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SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY / S.S.I.
Q. What's the difference between Social Security Disability and S.S.I.? A. They're alike in that they're both federal benefit programs for people who can't work due to a disability. Social Security Disability is where you collect a disability pension because you've worked enough to be eligible for it and you're disabled. S.S.I. is where you get payments because you're disabled and indigent. Bluntly, S.S.I. is a form of welfare.
Q. If my lawyer represents me with regard to my Social Security Disability case, how does he or she get paid? A. If and only if you win your case, the Social Security Administration takes approved fees out of your past due benefits and sends them to your lawyer.
Q. I knew a guy whose only problems were that he was an alcoholic and drug addict. He got Social Security Disability on that basis. How can that be? A. It used to be true that disabling alcoholism or drug addiction was reason enough to be granted Social Security Disability provided the claimant obtained treatment. That was an extraordinarly unpopular policy, so the rule was changed. Since then, drug addiction and alcohol abuse are not only no longer reasons to get a favorable decision, they are disqualifiers if they're material to the claimant's disability. |
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