Thinking about Social Security Early Retirement Benefits and Social Security Disability

Can a Claimant Age 62 or Older on Social Security Early Retirement Benefits Apply for Social Security Disability?

Yes, if you are between the ages of 62 and 65, disabled, and currently on early retirement benefits, you can apply for Title II Benefits or Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”). I have come across many cases where a claimant has mistakenly filed for early retirement when he or she should have filed for SSDI due to being misinformed by friends, family members, and even by one of the Social Security Administration’s representatives. However, as I said at the beginning of this post, you can still apply for SSDI Benefits. This is important because it is your right to do so! 

Applying for SSDI Benefits could result in receiving a larger monthly benefit, and most importantly the Medicare benefit before age 65. Moreover, should your application for SSDI Benefits be approved, you could be eligible to have your benefit retroactive to the date you began receiving early retirement benefits or even earlier, resulting in a substantial award of back pay in addition to the larger monthly benefit and Medicare coverage. On top of this when you reach age 65 and move from the disability benefit to the retirement benefit, your monthly retirement benefit will still be much higher than the early retirement benefit you are receiving now. This higher retirement benefit will be paid to you for the rest of your life resulting in perhaps tens of thousands of dollars more to live on over the years.

For example, I recently dealt with a claimant who was diagnosed with cancer shortly after he went on Social Security early retirement. He was told by a local Social Security Administration office worker that it was simply too late for him to file for SSDI Benefits because he would soon turn age 63 and he had been receiving Social Security Early Retirement benefits for almost a year (it wasn’t too late of course). Further, because his cancer condition is on the presumptive list of disabling conditions, he would likely win on his initial application and receive substantial back-due benefits in addition to Medicare well before age 65. Had he not called the Soloway Law Firm, he would have been cheated out of his benefits that he rightly deserved. Moreover, by following the advice of the Soloway Law Firm, he will receive thousands of dollars in additional back-due benefits, and Medicare coverage that would potentially allow him to receive the medical treatment necessary for his very survival from his cancerous condition. Of course, this gentleman was extremely thankful for this free legal advice. If his new disability claim is denied, he advised that his first call would be to the firm for representation.

At the Soloway Law Firm, we take pride in representing claimants so that we not only win their claims but do so to the extent that all benefits available to them are paid by the Social Security Administration. That is how we define success — the recovery of every penny of benefits owed to you for your past disability as well as future disability for the rest of your life, and Medicare and Medicaid coverage to pay your hospital and doctor bills along the way. Only then will you receive the “security” you are meant to have through the Social Security law of the United States.