Under the laws governing Social Security disability, individuals around the country --including here in Maryland -- who struggle with permanent mental or physical disabilities which result in the individual being unable to work, are eligible to receive some assistance from the government. However, this eligibility does not mean immediate or even guaranteed assistance. Often, the process of applying for and waiting for a decision after submitting a Social Security Disability application can be long, and often frustrating.
Seeking the assistance of an experienced legal attorney in this process and any subsequent appeal is often the best step an individual can take in their pursuit of securing benefits in a timely and successful manner. The Social Security Administration is also looking to do their part to speed this process along as well by cutting down on the time that their staff is spending on administrative tasks rather than processing new claims.
There has been a substantial backlog of individuals filing to collect benefits. This means that some individuals in Maryland that are in desperate need of these benefits are made to wait long periods of time to receive assistance. Further, for those individuals in Maryland that have already been approved for benefits and that are seeking to verify, manage or monitor those benefits in some manner, they can also have to deal with long periods waiting for necessary responses from the SSA.
In order to alleviate some of this pressure, the Social Security Administration will now offer an online service which allows individuals that have been approved to more readily monitor their personal benefits. This will cut wait times down for them as well as possibly relieve some of the pressure that the administration is facing in addressing the backlog that was created.