The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a program to pay monthly benefits for people who are unable to perform their job duties because of a disability or illness. Since Alzheimer’s is a disease that attacks memory and cognitive ability, it is typically recognized as a disability, but even having the disease is not always enough to grant you benefits. Each situation is examined on a case-by-case basis, due to your occupation or the way the Alzheimer’s presents itself. For help with your application, reach out to one of our SSDI attorneys. We help people nationwide with their disability applications, denials, and appeals.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease. This means it is a condition that deteriorates your brain by attacking the cells and destroying them. Over time, a person’s memory, thinking ability, and behavior can be seriously affected. Alzheimer’s starts showing its symptoms with memory loss and forgetfulness, and can keep growing until the affected person is no longer able to react to things around them. It is often fatal if it eventually eats away at the part of the brain that handle bodily functions, like breathing and heart rate.
It usually affects people later in their lives, but early-onset Alzheimer’s can occur in your 20’s or 30’s. It affects more than 6 million Americans, most of whom are 65 years or older.
It is especially important for people with Alzheimer’s disease to receive benefits from the SSA because medical bills for the treatment are at an all-time high. In some cases, people have taken on multiple part-time jobs after they had retired to pay for a loved one’s treatment until they were able to get benefits through the SSA.
Some people with Alzheimer’s (either early-onset or as they approach retirement) are still able to perform their job duties. They may be able to prolong their time of employment and lead a happy and productive life. However, this is not the norm, so applying for SSDI benefits is something you should do as soon as you can, because of the unpredictable nature of Alzheimer’s.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s can be especially devastating because it sets in during an individual’s prime working years. Affected people have had to process the diagnosis of a devastating disease while also considering the possibility of being unable to earn a living. In 2010, Alzheimer’s (including early-onset Alzheimer’s) was added to the SSA’s Compassionate Allowances Initiative, which allows anyone experiencing employment issues to receive benefits more quickly.
The task of applying and getting approved for disability benefits is more difficult than it should be. Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law has been handling these kinds of issues for the past 25 years. We can help people from all over the country get the benefits they need, whether you have Alzheimer’s or any other condition or disease. For a free consultation, reach out to us today.
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Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law
