If you are blind, you should familiarize yourself with the different limits for those who are visually impaired and receiving disability benefits. You may be able to earn more than you initially believe and continue receiving disability benefits. You just need to keep track of your earnings, and maintain thorough records and receipts, so you can properly deduct any work-related expenses if you are self-employed.
Those who are self-employed can deduct business expenses as well as any expenses that they must have because of their disability. These expenses may include prescriptions, medical care, medical devices, and special tools, equipment or software that you need to be able to do the job.
As an example, the cost of documents written in braille or special programs that are voice activated so you can send messages and prepare documents. That is why accurate, detailed record keeping is necessity, so you can make sure you continue to receive disability benefits if you are eligible to do so. Keep all your receipts, so you can provide them to the SSA when you upload your records that show your earnings, work activity, and your associated costs and expenses.
If you are blind and receiving disability benefits, you may want to try to return to work at some point. Every 60 months, disabled workers have a 9-month trial work period.
The idea of a trial work period is to allow you and the SSA to determine if your condition has improved enough for you to return to work. During the trial period, you must report your earnings, work activity, and your expenses to the SSA. During this time, your disability benefits are not in jeopardy. If you earn more than the maximum SGA, you will not receive your disability benefits that month. While you could be successful in your return to work, your medical problems could worsen, and you may have to stop working again.
In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Call us at 1 Filing for Disability for Partial or Total Blindness. Total blindness is not required to qualify for disability benefits through Social Security. Social Security's Listings for Blindness, Partial Blindness, or Low Vision Social Security's "blue book" of impairment listings states the requirements to be automatically approved for disability benefits for vision loss.
Loss of Central Visual Acuity Central visual acuity is how clearly you can see straight ahead. Loss of Peripheral Vision Your vision may be okay looking straight ahead, but you might have a loss of your "visual field" the total space you can see including your peripheral vision. Loss of Visual Efficiency If you have poor peripheral vision in addition to poor visual acuity, you might be able to qualify under Social Security's listing for loss of "visual efficiency" listing 2.
Vision Loss Affecting Your Functional Capacity If you don't qualify for disability benefits under Social Security's listings for poor visual acuity or peripheral vision, you'll move to the next part of the disability determination process.
For people with decreased vision, your RFC might include: no working near hazardous machinery no operating hazardous machinery or driving, or no working at unprotected heights. Medical Evidence Required for Disability Based on Vision Loss Social Security requires you to have a physical examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist to measure your visual acuity. Special Rules for Blind Applicants Social Security has several rules that apply to legally or totally blind applicants but don't apply to nonblind applicants.
For instance: In some states, legally blind applicants receive a higher state supplement to their SSI payment than nonblind disabled people.
This special rule means that Social Security won't consider the work to be " substantial gainful activity SGA ". If you're blind and over the age of 55, your earnings won't be considered SGA even if they rise over the blind SGA limit—as long as the work requires a lower level of skill and ability than the work you did before the age of 55 or when you became disabled, whichever is later.
Social Security grants immediate SSI benefits to those with severe disabilities who are likely to be found eligible for benefits. If you suffer from total blindness that is, no light perception in both eyes , you may qualify for six months of "presumptive blindness" benefits while you're waiting for Social Security to make a decision on your benefits. If your income declined as your vision deteriorated, you can exclude the most recent quarters of earnings from your Social Security record.
Many people imagine blindness as complete darkness. Blindness has many causes, and each affects eyesight differently: retinal diseases like age-related macular degeneration create distortion or blind spots in the central vision. The need of reassessment, if required, should be clearly mentioned in the certificate with time frame. In certain cases such as keratoconus, developmental defects, operated congenital cataract with corneal decompensation, operated congenital glaucoma with hazy cornea etc.
The medical authority shall comprise of one ophthalmologist and certificate of disability shall be countersigned by Medical Superintendent or Chief Medical Officer or Civil Surgeon or any other equivalent authority as notified the State Government.
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