Dr. Lyn Los Angeles
>----- Original Message -----
From: "Jean (from PA)" <creative@enter.net>
To: "Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS"
<adhesions@mail.medispecialty.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2003 12:48 AM
Subject: Re: Financial abyss and depression
> Dr. Lyn,
> If you own your home or have savings you won't qualify for SSI because
> it is for poor people with disablities.
> Even if you ran your own businesses you can qualify for SSD which
> doesn't go by what you own or anyone elses income, just the lack of
> yours, "if" you are diasbled and can prove it.
>
> You must have paid into social security though and earned a certain
> amount of credits in a specific time period to qualify (credits earned
> over past 10 years before becoming disabled).
>
> If you reported your earnings for your own business "and" showed a
> profit then you did pay into social security.
> I also run and ran my own businesses for pretty many years but due to
> the high cost of computer expenses and other equipment, supplies,
> utilities, etc. my expenses deplete my income and I haven't shown a
> profit.
> Therefore I didn't pay into the system within the necessary time-frame
> to qualify.
> I don't even think I qualified when I worked full time for employers
> because of the lapses due to surgery and lack of education which gave me
> a lower income.
>
> It is kind of a rip because the more money you made when working the
> better chance you have of having the required credits and collecting the
> most money!
> If you lack education as many my age do, and worked 60 hours a week when
> you did work it means nothing if the hourly rate was low and then you
> also had lapses due to medical problems and surgery.
>
> I know someone who hardly worked in her life compared to me and she now
> gets SSD for Arthritis and Fibromyalgia.
> She is also much younger than me(therfore will collect much longer) and
> didn't have the years behind her of employment that I have.
> She didn't even work every week for many years but earned "very" good
> the little she did work (2 days or so every other week).
> She isn't as handicapped as I am and still does have a life to speak of
> and also doesn't have the amount of problems I have or all my surgeries.
> She doesn't require aid to walk or anything.
> This is a person who could push me around in my wheelchair for hours
> with no problem (on pain meds though).
>
> I guess this shouldn't bother me but I do think it is so unfair the way
> some people have to struggle after working so hard all their lives only
> to have the misfortune of bad health destroy everything!
> JEAN
>