What Services Can I Get Now That I Am Legally Blind

According to the written report for the 2015 National Wellness Interview Survey, 23.7 million American Adults age xviii and older reported experiencing vision loss.

If your vision is 20/200, or legally blind, you may authorize for inability benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) considers "legal" or "statutory" blindness as a qualified disability.

Legally blind individuals include people who have been blind since nascence in addition to those that have experienced severe vision loss due to weather condition. These weather that may qualify for disability benefits due to vision loss include glaucoma, retinopathy, and traumatic injury, among others.

In fact, the blind can qualify for disability and still continue to work while receiving monthly benefits, provided they meet all SSA requirements.

You may be eligible to receive $iii,345 each month. Fill out a Free Disability Evaluation today!

The SSA Awards Vision Loss Differently Than Other Non-Vision Loss Related Disabilities

Those receiving disability benefits for vision loss accept some different fiscal limits than those receiving benefits for other reasons. Claimants are blind can earn more than disabled workers who aren't blind and continue their disability benefits.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a set earnings amount that is called substantial gainful action (SGA). As of 2020, that is $ane,260 per month for those who are disabled but aren't bullheaded. For those who are bullheaded, the SGA limit is $2,110 per month.

That means that later on yous have completed your trial work period, you tin can earn every bit much as the SGA and not lose your monthly disability benefits. The earnings limit commonly changes from one yr to the next and those figures are based on the toll of living and inflation.

If someone who is blind receives disability benefits and he or she is self-employed, the time spent working in his or her business isn't evaluated the same as it is for those who do not accept vision loss.

Those who aren't bullheaded cannot work more than 45 hours per month for their business organization in almost cases and yet receive disability benefits. A blind individual can work more and put in more hours for his or her concern and still receive disability benefits just so long as his or her net profit averages the SGA or less. So, equally an example, yous tin piece of work 80 hours per calendar month while you are blind, but if your net profit doesn't exceed $ii,040 per calendar month, y'all volition continue receiving disability benefits.

What Eye Problems Qualify for Disability?

There are many eye problems that qualify for Social Security inability benefits. Some eye problems that qualify for disability include; legal incomprehension, fractional sight, glaucoma, macular degeneration, ocular melanoma and Sjögren's Syndrome.

Each one of those eye problems are found in the SSA's Bluish Book, which are the list of conditions that the SSA considers a inability that can qualify for Social Security inability benefits.

In society to authorize for disability with an centre trouble, you volition need to meet the criteria fix by the SSA with that condition. For example, to come across the criteria for beingness legally blind, your vision can't be corrected to better than 20/200 in your amend eye or if your visual field is 20 degrees or less in your better eye for a period that lasted or is expected to concluding at least 12 months.

If you lot run into the medical criteria outlined past the SSA for the respective Bluish Book listing, besides as run across the piece of work requirements for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the SSA will consider your middle problem as a disability and yous volition be able to commencement earning Social Security disability benefits.

The Fiscal Costs of Vision Loss As A Disability

People born blind usually learn to live and thrive in a world dominated by sighted individuals, but they still experience ongoing "adaptive living" expenses every bit working adults.

These costs include transportation fees, dwelling modifications, and expensive technologies that let the bullheaded to live independently and perform essential chore duties.

Fifty-fifty the expense of a guide dog may exist outside the grasp of a disabled worker. Co-ordinate to the Guide Dog Foundation, the cost of raising and preparation a single service animal is about $50,000.

While some organizations provide dogs complimentary of charge to the blind, these groups have limited resources and budgets. This means blind workers may wait months or years for a guide animal unless they're able to beget to pay for training their ain.

For people who lose their sight later in life, the costs of blindness include not merely adaptive expenses like those mentioned above, only also astronomical medical bills.

Patients and doctors often do all they can to retain or improve sight, using surgical procedure, medications, and other treatment methods. Bills add up quickly, particularly for patients that accept lost their job and their health insurance forth with it.

A decrease in average earnings or total loss of income from work later vision loss is common too, with workers ofttimes beingness unable to continue employment in their traditional field.

A production worker who loses his sight, for case, cannot return to the production floor after a medical leave. Instead, he must acquire new skills and eventually detect a new job.

Making ends meet in the mean fourth dimension only adds stress to an already stressful life transition. Disability benefits tin provide financial back up and access to occupational rehabilitation, in which workers are trained for new professions.

