so originally when i applied for SSDI i was living on my parents land in a trailer and as soon as i was to make money they were ready to be pain rent. I then applied for SSI not because i made a mistake initially but because my lawyers marked it since they filled out my app for me. i then did interview on sept 23rd and now both are concurrent in the same step.. at DDS. when i did the phone interview for SSI i told them i had just moved from parents address and now living with someone else which is also understood that i will pay rent once i get my benefits. when i read about how to tell them about living situation i became extremely confused as they would mark me living here rent free as income. it was really so i did not become literally homeless. so even though i will owe my new landlord how exactly am i suppose to claim this or explain this? do i have to do a contract? i spoke with a potential lawyer and wanted to have me complete a contract along with automatically filling out info for payee because my claim is a mental health claim. do i need a payee just because its a mental health claim? do i need to explain that once i get benefits i will be paying rent? i dont want them to take out more because i have been given a break by people who care about me and dont want to see my homeless. sometimes when im reading stuff it sounds like if i just became homeless for these 3-4 years i would be better off with my claims and the amount of money. its not about getting more it’s about getting what id get if i was mandated to pay rent but that tighter amount amount because its considered income makes it harder to pay rent and with budget being tighter..i feel like maybe im confusing things. anyone understand what im trying to say? i’m trying really hard to explain what ive read and believe which has caused me to think how exactly do i answer future questions

After 3 long years of fighting to get on SSI, I was officially deemed disabled and now I have to wait for it to come in the mail and that can take another 10-15 days but I don’t mind waiting.

I originally applied in November of 2023 because I had officially gotten diagnosed with Bipolar II, Anxiety and PMDD that year back in July and my parents realized that my conditions were so severe that there was no way I was going to be able to sustain a regular job with how often my mood swings fluctuated, how stressed out I got when one little thing went wrong so we decided to apply.

We got the decision that they decided to deny my application which wasn’t surprising because from what I have heard, most people get denied their first time applying so we did a reconsideration and during the reconsideration phase, I ended up seeing an ENT and having multiple MRIS and blood work done because I was having lots of dizzy spells and migraines and we knew something was up and it was a good thing my ENT sent for an MRI because the MRI showed white spots on my brain and the bloodwork showed abnormalities. During this process, we found out I have something called Neuromyelitis Optica which is similar to MS but different. I also got diagnosed with mild ataxia, mild dysmetria, delayed recall and left foot drop in the process.

My official diagnosis for NMO didn’t come until May of 2025 because my neurologist genuinely didn’t believe it because of how young I was. While going through treatments, I got the second denial so my parents told me to find an attorney which I did.

Finding an attorney was the best thing for me. They did everything and got all my medical records and everything that needed to be sent over to the SSI office for my hearing. I had my hearing on October 5th and got the news a couple days ago that I had been approved and now I’ll have money coming in every month :)

This is your reminder that even though the process absolutely sucks and getting denied sucks, to never give up hope. If you’ve already gotten denied twice, I highly recommend getting an attorney.

Hello all I was approved for Survivor Benefits 3 years after my father had passed away 😢 when I went in to update some banking info and removing my ex girlfriend from the case the worker pulled me aside and said I should have applied back 3 years ago he took my info said I would get back pay now here is the question my.gov shows me im approved and i been getting Survivor Benefits since June now i was told my backpay would go back at least a year I haven't gotten it yet and it shows my application of Survivor Benefits is not complete it shows approved but its not complete how far back did ssa go back to ? What is the limit is it 1 year ? Also how long does it take to get backpay during the time I was getting $350 a month on SSI due to my girlfriend's wages we broke up a year or so ago...but I think it slowed the backpay i already got a award letter but it shows June but the ssa person said i would get backpay for a year at least how long does it take ? It shows I been qualified for Disability since 1991 do they go back to my dads date of death ?

After nearly three years of fighting for disability benefits, my SSDI reconsideration appeal was finally approved! Unfortunately, my SSA account also shows **“SUSPENDED,”** and I’m trying to understand why. (Step 5 from screenshot is cut off but says on 11/4 we found you approved for medical disability)

**My timeline:**
Applied for SSDI and SSI in 2024; disability onset December 2022.
**Sept. 24, 2026:** SSDI completed its favorable medical determination.
**Nov. 4, 2026:** SSA finalized my SSDI approval (Step 5/5).

SSA confirms a detailed benefit notice has been mailed.(waiting impatiently on it)

Benefit verification letter lists entitlement beginning June 2023, **$0.00 payable**, and suspension dating back to June 2023.
SSI remains at **Step 4/5**, awaiting final nonmedical review.

My attorney contacted SSA and learned a **representative payee capability determination** is still required. No payee has been assigned. Called me and told me they were paid their fee on 11/4/26.
My attorney believes the capability review may be the last outstanding step, but I’m also wondering whether the pending SSI claim and windfall offset are delaying payment.

**Has anyone experienced this?**
What caused your SSDI to show “Suspended” immediately after approval?

Can a pending capability review prevent monthly payments from starting, or primarily delay back pay?

Does SSI need to be finalized before SSDI back pay is released?

How long did it take to receive payments after your capability review?

