Ohio Social Security Disability FAQs

To qualify for Social Security Disability, you must be unable to work in any capacity due to severe health problems. And your medical condition must be expected to last at least one year.

For one type of benefit—Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)—you also must show a substantial recent record of working and paying into Social Security through deductions from your paychecks.

For another type of benefit—Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—your income and assets must be below a certain level.

Social Security keeps a list of impairments that qualify for disability benefits.

If your diagnosis is on the list, that can give you a path toward receiving benefits.

However, your condition doesn’t have to be on the list for you to qualify for benefits. The key is that your health problems, whatever they are, make it impossible for you to work.

You can receive Social Security Disability benefits for many physical and mental impairments.

Yes. If a mental illness prevents you from working, you can receive Social Security Disability benefits to help you pay for basic expenses.

In fact, mental health conditions are among the most common impairments for people already receiving benefits.

For Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the size of your monthly benefit check depends on what your income was when you were working.

To give you a general idea of what benefits pay, the national average for an individual worker was $1,537 as of 2024. The maximum possible amount was $3,822, but few people receive the maximum.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is different, not based on your past earnings. The government sets a standard amount. It placed the monthly benefit at $943 for an individual in 2024, a number likely to be reduced for each person depending on other sources of financial support you may have.

Every year, both the national numbers and the amount you individually receive change. Most years see cost of living increases. For more on how much Social Security Disability pays, see our full page on it:

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Qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits also qualifies you for government-run health-care coverage to help with the medical expenses of treating your conditions.

With Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you have to wait two years from the date Social Security decided you were qualified for benefits to receive Medicare coverage.

However, time you spent waiting to be approved for disability counts against that two years, so your wait may be shorter once you know you’ll be getting benefits.

With Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you qualify for Medicaid health insurance coverage immediately.

Both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provide benefits when you can’t work because of bad health.

The difference is in your work history and financial situation.

SSDI is for people with substantial recent work history who have paid enough into the Social Security system from their paychecks.

SSI doesn’t look at work history. It’s for people with limited incomes and assets.

The two programs also pay different amounts and qualify you for different government health coverage programs.

It can. When deciding whether you qualify for benefits, Social Security will consider whether your health allows you to continue in your job—or switch to a new job.

When you reach a more advanced age, particularly over 50, Social Security considers you less likely to be able to adapt to a new line of work. So at age 50 and up, your chances of winning benefits improves.

Work with a disability lawyer who knows how to present your age, education, work history and other background in a way that maximizes your chances of winning benefits.

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It can take several months for Social Security to give you a decision on your disability application. If Social Security denies your benefits, you can appeal the decision, but the appeals process can take more than a year.

A major step in appealing is seeing a Social Security administrative law judge. In 2018, the average wait time for a hearing in Ohio was 18 months.

It’s not easy. For a recent 10-year period, Social Security said only 22 percent of people were awarded benefits after their initial applications. When you add appeals, the award rate rose to 33 percent.

This is why it’s important to work with an experienced disability lawyer. An attorney like the ones at HNB Law can make sure your claim is as strong as possible.

A report from the US Government Accountability Office found people were almost three times more likely to win benefits after their disability hearings if they brought a representative with them.

HNB is here to help with your claim.

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What happens if my benefits are denied?

When you’re denied Social Security Disability benefits, you should appeal. Appealing gives you at least four more steps to keep fighting for benefits.

The appeals process makes your wait for benefits longer, but it also increases your chances of winning benefits in the end.

A report from the US Government Accountability Office found people were almost three times more likely to win benefits after their appeals hearings with disability judges if they brought representatives, like a lawyer, with them.

When you win, you’re awarded back benefits for the time you waited.

A key factor in getting Social Security Disability benefits is being unable to work. So if you’re working, you’re at risk of getting denied benefits—or having benefits you already received cut off.

But there are rules allowing limited amounts of work or allowing attempts at returning to work.

Find out the details from the Ohio disability lawyers at Horenstein, Nicholson & Blumenthal:

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Doctors don’t always understand what Social Security considers to be a disability and what information Social Security is looking for.

An experienced disability attorney can help you get the kind of information you need from your doctor to present your case to Social Security.

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Social Security has thousands of rules and an entire separate legal system for deciding who gets disability benefits.

Applying for benefits—or appealing a denial—is complicated, time-consuming and hard work.

While your energy level is low because of your health problems, a lawyer takes on much of the work and makes the process easier for you.

Your lawyer helps you with Social Security’s lengthy forms, gathers the medical evidence you need, speaks for you at your disability hearing with a judge and more.

A report from the US Government Accountability Office found people were almost three times more likely to win benefits after their disability hearings if they brought a representative with them.

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For Social Security Disability claims, you don’t pay any attorney fee until you win benefits.

Even then, the pay for your attorney comes out of back benefits you’re awarded for the time you spent waiting for approval. So it doesn’t come out of your pocket or your benefit checks going forward. And attorney fees are subject to limits set by Social Security.

To start your case, it costs you nothing to get HNB to evaluate your claim.

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Starting a Social Security Disability claim involves filling out many pages of forms with detailed information.