Social Security Disability Intake Form: Fill & Download for Free

In the US there are two forms of disability insurance I’m aware of.Private disability coverage from your employer either short or long term (STD or LTD)SSDI Social Security Disability IncomeFor private coverage the policies I’ve seen in 40+ years the requirement for LTD is that you can no longer perform your job and requires lots of documentation. STD has different rules that probably vary employer to employer and from state to state.SUGGESTION: If your firm offers you LTD make sure you pay the monthly fee which will result in any payments being non-taxable, if your employer pays it the payments will be taxed.If you are referring to SSDI - Social Security Disability Income the requirement is that you can’t perform any job. Yes - any job - it doesn’t matter if you are a highly skilled professional or uneducated: If you can perform a legal paying job, you’re not eligible.I know it sounds pretty difficult to meet this requirement but there are some additional considerations I’ve learnt about that may not be on SSA’s web site.All rely on having well documented problems in your doctors’ records. A former co-worker did not document his many issues at each doctor visit and was turned down by the private disability insurer despite hiring a more than competent advocate for his appeal.A fellow I know was at his doctor’s office every four weeks over several years and every time accurately wrote on his intake form “headaches, vision problems, pain from intense cramping, urinary urgency, can’t concentrate” and probably one or two more if they had occurred since his last visit.When the latter fellow applied for LTD (long term disability) from his employer, despite submitting about 200 pages of records, he was initially turned down. He luckily found (I’m not sure how) a former insurance firm employee who went over his records, noted the problems, called the insurer, and won coverage.At some point he applied for SSDI, spoke with a sympathetic staffer, and qualified for SSDI on his first try.If you apply for SSDI and get turned down, there are numerous attorneys who specialize in appealing SSA’s decision. Their fees are limited by law to some percentage of what they win.I am not a lawyer and the information I’ve provided is about 7 years old, things may have changed.

Well, I didn’t exactly retire.I’ve been a “job-hopper” all my working years. Sometimes a job just sucked so bad that I quit. Sometimes, something better would come along. Sometimes the stress of a job was more than I could handle. I’ve done everything from backfilling graves by hand to housekeeping to working in offices. I’ve worked in the cash office of a national retail chain, as a manager for a telemarketing company, doing intake for the child support unit in our state, and more. I’ve been a zookeeper, a salesperson at a jewelry store, a maintenance worker for a cemetery, a day care worker, and a delivery driver. I have experience in lots of things, but never chose one thing for a career.I have bipolar disorder. I was misdiagnosed for many years. Depression always hung around like a dark cloud. Some days I couldn’t get out of bed. I never got fired from any job I’ve ever held, but towards the end of my working years, my depression was getting the best of me, plus anxiety, and coping on the job got harder and harder. Finally, I resigned from my job with the state. I found a mental health clinic and got a correct diagnosis, began meds which helped some, but not much. I didn’t work again after that, and that was in 2004.Somewhere down the line, my case worker at the mental health clinic said that they would apply for disability benefits for me if I wanted them to. I said, no, that I hoped I would get better and be able to work again. A year or so later, she asked me again, and that time, I told her to go ahead. So she did, and that’s how I got on Social Security Disability.I haven’t held a job since 2004. I don’t expect to go back to work, because I am going to be 63 in the spring, who wants to hire an old lady with bipolar disorder? I just took it a day at a time for some years. I was in a terrible relationship for 14 years, and it was past time for me to leave. I was able to leave him when my parents offered to give me one of their campers to live in until I could find something more permanent.I hadn’t lived in my camper for too long, when I started noticing that things weren’t getting done at my parents house. I had already been doing chores for them once a week, but I noticed supper dishes in the sink at breakfast time, and also found out that my parents were eating a lot of pre-prepared, frozen food. My mom’s back surgery left her with chronic pain, and it wouldn’t let her stand at the stove and cook, or clean up. It had fallen to my dad to do just about everything. (something they kept to themselves) The day came when my dad spilled the beans and told me he was having a hard time taking care of mom, plus all the other duties. So I told him to relax, because I don’t work and have plenty of time to “do” for them. And so that is how I became their caregiver.I never gave much thought to retirement, but I sure never imagined I would be taking care of my parents in their old age. In my eyes, my parents weren’t “old”, but I began to see the ravages of age, since I am now living so close to them. My mom has some form of dementia, and has recently been evaluated. She doesn’t drive anymore, so I drive her where she needs to go. Hair dresser, doctor appointments, etc. Dad is in good shape, and his mind is sharp and my parents are devoted to one another in their old age, just as they were in their younger years. But they need my help. I am happy that circumstances put me in the place where I can be there for my parents. My dad has told me that if I hadn’t come when I did, they would have had to sell out and go into assisted living. I’m pleased to be able to be a help to them, so that they can continue to live in their home and have the security of knowing I am only seconds away should they need me in a hurry.I don’t have any plans for leaving any time soon. I am looking into getting a mobile home moved out here (I live deep in the country) My folks are leaving me the home place, so I will likely move into their home after they are gone. I am pretty sure I won’t be able to handle the place in my old age, so will eventually sell and move into town to be closer to my daughter, who is firmly ensconced in the city.My life is good in my “retirement”. I adore both of my parents and spend hours with them every day. But I also have my own space, and plenty of time for myself. Life is peachy for me right now, and I’m enjoying it, because I believe things will get harder with the passage of time. I just take life a day at a time, and I’m a pretty happy little ole lady these days.

I had contact with a guy who processes these things when I did mine. He said that not having paperwork complete or the backup doctor’s notes and test results. I spent 2 months making sure I had every doctor’s notes for 2 years and every test, even if they were for something else for 2 years with locations, names and addresses and contact info. I handed that big stack of paper to the intake person. Everything.If a forms aren’t completely filled out and they have to contact you , it can lead to a denial or delay. If they have to contact doctors, add many months to the time and more chance of denial.It sounds like a lot of work, but you are disabled and out of work. You have the time to do this and it will save time in the long run. I contacted all of my doctors and asked for the records. In some I had to pay a small fee, but it was worth it. The test results, the same. If your records are computerized, you likely can go online and print out the records yourself.