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IS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY COVERAGE ABOUT TO EXPIRE?

Waiting too long to file your application for disability benefits can result in finding you have no disability insurance coverage.

 About 4 years after you stop working, your Social Security disability insurance will expire because you are no longer paying into the system.  The date your insurance expires is called "Date Last Insured."  When this date rolls around, you can no longer file a new claim under Social Security disability (Title 2, it's called).  It doesn't matter how sick you are, or how unable to work, you no longer have insurance.  It's like trying to collect on your homeowners insurance after it expires.  You can't.  Social Security disability insurance has an expiration date.  If you think you are disabled, file now while you still have the insurance. 

Individuals come into my office regularly who say, "I worked for 23 years, then stopped working in 2003.  I went back to work in 2007 and quit again in 2010."  (Or some version of that).  When we check their record, we find that their Social Security disability coverage has expired, which means they cannot file a new claim.  (They may be able to file an SSI claim, but there are strict limitations on income and resources and the maximum SSI benefit in 2013 for an individual who is not blind is $710).

Here's the moral of my story.  If you believe you are legitimately disabled, file your disability claim as soon as possible to get a protected filing date.  You want a protected filing date prior to your "Date Last Insured."  In short, you must file a claim while you still have insurance.

If you are feeling bad and thinking about quitting work, realize that within a few years after you quit you are going to lose your coverage under Title 2 of the Social Security Act.

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