When we look at the types of people that receive Social Security Disability benefits, we quickly realize that there are tons of different cases and reasons for why individuals need these benefits. Our readers may think that most of the individuals who get these benefits are elderly, but that’s definitely not the case.
In a recent article, a woman described her sister-in-law’s fight to get disability insurance. The woman worked for almost two decades, paying into the Social Security system and being what people would consider “a contributing member of society.”
After some time, the woman and her husband decide to have a child. A few months after the baby is born, it is time for the woman to end her leave and return to work. But that’s when she makes a last-minute decision to become a stay-at-home mom. The couple realizes that if they tweak their family budget, they can make it work.
The woman was not only a stay-at-home mom, but she also home-schooled her child. She was a caregiver and a teacher.
Then, in 2014, the woman was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). According to research, ALS can progress quickly and many patients have a survival timeline of about three to five years. The condition has no cure.
Over time, the woman needs assistance with getting dressed, eating and grooming. The family needs to hire caregivers for the woman who was once a caregiver herself. The family struggles to make ends meet and cover the cost of care on their own, so they apply for Social Security Disability benefits in order to help pay the bills. Even though the woman put in almost 20 years of work, she is denied benefits.
In our next post, we will discuss why her benefits were denied and the state of SSDI benefits for these types of situations.
