SOCIAL SECURITY ADMITS THAT I'M DISABLED BUT STILL WON'T GIVE ME A BENEFIT.

Here at the Forsythe Firm we get calls regularly from individuals who say, "SOCIAL SECURITY ADMITS THAT I AM DISABLED BUT THEY STILL WON'T PAY ME A BENEFIT."

And it is completely possible to be medically disabled and still not qualify for Social Security disabilty (SSDI). Let's discuss the most common reason that happens.

A claimant must have insured status with Social Security to get a benefit. Like all other insurance, Social Security must be paid for. You must pay in before you can take a benefit out. By having FICA (the Social Security tax) withheld from our payroll, we earn work credits with Social Security. When we earn the minimum number of work credits we become covered or "insured" for disability with Social Security.

Unfortunately, not everyone pays into Social Security. Examples would be :

• Individuals who haven't worked a job in several years, or haven't worked at all.

• Individuals who worked "under the table" where Social Security taxes were not paid.

• Someone who has not worked at least 5 years out of the most recent 10 years.

If there is no insured status, it doesn't matter that the claimant is disabled. Social Security will not pay for the disability because the required amount has not been paid into the Social Security system. And there are no exceptions. It doesn't matter WHY you haven't earned sufficient work credits.

Individuals who work jobs that do not deduct and pay FICA tax essentially opt out of the benefits of Social Security (and this may be illegal because, in most cases because Social Security taxes (FICA) are required on earnings by US law.

Sometimes a worker may think he/she is getting a good deal by "beating the Social Security tax." However, that comes back to bite you when you file for disability benefits and find there are none.

I recommend you check your Social Security earnings statement annually to be sure all your wages are being reported and your required FICA tax is being paid. An easy way to keep up with that is by using the My Social Security account online.