What I Wish People Knew about Disability Benefits

And why the whole system is f*cked

I recently edited a book on Social Security Disability benefits, written by my husband, who was an attorney at the Social Security Administration for over 10 years. He’s not online much, so I wanted to share a few key takeaways from the book with you. In Social Security Disability Revealed: Why it’s so hard to access benefits and what you can do about it, he explains how over 70% of applications are initially denied, how appeals work, and how a judge’s personality and prejudices can influence the outcome of a case.

Here are three key things I wish everyone knew about Social Security Disability:

You know someone who is “on” disability, or who will need to apply, or who should apply but feels ashamed

Many people apply for disability in secret, because they are worried about what their family and friends will think about them, now that they can’t work. This is a function of how much we prioritize work in our culture — many people feel like a failure if they can’t work, and others feel like they shouldn’t “need” government assistance. But one of the things I learned while editing and researching for this book is that almost every US citizen relies on “government assistance” or “public benefits.” Even if someone doesn’t utilize TANF, SNAP, or WIC, they still receive benefits like deducting their mortgage interest, deducting…