Your Social Security application interview has the ability to set your trajectory for the rest of your disability process. The Social Security disability professionals at Disability Associates, LLC. discuss the necessary preparation required for your Social Security disability interview.

When an individual applies for Social Security disability benefits, the local Social Security office will either set up a time to conduct a phone interview, or schedule an in-person application interview. A solid interview is a critical step toward receiving benefits.

What will happen during the interview?

The interview is typically an hour-long process, provided the applicant gathered the necessary paperwork and adequately prepared beforehand. A claims representative (CR) from the Social Security office will conduct the interview and ask you a series of questions.

Afterward, the CR will send the claim to a disability examiner where the final decision is made. During the interview, the CR will ask for general information including your marital status, how many children you have, past military service and if you are receiving worker’s compensation. Additional questions might include:

• What is your work history from the past 15 years?
• What was your role at each of these jobs?
• What is the nature of your medical condition?
• What treatment have you received for such in the past 12 months?

How can I prepare for the interview?

Arrive at the interview prepared with names, addresses and phone numbers of all of the sources from which you have received medical care for your disability within the past 12 months. This includes doctor’s offices, emergency rooms and hospitals.

Social Security will also need the dates of treatment, any tests that you have undergone and a list of your current medications. Be sure to provide any records that you have, as Social Security cannot approve ongoing disability benefits without current medical record documentation.

Providing work history is just as important as providing medical history. The SSA uses a five-step sequential evaluation process in which step four and five include: your ability to do past work, and your ability to perform any other kind of work. If the Social Security disability examiner determines that you are able to perform either, you will be denied benefits.

The SSA will also need information regarding your marriage(s), children, income, resources and military service dates, in order to process non-medical requirement issues that are involved in the claims process.

It is helpful to bring in any form of documentation including marriage certificates and divorce decrees. Additionally, it will be pertinent to provide the names and dates of birth for all of your minor-age children, as well as disabled adult children if applicable.

Properly preparing can mean the difference of receiving benefits and not. For more information on being adequately equipped for your interview, contact the Social Security professionals at Disability Associates, LLC today.