FAQ

The SAMHSA SOAR TA Center considers a "SOAR application" to be one in which all (or most) of the SOAR critical components are done. These include serving as the person's representative with the SSA-1696, collecting medical records and writing a Medical Summary Report documenting the person's functional impairment. If the SOAR provider is unable to get all of the records or is unable to get the Medical Summary Report signed by a treating physician, it would still be counted as a SOAR application because all was done that could be done.

Read more about SOAR application critical components.

Yes! Please see Steps to Completing an Initial SOAR SSI/SSDI Application. This guide is intended to help you complete a SOAR SSI/SSDI application in stages so that you aren’t overwhelmed.

SSI has a monthly federal benefit rate that changes each year plus any available state supplement. You can find the current benefit amounts on our SSA Annual Updates page.

If an individual becomes disabled before the age of 22 and one of his/her parents is either deceased or receives disability or retirement benefits, the "Disabled Adult Child" may receive benefits based on their parent's earnings record. SSA has an easy to use FAQ page about this topic: https://www.ssa.gov/planners/disability/qualify.html

In certain circumstances, someone can get both SSI and SSDI. This happens when someone is approved for SSDI, but their monthly check is lower than the full SSI Federal Benefit Rate (FBR)*. This could be due to earning low wages throughout the employment history or limited recent work. In this case, the individual will receive SSI to supplement the payment to bring them up to the FBR. Since the Social Security Administration (SSA) discounts the first $20 of earned or unearned income an individual receives when calculating the SSI amount, a concurrent beneficiary will receive $20 above the SSI FBR.

*The Federal Benefit Rate changes annually and can be found at SSA Annual Updates.

It depends! In many DDS offices the consultative exam (CE) examiners are allowed 30 days to file their report/evaluation after the exam.  They may or may not be turned in on time. Once the DDS examiner gets the report it may take some time to finish their recommendation and transfer it to the physician at DDS who will review the case. This can sometimes happen very quickly or, when there are backlogs, it may take a few days, weeks or longer.  We would recommend that the case manager call the DDS examiner to see whether the CE report has been submitted and whether they can provide any other needed information.  

Generally, SSA will not count the retroactive (back-pay) SSI or Social Security benefits for up to nine months after the person receives them. This includes payments received in installments.

When the individual receives his/her award letter it should spell out the exact length of time s/he has to spend down the retroactive payments. If there is any confusion, definitely check with the local SSA office for specifics on the individual's case.  

My first recommendation would be to go with your client to the local SSA field office with whatever information you have been able to verify and that he is able to report. SSA can sometimes find someone's Social Security number with their name, DOB and parent's information. It often depends on how unique their name is and how easily they can narrow it down. SSA has a special provision to establish a new SSN for folks who are unable to identify themselves by reason of homelessness, amnesia or mental impairment.

The explanation in the SSA Program Operations Manual is at the following link: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110210120!opendocument

You will want to talk to the local SSA office about taking the steps to go through this process if necessary.

If he is eligible for unemployment and the amount is more than the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR)*, then he should take the higher amount (unemployment) as long as he can.  The medical approval for SSI will last for 12 months, so if the unemployment only lasts a few months, he can always reapply for SSI (the non-medical application) and SSA will use the medical decision from his last application. 

*This figure is updated annually and can be found at SSA Annual Updates.

SSA considers any life insurance policy with a face value of $1,500 or higher. The face value is how much insurance you're buying, (e.g., $5,000, $10,000, etc.). The cash value is what you'd get for the policy if you cashed it in.  Since this person’s policies are valued at $3,700, they are over the resource limit for an individual ($2,000). In order to fall below the resource limit, they would need to cash in one (or more) of the policies depending on what other resources they have.  They would need to use/spend that money to live on before becoming eligible for SSI.