Disability benefits can additionally exist an ongoing source of fiscal support for blind workers, assuasive them to go along employment while simultaneously receiving monthly disability payments.

How Much Inability Do You lot Get If You Are Legally Blind?

If you are legally blind and you lot qualify for Social Security inability benefits, you could earn up to $2,260 for per month in 2022 for SSDI benefits. The amount for blind disabled workers for SSDI is much higher than non-blind workers. Non-bullheaded disabled workers can earn up to $2,190 per month.

If you cannot work due to vision loss or blindness, you may qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Learn how.

Medically Qualifying for Disability Benefits With Vision Loss through the Bluish Book Listing

The SSA maintains standard listings that outline what constitutes disability with various health weather condition. These listings appear in a transmission that's call the "Bluish Book."

The Blue Book is accessible online for you and your dr. to consult. Your doctor can assist yous understand the complex medical language and the SSA's severity level requirements for qualifying for inability with incomprehension or vision loss.

SSA disability examiners are the people who review claims for benefits. They employ the listing in the Blueish Book to compare with your medical records to decide eligibility for benefits.

To qualify for inability benefits, your vision loss or incomprehension must meet i of the following listings:

Loss of central visual vigil (2.02) – this list covers loss in your central field of vision and requires you see no meliorate than xx/200 in your better eye.
Wrinkle of the visual field in the ameliorate eye (2.03) – you lot can qualify nether this listing if you have a shrinking field of vision. Your doctor must measure your vision with specific tests and must tape what you're able to see when you're focusing on a fixed point. This listing requires reports of your visual field, which is the altitude in all directions from the stock-still point on which y'all're focused. That diameter must be no greater than twenty to xxx degrees. In others words, your visual field must exist very narrow.
Loss of visual efficiency, or visual damage (2.04) – this listing covers issues that cause blurry or unfocused vision or an absenteeism of vision (full incomprehension). To qualify, y'all must have vision in your better eye that is no greater than 20/200 when wearing corrective lenses.

Vision Loss As A Disability When Older Than 55

If y'all are bullheaded and receive disability and you are older than 55, the decision rules that are used by the SSA aren't the aforementioned ones that are used for those who aren't bullheaded.

If a claimant is older than 55, even if their earnings are in excess of $2,040 per month the benefits are merely suspended and not terminated if the work that you practice requires a lower level of ability and skill than the work you did before you were approved for disability benefits.

If you are blind, you should familiarize yourself with the different limits for those who are visually impaired and receiving disability benefits. Y'all may be able to earn more than than you lot initially believe and continue receiving disability benefits.

Y'all just need to keep track of your earnings, and maintain thorough records and receipts, and then you can properly deduct any piece of work-related expenses if you are self-employed.

Those who are cocky-employed tin deduct business expenses every bit well equally whatever expenses that they must take because of their inability. These expenses may include prescriptions, medical intendance, medical devices, and special tools, equipment or software that yous demand to be able to do the chore. As an example, the cost of documents written in braille or special programs that are voice activated so you can send letters and gear up documents.

So, you may earn more than the SGA of $ii,040 per calendar month, but afterwards the deductions, you may earn less than the SGA and even so authorize for disability benefits. That is why accurate, detailed record keeping is necessity, so yous tin brand sure you continue to receive inability benefits if you are eligible to do then.

Go on all your receipts, and then you can provide them to the SSA when you upload your records that show your earnings, work activity, and your associated costs and expenses.

Can Y'all Be Blind in One Middle and Disability Benefits?

You can exist blind and ane eye and could qualify for Social Security inability benefits Fifty-fifty if you don't meet the SSA's criteria for blindness, such as being blind in i middle, you may however authorize for Social Security disability benefits if yous being blind in one eye makes it incommunicable for you to work total time.

Y'all tin also be blind and ane eye and get disability benefits, if y'all have some other severe health ailment with it that prevents you from beingness able to work full time.

In order to authorize for Social Security disability benefits while being bullheaded in one middle, you need to meet the medical criteria outlined past the SSA and you demand to take worked enough from a chore where you paid Social Security taxes and earned plenty work credits.

The Trial Piece of work Catamenia For Those Who Are Disabled Due To Vision Loss

If yous are blind and receiving inability benefits, you may want to endeavour to return to piece of work at some point. Every 60 months, disabled workers accept a ix-month trial piece of work menses.

Those 9 months – which don't take to be consecutive – permit a disabled individual to determine if he or she is capable of earning a living once again. The idea of a trial work period is to allow you and the SSA to make up one's mind if your condition has improved enough for you to return to piece of work.

