Help Collecting Social Security for Blindness
If you or a loved one are blind or have poor eyesight the Social Security Administration (SSA) has special regulations that specifically enable a person to obtain benefits. In this article our Social Security attorneys explain your rights when claiming Social Security for blindness or vision impairment.
Our experienced workers compensation attorneys have helped hundreds of vison impaired men, women and children obtain Social Security benefits. We are also here to assist you by phone or in person, if would like assistance filing for Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Medical Criteria to Collect Social Security for Blindness
If you are blind, you may be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits (based on work credits you have accumulated) or SSI payments (no work history required). The SSA will consider you to be blind if your vision in your better eye cannot be restored to better than 20/200, or if your visual field in your better eye is 20 degrees or less over a period (for at least 12 months for SSD only). For SSI benefits, the duration restriction does not apply.
Even if you are not blind, you may qualify for Social Security Disability payments. If your eyesight does not satisfy the SSA’s definition of blindness, you may still be eligible for disability payments if your vision difficulties, either alone or in combination with other health conditions, prohibit you from working.
Work Criteria to Collect Social Security Disability for Blindness
In addition to the medical requirements, to collect Social Security Disability you must have worked long enough in a position that required you to pay Social Security taxes to qualify for Social Security disability payments. When you work and contribute to Social Security, you earn credits toward future Social Security benefits.
Additionally, if you lack the credits necessary to qualify for Social Security disability benefits based on your own wages, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits based on the earnings of one of your parents or your spouse.
You do not have to have a work history or “work credits” to qualify for SSI benefits for your blindness. But your income and assets must fall under specified monetary limitations.
Social Security Resources for for Blind Individuals
SSA Publication No. 05-10029 explains the regulations regarding Social Security Disability benefits for blindness. And SSA Publication No. 05-11000 explains the regulations regarding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for blindness. Both of these are is available in Braille and other accessible forms, such as large-print and CD. You can request this information online at www.ssa.gov/notices – or by calling 1-800-772-1213.
Attorneys for Social Security for Blindness
However, there are many complex regulations and calculations that apply to collecting Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Additionally, there is a great deal of “paperwork” that must be filed – and a lot of medical documentation that must be collected an submitted.
The SSD or SSI application process can be difficult for anyone with a disability – but can be particularly challenging for some with a vison impairment. For this reason, it is often much easier, faster and safer to hire an experienced Social Security attorney to assist you with filing for your Social Security benefits.
If you are experiencing vision loss, eyesight problems or partial or total blindness which may qualify you for Social Security Disability – or if you have applied and been denied SSD for vision loss – call our experienced Social Security attorneys today.
Our attorneys will answer your questions, and help you obtain the benefits for which you qualify. Our Social Security attorneys can also help you understand the “work credits” required for Social Security Disability – and/or the income and asset levels that must be below specified monetary thresholds in order to collect SSI.
Social Security Attorneys for Blindness & Vision Loss: 800-964-8047
