WHAT INFORMATION DO I NEED TO APPLY FOR BENEFIT?
We suggest that you have the following information at hand. It will make completing the application much easier.
Information About You
- Your date and place of birth and Social Security number
- The name, Social Security number and date of birth or age of your current spouse and any former spouse. You should also know the dates and places of marriage and dates of divorce or death (if appropriate)
- Names and dates of birth of your minor children
- Your bank or other financial institution's Routing Transit Number [more info] and the account number, if you want the benefits electronically deposited
Information About Your Medical Condition
- Name, address and phone number of someone we can contact who knows about your medical conditions and can help with your application
- Detailed information about your medical illnesses, injuries or conditions:
- Names, addresses, phone numbers, patient ID numbers and dates of treatment for all doctors, hospitals and clinics;
- Names of medicines you are taking and who prescribed them; and
- Names and dates of medical tests you have had and who sent you for them.
Information About Your Work
- The amount of money earned last year and this year
- The name and address of your employer(s) for this year and last year
- A copy of your Social Security Statement
- The beginning and ending dates of any active U.S. military service you had before 1968
- A list of the jobs (up to 5) that you had in the 15 years before you became unable to work and the dates you worked at those jobs
- Information about any workers' compensation, black lung, and/or similar benefits you filed, or intend to file for. These benefits can:
- Be temporary or permanent in nature;
- Include annuities and lump sum payments that you received in the past;
- Be paid by your employer or your employer's insurance carrier, private agencies, or Federal, State or other government or public agencies; and
- Be referred to as:
- Workers' Compensation;
- Black Lung Benefits;
- Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation;
- Civil Service (Disability) Retirement;
- Federal Employees' Retirement;
- Federal Employees' Compensation;
- State or local government disability insurance benefits; or
- Disability benefits from the military (This includes military retirement pensions based on disability but not Veterans' Administration (VA) benefits.)
What documents do I need to provide?
We may ask you to provide documents to show that you are eligible, such as:
- Birth certificate or other proof of birth;
- Proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful alien status if you were not born in the United States [more Info];
- U.S. military discharge paper(s) if you had military service before 1968;
- W-2 forms(s) and/or self-employment tax returns for last year;
- Medical evidence already in your possession [more info]. This includes medical records, doctors' reports, and recent test results; and
- Award letters, pay stubs, settlement agreements or other proof of any temporary or permanent workers' compensation-type benefits you received [more info].
- Important
- We accept photocopies of W-2 forms, self-employment tax returns or medical documents, but we must see the original of most other documents, such as your birth certificate. (We will return them to you.)
- Do not delay applying for benefits because you do not have all the documents. We will help you get them.
- Mailing Your Documents
- If you mail any documents to us, you must include the Social Security number so that we can match them with the correct application. Do not write anything on the original documents. Please write the Social Security number on a separate sheet of paper and include it in the mailing envelope along with the documents.
- If you do not want to mail these documents, you may bring them to a Social Security office. Do not mail foreign birth records or any documents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), especially those you are required to keep with you at all times. These documents are extremely difficult, time-consuming and expensive to replace if lost. Some cannot be replaced. Instead, bring them to a Social Security office where we will examine them and return them to you.
