How a “Disability Statement” Can Help You Get Social Security Benefits

The application process for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits can seem quite impersonal at first. During the initial and reconsideration levels of review, you don't get to speak with the claims examiners who decide if you're disabled. At these stages, you're mainly submitting documents and waiting to hear back. You'll finally get a chance to talk to a judge at a disability hearing, but it can take almost a year to get a hearing scheduled, and you can only request one after you've been denied twice.

For this reason, it's smart to make sure that the paperwork you send to Social Security at every stage is fully completed and contains comprehensive details explaining why you should be found disabled. You can help increase your chances of getting approved at an earlier stage if you fill out Form SSA-795, Statement of Claimant or Other Person, an optional, little-known form sometimes referred to as a "disability statement."

Why Should I Fill Out Form SSA-795?

While many Social Security forms ask about your medical problems, they allow little room for elaboration. For example, Form SSA-3373, Function Report - Adult, asks you questions about a broad range of your activities of daily living. But the form doesn't provide a lot of space between sections for you to provide a detailed description of your limitations. It's not until the last section of the report, Section E, that you're given an extra blank paragraph or two to explain why you're disabled. That extra paragraph isn't usually sufficient, which is where SSA-795 comes in.

Form SSA-795 allows you a full page to explain why you can't work. You can use the page to write a "disability statement" describing your limitations to a fuller extent. Most people who apply for Social Security benefits are unaware of Form SSA-795, so they miss out on the chance to explain how their disability limits their personal and work activities. Submitting a thorough disability statement can increase your odds of approval, so don't neglect this opportunity.

Where and How to Submit Form SSA-795

First, you'll need to download the form and provide basic identifying information. You (or the person who is helping you complete your disability statement) should follow the steps below to make sure that Social Security receives your SSA-795 on time and without issue.

• Download Form SSA-795, Statement of Claimant or Other Person, from the SSA.gov website. You should plan to type directly into this form on a computer if you can so the agency can read what you write.
• Type out drafts of your statement beforehand. Cut and paste the final version into the form. The statement section allows about 4,200 characters—about one typewritten page.
• If someone else helps you complete this form, this person should add his or her name and related information to the form.
• Print out the completed form and sign it in blue or black ink. Keep a copy of the form.
• Note that witness signatures are only needed if the claimant (the person asking for benefits) can only sign an "X".
• Mail or bring the completed and signed form to your nearest Social Security field office. You can find your closest office using the locator tool here.

You can submit an SSA-795 at any time while your Social Security benefits claim is pending. If possible, though, submit this statement at the same time that you file your initial application.

How Should I Fill Out the Disability Statement?

You can start your statement any way you wish. You could begin with something like this:

You could also start by describing an accident, a traumatic event, or a new diagnosis that changed your life:

You can click the sample SSA-795 form on the right to read what a disability statement might look like for an applicant with physical and emotional conditions.

There's no surefire formula for what you should write in your disability statement—simply explain how your medical issues limit your day-to-day functioning. Ask yourself, "What would someone need to know about my inability to work?" An effective statement will answer some of the questions below:

• Which medical problems limit you the most? If you were to rank your disabilities based on the ones that limit you most, how would you rank them?
• What was your life like before and after you were unable to work? Was there a time when your disability caused you to either leave your job or significantly change your day-to-day life? What were you able to do before that you can no longer do?
• Do you have good and bad days? Do you have bad days where you can barely function? How are they different from good (or better) days? How often do you have bad days weekly or monthly?
• What kind of medical treatment do you have planned in the future? What do doctors tell you about your future health? For example, have you seen a surgeon who says an operation wouldn't help your condition? Has your doctor told you to expect your condition to get worse?
• What are a few examples of how your health has changed your life? Describe a situation when your health recently caused a significant problem.
• Have any major life events caused you to be unable to work? How have these events affected your current health? Can you live the life you want?

When writing the disability statement, remember that it should help clarify why you qualify for SSDI or SSI, not muddy the waters or distract from the basic elements of your claim. With that in mind, you should try to avoid making the following common mistakes:

• Don't include every medical condition if they don't seriously affect your ability to work. Social Security doesn't award disability claims based on the number of diagnoses you have, but on how severe your limitations are. "Clogging up" the disability statement with minor ailments won't be persuasive to the agency.
• Avoid explaining why you need Social Security benefits or who you think shouldn't get benefits. Don't use the space to air any grievances with the agency or your doctors. Keep the focus on why you can't work and what you can no longer do.
• Don't forget to keep it real. A good disability statement uses your own words. Your records will contain medical terminology, but you don't have to. Use words that describe how your symptoms feel to you. For example, you could describe how your pain "feels like a hot knife" or how your nausea "makes me feel like I am spinning on a swing."

Your statement doesn't need to be perfect, just to the point. Remember, it is optional. Plan to read through your statement a few times, correcting errors and simplifying it along the way. When you're ready, have a trusted friend or family member read it. Ask them, "Is it clear?" and "Would it help a stranger understand my health problems?" If the answers are yes, then you're probably ready to submit Form SSA-795.

How Does Social Security Use Form SSA-795?

Social Security uses your disability statement to determine what functional limitations the agency should include in your residual functional capacity (RFC). Your RFC is a statement about what you can and can't do at work, physically and mentally, despite restrictions from your medical conditions. The agency compares the restrictions in your current RFC with the duties of your past jobs to determine if you could still perform those jobs today. If not, then Social Security will need to see whether other work exists that you could do given the limitations in your RFC.

Every limitation that's supported by your medical record should be included in your RFC. Social Security can't know the extent to which your condition limits your functional abilities unless you tell them, however, which is why Form SSA-795 is so important. For example, consider two disability claimants who are both applying for benefits due to back pain. The first claimant fills out the function report with vague terms like "I don't walk long," or "I can't lift much." The second submits a Form SSA-795 with descriptors like "I feel a stabbing pain if I walk longer than 10 minutes," or "I can't carry a gallon of milk without dropping it." Even if both claimants have the same medical records, Social Security is much more likely to include restrictions to sedentary work (or less) for the second claimant, who used specific quantities to describe their limitations.

Getting Help With Your Disability Claim

If you have an attorney helping you with your Social Security claim, you should ask them for feedback on your disability statement. (You don't need a lawyer to successfully apply for benefits, but it's a smart idea to hire a representative.) Make sure that your statement reflects your words, not theirs, though—getting too technical with legal terminology can dilute the power of your statement or even throw your credibility into question. You know your symptoms better than anybody at the Social Security Administration, so trust in your own voice to describe what's wrong with honesty and clarity.