You applied for Social Security Disability benefits weeks ago only to finally receive a letter from the Social Security Administration stating your application was denied. This is incredibly frustrating. After all, you know you have a medical condition that makes it impossible to work.
Still, an initial denial is not the end of the road. You have the opportunity to appeal a denial of benefits and the first step in the appeals process is reconsideration.
Why was your application denied?
Before you apply for reconsideration, it is important to understand why your initial application was denied. It can be denied for either medical reasons or non-medical reasons.
If your application was denied for medical reasons, this means that the SSA recognizes you have a medical condition, but they believe it is not severe enough or lasting enough to qualify for benefits and you can still work to support yourself even if it is in a different job than the one you held before becoming disabled.
If your application was denied for nonmedical reasons, this means that the SSA found that your income and resources are too high to qualify you for benefits. It is more difficult to appeal this type of denial.
The reconsideration process
If you are initially denied SSD and you want to appeal, the first step is to go online to request reconsideration.
In reconsideration, a SSA employee who was not involved in the initial decision of your application will review your application for benefits. They will examine all the evidence submitted in your initial application, along with any new evidence you may submit afterward.
After examining your application and all evidence you will receive written notice of the SSA’s decision. You will either be awarded benefits or denied benefits. If you were denied benefits, you can always move on to the next step of appeals, which is an administrative hearing.
It can take several weeks or even months for the SSA to complete the reconsideration process. So, you will simply have to be patient as hard as that might be. You always have the option of being represented by an attorney when appealing a denial of SSD benefits.