Social Security is a program that describes the various benefits available to a person if they are unable to provide for themselves and their family, and for those who have reached retirement age. Social security claims can be made by those people who are disabled, of retirement age, ill, or survivors of a spouse who died.
It is thought that Social Security provides a large part of the retirement income for many Americans. Many people file a claim for Social Security once they have finished their career. It is a way to add to their means of continuing meeting their on-going obligations.
There are two types of Social Security claims that can be made; one of course is retirement, the other is for disability benefits. You cannot have both retirement and disability benefits. Disability benefits are only available to those claimants who have not reached retirement age and meet very strict rules and regulations. Claims for either can all be made over the telephone, on the internet, or by visiting one of the many offices located locally. The best way to make a claim is by visiting the local office of Social Security.
Claiming for Social Security retirement benefits is very straight forward and rarely are there any problems with the grant of benefits, all that is required is proof of birth and a Social Security number. This cannot be said though if the applicant is disabled. There is a wealth of information that the Administration demands to prove that the applicant is eligible. There are only certain disabilities that are qualified under SSA rules, and the applicant must have contributed to Social Security for long enough to have accrued enough work credits.
When making a claim for Social Security disability benefits, many applicants find the complexity to be such that they hire a seasoned attorney who knows the laws and regulations that apply. This is highly recommended as those people who do apply independently are rarely granted approval; about 75 percent of the applications are rejected. Fortunately there is an appeals process and those that do have an attorney find that the acceptance rate is much higher as the attorney is fully aware of what the Administration is looking for and knows in advance what documents need to accompany the application and what questions to expect when the client is in front of an administrative judge.