THE U.S. SOCIAL
SECURITY system does more than provide income after you
retire. If you become disabled before then, you can receive benefits through
its disability insurance program--subject, as so many government benefits
are, to fulfilling a long list of requirements.
Who Is Eligible?
First, you must meet the government's definition of disabled, which is stricter than commonsense usage. The disability must:
* Keep you from performing not just your
current job, but any "substantial gainful activity" (defined as one paying
more than $740 a month if you are not blind)
* Be "medically determinable" (that is,
your doctor
can see abnormalities or detect them with lab tests;
unmeasurable problems such as pain and fatigue don't qualify by
themselves, no matter how disabling they are)
