Employees work to move society forward. They spend more than half of their lives being productive members of the community – putting in the extra effort to become better professionals only to serve society better. If you really try to think about it, employees only profit from their talents through the salaries and benefits they receive from their respective employers. On the other hand, companies, organizations, and the government itself, profit so much more from their hard work.

Employees are already getting the short end of the stick. By depriving them of primary and secondary benefits, you’re only making their end of the stick even shorter. This is why we must stand with employees. They’re doing so much for the community, the most we can do is treat them fairly.

Employees work their lives to help grow societies. Question is, what can society do in response to their sacrifices?

Simple. The best thing society can offer them is security. Employees should be given the assurance that the “society” they ever worked so hard to build will not forsake them during times of dire need. That it will always have a place for them – even if they can no longer serve it well.

This, my dear readers, is what Social Security is all about. And it’s what we’re going to talk about today. Let us understand what Social Security Programs mean for employees and what they could gain from it.

What Are Social Security Benefits?

Well, there are many ways Social Security Programs can benefit employees. In other countries, social security benefits can range from education assistance, hospitalization covers, and maternity benefits. However, in the United States where education and health is largely subsidized by the government, disability benefits are a more crucial concern for workers.

Skipping out on work or procrastinating may feel like bliss for someone who’s always running a hectic work schedule. But mind you, work is something you’ll desperately miss when gone. After all, it is important for a person to have an outlet for his creativity. When the outlet (usually a job, passion, or both) is taken away from the person, his creativity will have nowhere to go. This leads to feelings of frustration and helplessness. Adding salt to the wound is the fact that they cannot generate their own income anymore. And nobody – who has a choice, at least – likes being a burden. Not to his family, not to himself.

Getting insured with SS Benefits may not erase the negative feelings that surface due to having a disability, but it sure can help bear the problem. SS disability benefits ensure that workers will still receive a substantial amount of monetary support from the state after the onset of their disability. This disability benefit is aimed at helping employees recover from the costs of hospitalization as well as help them go on with their lives normally.

What Happens When Employees Don’t Receive SS Disability Benefits?

A disabled person unable to receive such benefits will end up depending on whoever is generating income for the family. This builds up stress and anxiety in the long run. The fear of losing their life support and the shame of becoming a burden is not at all healthy for a person who is rehabilitating. Having a separate source of support – a more stable one even – would help them feel secure and fuel courage to face the future head-on.

Do Social Security Disability Benefits Only Apply To Permanently Disabled People?

No. To be precise, SS Disability Benefits may be availed by employees who have become partially or permanently disabled. Let’s define the difference between the two:

Partially Disabled individuals are those who have temporarily or partly lost, impaired, or damaged a physical or mental facility that is crucial to maintaining a productive and independent life. Life becomes less convenient for them – but not impossible to live. Prime examples would be temporary blindness or the loss/damage of one eye, the loss of a limb (not two), and temporary deafness or the weakening of a person’s hearing.

 Permanently Disabled individuals are those who’ve totally or irreversibly lost, impaired, or damaged a physical or mental facility that is crucial to maintaining a productive and independent life. Life is too challenging for these individuals to tread independently. Common cases are the loss of both, adjacent limbs (crippled, if loss of both legs), permanent blindness in both eyes, and permanent loss of hearing.

Employees who fall or qualify for any of the two categories are eligible to apply for Social Security Disability Benefits.

What If Partially Disabled Employees Are Successfully Nursed Back To Health?

If a formerly disabled individual is back on his own two feet, then disability benefits will be renounced. This is because there are more employees out there who have greater need for it. It would be unfair to those who are more qualified when an employee who has no more need for support, keeps receiving support. It is only right that benefits go to those who need them most.

However, disability benefits don’t just stop abruptly. Support isn’t immediately recalled the day after a disabled employee gets better – that would be absurd. Instead, there will be something like a “transition phase” to make sure that the employee is indeed fit to work and signs of the disability recurring look dim. This period usually lasts up to nine months.

It is also possible to find another means of income while still receiving benefits. Say, the permanently disabled person decides to put up a small business. His benefits will not suddenly stop just because he found a new outlet for his creativity. As long as he is still medically-declared to be disabled and his Substantial Gainful Activity or SGA is below the allowable amount (currently, $ 1,040/month or $ 1,740/month for the blind), his benefits should still be intact. This income ceiling typically changes every year, so if you are considering this, we advise that you regularly check for updates.