When Can You Draw Unemployment and Social Security Disability?
When you apply for unemployment insurance benefits, you have to show that you are making efforts to get another job.
When you’re applying for Social Security Disability, you have to show that your medical issues make it impossible to work and support yourself.
The goals of these programs conflict with each other. But filing for unemployment doesn’t automatically mean you will be denied Social Security Disability.
It’s not illegal to go for both. It just creates a challenge, particularly for your disability claim. Some disability claims examiners and judges may see your UI benefits as a sign that you could work if you found a job, disqualifying you for disability.
But in certain situations, you can apply for unemployment and seek disability benefits:
- You lose your job due to health problems and begin receiving unemployment before your disability claim is decided.
- While you are receiving unemployment benefits because you lost a job, your health problems worsen, leading to the start of a disability claim.
- You are receiving Social Security Disability benefits and want to try returning to work. The Social Security Administration has programs helping people return to the workforce without losing disability benefits in the meantime. If you are on that track, you may also be able to receive unemployment.
- You’re only able to work a small amount. Recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can work limited amounts and still get benefits, so they possibly could seek unemployment benefits if they are looking for work.
So, can you claim unemployment and Social Security Disability? Yes, but be careful.
You need to be careful what you say in your unemployment claim because Social Security could use that to reject your disability claim.
You will have to answer probing questions about your work history, why you left your last job, and what has happened since you became unemployed.
It’s hard to meet the narrow qualifications to collect both types of benefits. But your particular situation could allow you to claim more benefits than expected.
At a minimum, you may be able to collect UI benefits for a certain period of time before you move fully to disability benefits.
Silver & Archibald disability attorneys help you deal with the Social Security process, not unemployment. But you can talk to a lawyer from Silver & Archibald about what you’re experiencing and learn more about your options.
How You Can Build Your Disability Case Even as You Receive UI
Simply stating that you have a disability and cannot work isn’t enough, especially when you’re also trying to claim unemployment benefits because you were recently working in some capacity.
You need to make a serious effort to build a compelling claim, and that claim needs to include evidence like:
- Any medical records relating to your diagnosis
- Records about treatments
- Evidence of your work history
- Employer testimony about your struggles to handle work duties
- A journal with details about your health condition and how it has affected you
- Testimony from loved ones who have seen your health struggles firsthand
When you’re trying to draw unemployment and Social Security Disability, you need to be highly precise about how much work, exactly, you can do, and what you can’t do.
Many disability claims get denied, but you can have a better chance of receiving benefits when you work with a Georgia disability lawyer who knows what the SSA is looking for, how to explain your unemployment claim to them, and what to expect when you are filing for both kinds of benefits.
Building a Social Security Disability case is rarely easy. Combining that with an application for unemployment benefits can make things even more complicated.
You do not need to go it alone, though. The lawyers at Silver & Archibald have more than 80 years of combined experience helping people like you get the benefits they deserve.
Contact us now to learn more about how our Georgia Social Security Disability lawyers can assist you.
Get to Know Silver & Archibald Disability Attorneys
Legal cases involving your health struggles are highly personal matters. When you’re looking for help, you want someone who treats you with the personal care, respect, and dignity this moment requires.
Answers to Common Questions About Social Security Disability
Social Security Disability is a huge program with a vast set of rules. As a resource for you as you sort out your disability claim, the disability lawyers at Silver & Archibald have prepared answers to some of the most common questions people have.
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