What is the Date of Last Insured? Why is it important?

What you don't know about your work credits

So, I have worked since I was about 14 until I was just shy of 28.  I figured I had enough work history to claim SSDI.  I was both right... and very wrong.

We all know how an insurance policy works, right? You pay your monthly premiums and in exchange they cover you for whatever the insurance happens to be for.  In the case of SSDI, it's an insurance policy covering your ability to work if you become disabled.  Like any other insurance policy, it will expire if you don't pay your premiums, in the form of Social Security tax.  Usually you're still covered for 5 years after you lose your job.  What a lot of people don't realize, and what I never found on any SSI/SSDI website, is that it isn't always 5 years.

I worked until April of 2012.  Most of my work history was spotty, with huge gaps.  When I called the SSA for my credit totals and DLI, I was told it lapsed on June 30, 2013.  This was over a year before I filed for SSDI.  The good news is, if I can prove that my disability started before my DLI, I can still get benefits.  Still, it's better to not have to worry about that.  File as soon as you become disabled. Don't take the chance you will lose benefits.   

YOU SHOULD FILE BEFORE YOUR DATE OF LAST INSURED

Every worker should know when their "policy" expires.  

Why is it important to file as soon as you become disabled

The importance of filing quickly

A lot of people like myself put off filing.  I didn't want to be a drain on society, I wanted to be able to support my child (now children) without the help of the government.  Let's be real, Social Security isn't exactly solvent.  

The most important and surprising issue, in my opinion is this: your credits expire. For me, this happened on June 30, 2013.  SSDI is just like any other insurance policy, if you don't pay into it for so long the policy lapses.  It's important for you to know when this happens so you file before the deadline, if not you could lose your chance at benefits.  You can get this information by calling the SSA and asking.  The loophole to this problem is whether or not you can prove your disability began before your date of last insured.  Of course, none of this applies to SSI cases.

How much time is taken throughout the process

Another issue with delaying the application is that it takes a long time to be approved.  Most claims are denied at the application stage.  If this happens you have to appeal within 60 days of your denial.  This means that you request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.  There is a huge backlog, so many people wait a year or more for their hearing.  The quicker you file, the quicker you get your benefits if the judge rules in your favor.   If he does not, you can ask for a hearing before the Council, who will determine if there were any mistakes made by the judge when he heard your case.  If they do, then they remand the case back to your judge.  If he still determines that you are not disabled, you can request an appeal in Federal Court.  If any errors occurred, then they will remand the case back to the ALJ.  This is an extremely long process. Years.   

What's the difference between SSDI and SSI??

SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) 

SSDI is for people who have worked and paid into Social Security.  Because of this, you need so many credits to qualify for it.  If you're 30 and under, it depends on how old you were when you became disabled.  Here is a chart that explains it better than even the SSA website.  If you're 31 and over, then you need 20 credits to qualify.  If you become disabled between 24 and 31 you have to have worked at least half time in the last 10 years.  If you become disabled before age 24, then you had to have worked at least one and a half years in the last three years before your disability. The drawback is that your credits before age 21 don't count toward your SSDI credit requirement.  An example, when I called the SSA and asked about my credits, I had 31 total, 18 in the last 10 years.  I meet the credit amounts for SSDI.  13 of my credits do not apply toward my SSDI credit requirement, although they can be used to calculate my benefit amount if my highest earnings happened during that time.  

I think it's the best of the two programs for a many of reasons.  For one, if you have dependents, they will give you so much on top of your own benefits per child, up to 150% of your benefits.  Remember though, you have a cap on how much you can receive in benefits, based on your work history.  Every families cap is different.  Another benefit is that it doesn't matter how much your spouse earns.  He could make 100k a year, and it won't effect your benefits.  One good thing is that after two years, you're eligible for Medicare.  These are just a few of the benefits you enjoy.   

Remember, there is no minimum benefit amount for either program, however, if your SSDI payment is less than 720, you may also get an SSI payment to bring your benefit up to 720.  

SSI (Supplemental Security Income) 

This program is need based.  In other words, its for people who have not worked enough to get the credits you need to qualify for SSDI.  However, since it is needs based, your household income effects how much you receive.  There is also an asset test, for a single person it's 2,000, for a married person it is 3,000.  Children can receive SSI payments as well, but they must be the disabled party.  SSI does not give auxiliary benefits like SSDI does.  

What's happened since August

The application

So I did my application online in August.  It was pretty easy, really.  I've been fighting against applying for SSDI for years.  I hate the thought of it, but that's not the point of this post.  It didn't take that long, and I was able to input my work history (what I can remember anyway), my conditions, my doctors, my hospitalizations, medications, and diagnosis'.

Fast forward about a month, and I got a letter from PA's Disability Determination Service.  They wanted me to call them and talk to them.  So I did, and my claim adjudicator asked some questions, (heck if I can remember what) and told me to expect two packets to fill out.  Of course, with my bad memory, it took a while for me to fill them out, but I sent them out in October.  

In the meantime, I've been seeing my psych and therapist.  My therapist has referred me to case management with my local behavioral health commission.  For the life of me I can't remember my meds, and when I do I'm not near them, or about to fall asleep.  I'll be doing something in the kitchen for example, remember... and then SQUIRREL! Next thing I know it's 8 hours later and I still haven't taken them. 

Not much has happened since then with my application.  I keep hoping I'll be one of the few that's approved at application, but it's not likely.

In any event, I was trying to find a SSDI lawyer.  I talked to a few, and they all ask the same questions:

1. Have you worked 5 of the last 10 years?
2. How old are you? 
3. What is your condition?
4. When did the disability start? 

There's a few others, too. At one point I had one of those big law firms finally tell me I could call the SSA and ask them how many credits I had over the last 10 years, and my date of last insured (I'll get into that on another post.) So I did.  I last worked in April of 2012.  I called the SSA and the woman I spoke with told me that I had 31 total, 18 in the last 10, and my date of last insured was June 30, 2013.  Well dammit.  I started crying like an idiot.  So I called back the lawyer's office and they told me they wouldn't represent me.  Crap.  I had shopped around a bit before all of this, and I got a phone call 5 days ago from a firm.  They asked me the basic questions, but nothing about my DLI.  

I got an email a few days ago, and they agreed to represent me!

Here is the SSA's online application for benefits for both SSI and SSDI.