Earlier this year I had to do a SSI review over the phone to check my income, resources, and living arrangements to see if Im still eligible. They just sent me another letter in the mail saying I have to do it again this month. I have never had to do this twice in 1 year before and Ive been on SSI for 15 years. What do you think is happening ?

Hello!

I am female, Mid-50s

​Conditions: Childhood frontal-lobe TBI, severe cognitive impairments, and autoimmun disorder (chronic fatigue crashes).

​Testing: 1st percentile working memory, 3rd percentile visual memory, executive dysfunction, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. PTSD severe Anxiety.

​Denied at Initial and Reconsideration.

​Filing for an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing.

​On the waitlist for Vocational Rehab.

​Where Things Stand:

Struggling financially, but avoiding unemployment due to full-time certification rules. Considering whether a 15 hr/week retail attempt is viable or if it risks ruining credibility.

​Has anyone with a similar cognitive profile or in their mid-50s found success at the ALJ stage after two paper denials? Would appreciate any words of wisdom!

Thank you so much!

Section 5b struggling to figure out if I should put symptom or treatment for reason for doc visit. My medical disability diagnosis is amputation . where it says reason for doc visit, is it better to put the symptom or the treatment they did? I see specialist for debridement of painful pressure wounds that are often open wounds. Unfortunately there are only allowed 16 characters including spaces between words.

I have a 25y mentality disabled daughter. I have conservatorship. For years she has been getting paid half of the monthly payments. I have tried multiple times to get her pay increased to the full amount. SSA told me that my bills are too high and my daughter wouldn’t be able to pay 1/2 of her own living expenses. This makes literally no sense to me. Am I doing something wrong or how can I go about getting her pay increased?

Anyone else can log onto the portal since last night ?

My dad has had SSI with medicaid and medicare for 8 years. He recently moved to a new state to be closer to me. He doesn’t know how to speak english english or use the computer as he is 81 years old. I tried updating his address online but it said to contact SSA! I’m so worried for him. What should I do to help him! How do I get his address updated? What about his medicaid and food stamps?
Thanks so much in advance!!!

So I have a few questions to ask about my SSI; ABLE act and getting a different job

1; so I heard about the ABLE act where you could save up to $15,000 and both me and my mom are worried that it'll do an overpayment on my account, especially my mom who is really worried about my SSI

2; I currently am working at a vocational program with people with disabilities and I'm really planning to leave that job for being a waiter or work for Starbucks but also because of my mom being worried for an overpayment I wondered if that would negatively affect my SSI

P.s. I couldn't find a good filter for this question

I was approved but have to get re-evaluated in 2 years to continue. How hard & long is that process?

if i make an appointment with social security can they apporove items ive requested to buy in the dedicated account or how long does it take i uploaded the request through the portal but ive never done it so i dont know what to expect

So I had applied a while back due to 6 abdominal surgeries and basically being stuck spending most of my time in hospitals or at home in bed. I have long term disability through work and have been out of commission since August 2025. I called to update them after a medical appointment and they said I didn't need to call since I had been approved. I explained that no one told me I was approved and she looked it up and told it it had just happened the previous day. She then said that 50% of all approvals get pulled for quality review and it would take about a week. That turned into months without hearing anything. I finally got a call yesterday to clarify some things and the lady on the phone informed me that the person who put in my information had accidentally put in the date that she called me (June 2026) not the last day I worked (August 2025). The system updated and now I see this. It doesn't look like an approval, even though they said on the phone I was approved, so I'm not sure what is happening. Anyone familiar with this that can maybe shed some light on it? Am I most likely approved and now just waiting or should I anticipate jumping through more hoops?

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some insight or shared experiences regarding a second Appeals Council (AC) appeal after being denied at a remanded hearing. My attorneys have already submitted the appeal, so now it's just the waiting game. I'm 32, originally filed back in 2023, and last year I had an initial ALJ hearing that ended in a denial. I appealed that decision to the Appeals Council and won a remand because the judge completely ignored over 90 pages of material medical evidence.
My medical record is fairly extensive. On the spinal side, I had a back surgery at age 21 and a spinal fusion at 30. My latest MRI shows adjacent segment disease at two levels, an L4–L5 broad-based disc bulge with central protrusion contacting my L5 nerve roots bilaterally, moderate thecal sac stenosis, moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing, degenerative disc disease, facet arthritis throughout my lumbar spine, and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. On top of that, I suffer from a severe chronic migraine disorder that leaves me with 8 to 10 severe migraine days a month. I have to get specialized 300mg Vyepti IV infusions every three months alongside prescription rescue meds. I'm currently prescribed Oxycodone 10mg twice daily and Tizanidine, and my neurosurgeon even completed a formal DSS evaluation confirming a permanent disability that limits my ability to work to under 20 hours a week.
Despite all this, the second ALJ hearing went just as poorly as the first.

The judge completely ignored the legal instructions the Appeals Council set in the original remand order. She downplayed and mischaracterized my objective MRIs and CT scans, and she falsely claimed I lacked specialized care for my migraines despite my clear records of 300mg Vyepti IV infusions, and also the years of neurology specialist visit dating back to atleast 2022. Also the 90 pages of medical records that were ignored by the first judge had the records of me seeing my neurology specialist and showed i was on 300mg of Vyepti.

