Whether people want to think about it or not, disability is a very real threat. Elliot Raphaelson of the Tribune said the Social Security Administration reported that one quarter of current 20 year olds will be disabled by the age of 67. It is imperative for people of all ages to know what are considered disability qualifying benefits and figure out how they can apply with the Social Security Administration when they need to.
Many veterans who struggle with mental health issues stemming from sexual violence have have a deaf ear turned to their concern by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A report by the Service Women’s Action Network, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School titled “Battle for Benefits: VA Discrimination Against Survivors of Military Sexual Trauma,” found that veterans benefits for those struggling after being sexually assaulted during service are harder to come by.
Laura Schumaker, a writer and autism advocate, said in a blog post that one of the most frequent questions she is asked is whether or not someone’s child has disability qualifying benefits. No two cases are the same with the Social Security Administration, so each family will need to follow a process for procuring benefits.
A report earlier this month by television newsmagazine 60 Minutes looked at the Social Security disability programs. Instead of portraying an even-keeled look at the modern system, the broadcast was biased and anecdote-based, relying on rare cases of judges and lawyers who try to defraud the system. Seemingly no attempt was made to get comment from the Social Security Administration and no recipients of SSD payments were interviewed.
