The difference between SSD and SSI are the technical qualifications for those benefits beyond the requirement that you’re being disabled. For SSD, you have to have worked and paid FICA taxes, which buys you insurance to claim Social Security Disability benefits. For SSI, even if you haven't worked, it’s a low income program and so if you find yourself in a situation where you have worked but not for a while and you don’t have any savings left...
If you’re living with panic or anxiety disorder, you may wonder if these conditions can qualify you for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits. Severe cases of anxiety and panic disorders can be considered disabling enough to receive SSD benefits. However, the process isn’t always straightforward. Many applicants face initial denials or frustration as they attempt to navigate the complex SSD criteria for mental health conditions.
To improve your chances...Does mental illness qualify someone to receive SSD?
Updated June 21, 2024
Mental illness qualifies a person to receive Social Security Disability benefits just as a physical disability does. What you have to show is that your mental illness is so severe that it keeps you from working for at least 12 months.
Mental illness qualifies a person to receive Social Security Disability benefits just as a physical disability does. What you have to show is that your mental illness is so severe that it keeps you from working for at least 12 months.
Social Security defines disability for SSD and SSI in the same way. A person has to be so physically or mentally impaired that they cannot be expected to work for at least 12 months.
If your doctor just makes a statement that you are disabled that is generally not enough for you to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits or SSI. What happens is Social Security evaluates the medical records that the doctor writes down when you go for visits or if you’re hospitalized or if the doctor sends you for a test and they order the results of those tests, they looked at your hospital records and they try to decide whether what’s...