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StephN · 01-31-2006, 11:52 AM

Whether on line or at your local office, they WILL flag you and prioritize your claim.
I started getting my disability benefit last year. I had to pick a date to say when I became "disabled" and chose Jan.3 since that was the day that my brain MRI showed the two tumors. This was an agreeable day with my oncologist.
I could have said much earlier as I have been stage IV and on continuous treament since Jan 2002, but this seemed fine with me as I had been able to work some in the intervening years.
By the way, you CAN still work to some extent and get your benefit.
It is standard practice to have a review after 5 years - bet most of us will HAVE this review!!

As for the timing, I did not apply until June and I got my first direct deposit the first part of August. It included a couple of back months. They start the payment at 6 months after the date of disability, so watch that as you may be able to get a few more months by using an earlier date.
It IS nice to have this money as I have been paying the medical insurance stoploss, deductible and co-pays for almost 6 years now and this adds up to a few thousand every year (could have had my whole kitchen redone with that amount of $$!). I figure most of the disability benefit will go to pay for those expenses so I can save a little again or have money to travel, improve my surroundings, etc.

01-31-2006, 11:52 AM	#8
StephN Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Misty woods of WA State Posts: 4,128	Stage IV cancer speeds it up Whether on line or at your local office, they WILL flag you and prioritize your claim. I started getting my disability benefit last year. I had to pick a date to say when I became "disabled" and chose Jan.3 since that was the day that my brain MRI showed the two tumors. This was an agreeable day with my oncologist. I could have said much earlier as I have been stage IV and on continuous treament since Jan 2002, but this seemed fine with me as I had been able to work some in the intervening years. By the way, you CAN still work to some extent and get your benefit. It is standard practice to have a review after 5 years - bet most of us will HAVE this review!! As for the timing, I did not apply until June and I got my first direct deposit the first part of August. It included a couple of back months. They start the payment at 6 months after the date of disability, so watch that as you may be able to get a few more months by using an earlier date. It IS nice to have this money as I have been paying the medical insurance stoploss, deductible and co-pays for almost 6 years now and this adds up to a few thousand every year (could have had my whole kitchen redone with that amount of $$!). I figure most of the disability benefit will go to pay for those expenses so I can save a little again or have money to travel, improve my surroundings, etc. Last edited by StephN; 01-31-2006 at 11:55 AM..