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We all know that the fight for Social Security Disability benefits can be a struggle. A mere 30 percent of claimants are awarded disability benefits during the initial stage of the application process, and that process alone can take three to six months to complete. The remaining Social Security Disability applicants must endure a complicated and lengthy appeal process. While many of us are familiar with the statistics and timelines related to disability claims, we don't really understand what happens to these applicants as they fight for disability benefits.

In a perfect world, a disabled worker would apply for Social Security Disability benefits and be approved for those benefits in just a few short months. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case. Estimates state that a mere 30 percent of disability claims are awarded during the initial stage of the application process. The remaining 70 percent of disability applicants must appeal the SSA's decision to deny their Social Security Disability benefits if they hope to receive disability payments at some point in the future.

To the dismay of many Social Security Disability applicants, the Social Security Administration has removed endocrine disorders from the listing of disabling impairments. While this does not mean that it is impossible for individuals suffering from an endocrine disorders to obtain the disability benefits they need, it does mean that it will be much harder to do so and the disability claim process will likely involve the need for an appeal.

It is no secret that, while the economy may be coming back slowly, there are still many individuals who are finding it impossible to obtain a job in today's job market. Unemployment benefits are meant to help these unemployed individuals make ends meet until they are able to find other suitable employment. The problem is, these benefits are only granted for a specified period of time. Once that time period has expired, the unemployment payments stop.

Many people assume that Social Security Disability benefits are only available to those who suffer from physical disabilities. This is definitely not the case. Those who suffer from mental illness may also be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits if they meet the SSA's qualifying criteria. In fact, mental illness is the most common affliction among younger Social Security Disability applicants. There are, however, some things that you must understand before applying for benefits based on a mental illness.

With recent cuts to the Social Security Administration's budget, plans that were in progress to open new Social Security Disability appeal sites were understandably put on hold. However, putting the construction of new sites on hold was not enough to address the financial issues that the Social Security budget cuts have caused. Some of the existing Social Security Disability hearing sites have had to be closed to help the SSA address its current financial crisis.

The economy has suffered some serious blows in recent years, and while it may be coming back, the after-effects are still being felt across the nation. Millions of people are unemployed and many of them have used up all of their unemployment benefits. As a result, lawmakers are worried that the Social Security Disability program will be fraudulently used as an extension for expired unemployment payments. To support this theory, focus has been put on a single judge who has had a 100% award rate over the past six months.

Many individuals wonder if it is possible to collect unemployment benefits when filing a Social Security Disability claim. After all, the Social Security Disability claim process can take months, if not years, to complete. Wouldn't it be convenient if you could obtain unemployment benefits while you wait? More importantly, is it legal to do so? There is technically no law stating that you cannot apply for Social Security Disability benefits while receiving unemployment payments.

With all of the focus lately on Judge Daugherty's high disability approval rates and the SSA's outcry against the low percentage of claims that he actually denies, one must ask whether there is too much scrutiny being placed on the judge. After all, no one is scrutinizing the judges with abnormally high denial rates. How can one end of the spectrum be criticized without an investigation of the other?

There is no doubt that the Social Security Administration is inundated with problems. Recently, Charlie Andrus, the Chief Social Security Administration judge in Huntington, West Virginia, has stepped down from his post due to political issues within the disability program and a federal probe into the actions of one of the judges under his supervision.