During the trial period, you must report your earnings, piece of work activity, and your expenses to the SSA. During this time, your inability benefits are not in jeopardy.

Even after your 9-month trial work period has expired, yous tin can still receive disability benefits for whatever month that you do not earn more the SGA amount of $2,040. If y'all earn more than than the maximum SGA, you volition non receive your disability benefits that calendar month.

While you could be successful in your render to work, your medical problems could worsen, and yous may have to stop working once more. If that happens, within 5 years of returning to the workforce you lot are eligible for what is called expedited reinstatement.

During that time, you aren't required to reapply for disability benefits, and you don't accept to wait for review of your medical condition to accept your benefits reinstated.

Call back, you only have 9 trial months in whatever threescore-month timeframe, so you don't want to inadvertently employ those months up before y'all intend to practise so. If you render to work and you don't earn more than the SGA, you will go on receiving your disability benefits.

Information technology is important to keep runway of all your expenses and costs associated with your ability to work so that can be deducted before your actual earnings are determined.

Medically Qualifying for Disability through an RFC Analysis For Those Who Are Disabled Due To Vision Loss

The SSA reviews blindness or severe vision loss under strict rules of medical eligibility. To prove you lot're disabled without coming together a list ways yous must evidence your decreased vision or blindness prevents you from working in any job.

This is washed through a "residual functional chapters" analysis or RFC. In an RFC, the SSA looks at your functional limitations, like your inability to drive, read, shop for food, or become effectually in unfamiliar locations.

These limitations in your everyday life help the SSA empathize how you'd be limited in performing specific kinds of job duties.

During an RFC, the SSA also looks at your age, job skills, and education level. Every bit a person with severe vision loss that doesn't meet a Blue Book listing, you're more likely to be approved through an RFC assay under certain circumstances:

If you have a medical condition that causes progressive vision loss. While your vision may non meet a inability listing at present, the SSA can come across from your diagnosis that your vision will continue to worsen, eventually reaching the severity level noted in the Blue Book.
If yous are older and take a lower level of education or express transferable job skills.

Qualifying through an RFC means you're granted a medical vocational allowance. This essentially means the SSA believes you cannot work in any job due to your functional limitations.

How to Employ for Benefits With Vision Loss

You can employ for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) online via the SSA's website or you tin submit your SSDI application at your local SSA role.

If you employ for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) yet, you lot must practise so through an interview procedure with an SSA representative and this is usually washed at the local office.

No matter how you apply or which plan you're applying for, you will need to have a lot of information readily available, including:

Your work history and details of your education and job training
Medical records or at to the lowest degree accurate contact information for all your healthcare providers, including your primary care doc, specialists, and therapists or life skills educators
Financial records, including banking concern statements, paystubs, and information on any other forms of benefits you currently receive

Your medical documentation is essential to proving your disability whether you authorize under a disability listing or through an RFC.

Specific records that the SSA requires for visually dumb and blind applicants may include:

Snellen method or similar visual acuity tests: measures how well a patient tin see objects based on distance and location in relation to the fundamental field of vision
Automated static threshold perimetry or kinetic perimetry exams: document shrinking or contraction of the central field vision over time
Humphrey Field Analyzer visual field tests: documents primal and peripheral vision when a patient is focused on a stock-still point

Your doctor can assistance you sympathise whether your medical records meet the SSA's requirements. He or she can as well determine any gaps in your medical documentation and fill in those gaps by completing evaluations according to SSA documentation standards.

Yous Could Be Entitled to $three,148 Per Calendar month! Get a Free Disability Evaluation

If yous are blind and receive disability benefits, just you are thinking of returning to the workforce and you are interested in using your 9-calendar month trial work period, you should consult with a disability advocate or attorney who handles such cases in your surface area.

With the help of a lawyer, yous can determine the all-time fashion to proceed and figure out what is best for your specific needs. Schedule a free case review by completing the Gratuitous Case Evaluation Form on this page. Claims are often initially denied disability, so working with a lawyer my aid increase your chances. Be sure to wait out for the signs that y'all will be denied for disability.

Additional Resource For Those With A Vision Disability

How Can An Attorney Help Your Vision Loss Merits?
Tin can I Continue Working Afterwards Vision Loss?
What Is Included In My Inability Application With Vision Loss?
Exercise Yous Qualify For Disability Benefits?
Legal Blindness Definition