You expected bureaucratic red tape and delays when you applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. The process is notorious for taking a long time and requiring a lot of effort from those already struggling with a severe medical condition.
What you didn’t expect when you applied was to receive a rejection notice instead of an approval. As you start to prepare your appeal, you will have to also think about how to handle your budget for the immediate future.
When you successfully appeal a denial of benefits, it could be months or longer after your initial application before you finally receive an approval and start receiving SSDI benefits. Will you be able to receive any sort of back payment of benefits for the time when you could have received benefits but didn’t because of the denial?
Applicants can potentially receive back pay when finally approved
Those who apply for SSDI typically have no other source of income and may also have medical expenses to pay. The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes the financial hardship that comes with a delayed benefit approval. Those who are eventually successful in their appeal can receive benefits for the entire time that they qualified after their application but prior to their successful appeal.
Those benefits can help you pay debts and outstanding expenses from the months spent waiting for your hearing. However, in order to receive those benefits, you first have to succeed in convincing the SSA that you deserve them. A successful appeal is necessary to get back pay, which means that getting help with the process from an experienced attorney could benefit you substantially.