ometimes the application period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can be so lengthy that your condition will have improved by the time your application has been approved. Even though you may be able to return to work in some capacity, spending a year without a regular income can have a substantial negative impact on your financial well-being. You may need to rely on credit cards to cover your monthly expenses, borrow money from family members, and you could even fall behind on mortgage payments while at home recovering from a disability.
Even if your condition has improved, or you believe that it will have improved by the time your application for benefits would be granted, you may be eligible to file a claim for a closed period of disability. Read on to learn about closed period claims, and speak with a knowledgeable New York disability attorney with questions about your disability claim.
Open vs. closed claim
When an applicant for disability benefits does not know if or when their disabling condition will resolve, or they have received a terminal diagnosis, they can file an open-period disability claim. There are also times when a claimant may know that they will be forced to take time off work due to a disability, but know how long that disability period will last. For example, a warehouse employee may know that they need to have major surgery requiring months of recovery time, and will be unable to do their job for 14 months. Alternately, an individual may have left their job to undergo chemotherapy and, after 18 months, was again ready to return to work, but did not file an application for SSDI benefits until after they returned to work.
Closed claims may be more easily approved
Individuals who have been or believe they will be out of work for at least 12 months, but know how long their period of disability has lasted or will last, can file a claim for SSDI benefits for a closed period of disability. Claims for closed periods of disability may be filed retroactively, so long as they are filed within 14 months of the conclusion of the disability period. These claims can also be filed before the disability period has concluded. Closed-period claims may even be more likely to be approved, since the SSA has a better sense of how much your claim will cost to cover than that of someone with an open claim. Even when a claim is temporary, all applicants for SSDI are subject to an up-to-five-month waiting period before benefits begin. In other words, if your claim is for 13 months’ spent off work, you may receive only eight months of SSDI benefits.
If you have been injured on the job or are suffering from an illness that will require you to take time off work, get help filing a claim for workers’ compensation or SSDI benefits by contacting the experienced and knowledgeable Highland disability attorney Peter M. Cordovano for a consultation, at (845) 414-8482