considered in your gainful employment. Gainful means you worked for the money that you'll be receiving. You're working, you have the update check. Awesome. Okay, so if the person was disabled June of 2022, do they get Medicare June of 2024 or six months later? I think they might be getting mixed up with the Social Security disability and the Medicare. The Medicare can apply right away, right? Say, read it again. You can pull it up too if you click the Q&A and then you can read it as well. But it says, if I was disabled June, 2022, do I get to start Medicare June, 2024 or six months later? Okay, so if you're disabled in June, 22, you can get Medicare after you fill out Medicare paperwork saying you're disabled. But if it's talking about Social Security disability, you apply saying you were disabled in June, but it's gonna be six months later if it's approved and everything is in order and in good order, then you'll be approved, could possibly be approved for Social Security disability six months later, but you're not gonna get income for those first six months. For those six months. If we're misunderstanding your question, feel free to re-ask it. Sometimes it's just, I wish sometimes we could just sit down and talk face to face. Okay, Linda says, what to do for income during the application waiting period if you're not working? That's a good one. That's when you need to sit down and see what kind of assets you have that maybe will tie you over. Whether you have savings or you have, depending on your age, if you can get to after 59 1 1 2, if you can get to some of your assets, make sure there are assets that can be generating income without increasing your, maybe increasing your tax problem. Look at your life insurance policy. Can you borrow off of life insurance policy or withdraw off of life insurance policy? There are other things that you can do as well. Again, you can work, but again, you may be pushed off of that, the social security administration saying, you're working, just gotta be careful. Yeah. What to say or not to say when an insurance agent calls for an update on your disability? Ooh. Very good question. Because I am not a social security disability attorney. I can't tell you what to say or what not to say. Whatever it is, don't, I can say, I don't say something other than what you put in your records. You don't wanna be thrown out because information is incorrect. Have them say, do I need to get a statement from a doctor or more precisely from a doctor? And they can also request those things. But I would talk to an attorney and see what the best way to handle that. Yeah, I kinda like your idea. I would just turn it around and be like, thank you so much for asking. What do you need to know? What specifically do you need to know about my case? Because I mean, you don't wanna give too much. You don't wanna give too little. And so asking specifically, okay, what is it that you're trying to ask me? And if they can't give you anything specific, you can say, well, just kind of make it a conversation of, yeah, trying to figure out really, what are you asking? I'm trying to be based on what the doctor records say anyway. Say, do I need to get additional doctor records to confirm my current treatment or status? Yeah, my next appointment is this day. I can get my records, just making it authentic and telling the truth without giving too much information. Claire actually says, I disagree about not requesting social security disability close to 65 because I did it close to 65 and got the full disability at the full retirement rate. So I think it just depends. The person who asked before was already receiving income, but it just depends on, just depend. Social security disability, that's considered access in your social security disability income benefit. If you're close to social security disability age, if you take social security income prior to your full retirement age, even if it's social disability, it's gonna affect your social security income because it's all affecting the social security, what you pay the social security. Closer to 65 to apply for social security disability. Again, you gotta look at that six months it's gonna be thrown out, but you're still close to your full retirement age where you can get a higher benefit. Yeah, that's a good point. Thank you, Claire, for sharing that with us. I see Patrick's question. Patrick, you're actually right. Let me read it out loud so that the group knows. Is it true that if you're under 65, once you have been on social security disability insurance for two years, then you qualify for Medicare? Absolutely, in the 25th or 26 months is when you actually go to Medicare. If you're under Medicare age of 65. Okay, so let me read that one more time just so people are aware. If you are under 65 and you have been on social security disability insurance for two years, then you can qualify for Medicare. Exactly. Okay, interesting. I did not know that. Well, these have been excellent questions that formed a great conversation. Diana, thank you for being able to ask those questions. We will do that. One follow-up question, look into more information about it, but we were able to answer the rest hopefully. And if you have any more additional questions in our resource email, we will be including the link to our free Myeloma Coach program. There are coaches with financial experience that are willing and ready to help you with your topics about social security disability insurance. So if you continue to have more questions, we are very happy to help you. Diana, any closing words before we finish up for today? No, I appreciate everybody looking at that. And keep an eye out for my article next month because next month is going to be Medicare, right? October you start open enrollment for Medicare Advantage. So keep an eye out for our article and information coming out of that because I'm not going to have a webinar. Awesome. Thank you, Diana. I appreciate you. We're going to finish up with just a couple of outro announcements and then we can let you go for the rest of the day. Just so you know, our upcoming events on September 7th, which is just in a couple of days, we're going to be talking about understanding pain management in myeloma with cannabis and other medications. On the 12th is our SoCal Myeloma chapter. We're going to be talking about estate planning surprises, batteries included. And then on the September the 19th, we're going to be learning about fitness and motivation for the myeloma community. If any of those interest you, there's the link at the bottom of the screen that will also be sent out in our resource email for you to take a look at those events and even more events that I haven't mentioned. Our next meeting, as Diana said, we will not meet in October. We will meet again in November. However, there will be financial articles published on our website. So make sure to keep a look at healthtree.org for those news articles. But our next webinar will be on November 7th. And we're going to be talking about making the most of your retirement assets. Again, another thank you to Adaptive Amgen, Janssen, AvV, GSK and Bristol Maris Squibb for their sponsorship. And thank you to each of you for joining me today. I appreciate your patience and I hope that you guys have a great rest of your day. Thank you so much. Bye-bye.