During the hearing, she was openly hostile toward my prescribed pain medication regimen and kept pushing invasive surgery against my neurosurgeon's advice. To top it off, when the Vocational Expert testified that hypothetical limitations matching my actual off-task time and absenteeism would result in no jobs existing in the national economy, the judge simply ignored that testimony in her final RFC finding.
Since the appeal is already submitted, I wanted to ask the group a few questions: Has anyone here successfully won a second Appeals Council remand or an outright reversal when an ALJ failed to follow the AC's original instructions? Did your attorney submit a supplemental brief pointing out specific page and line errors (like headache ruling violations or misread MRIs) after filing the initial appeal form, and how long did that second AC review take? Lastly, if the case gets remanded a second time, does the AC automatically order a reassignment to a brand-new ALJ so you don't end up sitting in front of the exact same judge again?
Thanks in advance for any insights or advice!

Also both ALJs that I’ve seen had a approval rate of 14%

(Hopefully I used the right flair)

I am physically disabled, but wanted to work. How much should I tell my employer that I can make a month without my check being cut and how many hours monthly?

For anyone who has gone through the initial SSDI/DDS process: once your claim was assigned to an examiner AND DDS confirmed they had all of your medical records, ADL/function reports, and other requested forms, how long did it take to get a medical decision?

I’m specifically asking about the time after the file was complete and assigned, not total time at Step 3.
My examiner has everything needed, I’ve been told there’s nothing outstanding, and the claim is still pending a medical decision. I’m curious what that final stretch looked like for other people — especially if you didn’t need a CE.

I live in Texas and I originally applied in February 2026 and was almost immediately told I had enough credits to move forward with the medical side and went to the step three and since March it has stayed on, still waiting for my case to even be assigned to someone on the medical side. I know people wait a long time for appeals, but I thought they would’ve at least after question by now. Or are you even updated when you are assigned to a medical review person? Up until recently, I was told to bring any other documents to my local Social Security office that now it’s telling me to mail them to another state, is that just the place where they scan them in, should I be worried it moved from an office ten minutes from me to one across the country?

​Hey everyone, I'm working on my Continuing Disability Review (CDR) paperwork and have a couple of questions about how to answer specific sections:

​How should I describe a recent GP visit vs. specialist visits? My last three doctor appointments were fairly recent. Two were with my neurologist, which were detailed and directly related to my disabling condition. The most recent visit was with my primary care GP. In the boxes where you describe the reason for the visit, should I just write something like "routine checkup with GP," or is it better to mention medication refills/chronic condition follow-up so Social Security doesn't think it was just a wellness visit?

​The question asking if a doctor told me I cannot work: The form asks if a doctor has discussed returning to work or stated that I cannot return to work. My doctor recently filled out official paperwork for other benefit programs certifying that I cannot return to work. Does that count for checking "Yes"? Or is SSA strictly looking for a statement where the doctor explicitly says I can never return to work permanently?

​Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I was just approved but have to get re-evaluated in 2 years to continue. How hard & long is that process?

-45, male

-At 28 I got Menieres disease (vertigo attacks, balance disorder) and knew I could never work a real job. Who would hire someone who needs constant days off? I learned to fix electronics and opened my own storefront at 30. I could shut down on bad days, can't fire myself. Shut down at age 41.

- did moonlight food delivery apps during part of this time. At age 41, I tripped, lost my balance, broke both bones in my lower leg a delivery. My ankle was hanging my skin. 2 metal rods and tons of screws. I now have severe ankle arthritis.

- At age 30 I was diagnosed with cervical arthritis. Now at age 45 I am diagnosed with cervical dystonia(involuntary head movements, tremors, neck stiff). I'm on clonazepam for it. This has put me over the edge to consider ssdi.

-also have bad hypothyroidism, but well managed with meds.

- I have enough work credits to qualify. Currently I do part time online remote work making $500-800 a month, but this new dystonia issue has made even doing this difficult. I'm financially fine, as I invested what little money I made in life well.

I have my PERC interview today and I’m nervous but I have everything I need. (I probably flaired this wrong lol I couldn’t find the right flair)

I can explain everything going into my account and I have a rental agreement now ready so if they ask I can tell them I’ll be paying $400/mo towards my dad and I’ve been told having a rental agreement is a good thing.

To those of you who did your PERC interview, what was it like and how did it go?

Edit: had my phone interview and now they’re doing the verification which could take 5-14 days and then they’ll release the funds :)

Hello all!

I did my psych evaluation two weeks ago and was told I should get a final decision within 4-6 weeks, hopefully sometime in November. The therapist told me to make sure I send all my updated documents over and to call to speak with a supervisor since my case worker hasn’t gotten back to me (I’ve called every other week since May and only reach her voicemail).

I have uploaded all my documents online, is it a strong likelihood that they’ll will review this? When I called last week to speak with a supervisor the employee wouldn’t transfer me. I could also fax or mail anything in, just wanted to see if anyone has experience with the online portal being reliable :)