If you need a Cary Social Security Disability Lawyer to help with your case, The Bishop Law Firm can help you. We do not get paid unless we win, and we offer free case reviews. Call us at (919) 615-3095, or start your free case review now.
The Bishop Law Firm has represented Social Security Disability clients since 2009, and our firm's owner, Kimberly Bishop, is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Social Security Disability Lawyer.
Types of Disability Benefits
The Social Security Administration generally offers two types of benefits that individuals with disabilities can apply for: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
SSDI is based on credits from the work that you have done in your life, while SSI is a need (limited income) based program.
Social Security Disability Insurance
Many of us have seen FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) taxes on our paychecks. FICA payments fund Social Security and Medicare coverage.
Social Security Disability is essentially the exact amount that you would receive if you waited until your full retirement age to retire. You will also be eligible for Medicare after 24 months of receiving SSDI benefits.
As with all types of insurance, premiums must be paid to insure your coverage. While you work and pay FICA taxes, you accumulate quarters of coverage (credits).
For each year, you can accumulate 4 quarters of coverage (one per quarter worked).
To be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, you generally must have worked 5 of the last 10 years (20 covered quarters out of 40 quarters).
Your coverage will expire on your date last insured. You must be found disabled before your date last insured to receive SSDI.
Applying for Social Security Disability benefits as soon as you are unable to work is imperative.
Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Security Income is a program for individuals who have not paid Social Security taxes and have limited income and resources.
Unlike Social Security Disability Income, income and assets affect the amount of SSI a recipient can receive. Additionally, if someone is helping you financially, the SSA will reduce your SSI monthly payment.
In 2025, the SSI cap is $967.00 per month for an individual and $1,450 per month for a couple (per SSA).
If your work earnings were low enough, you may be eligible for both types of disability benefits.
But, you must be found disabled by SSA before you are entitled to either type of disability benefit.
The first step in attaining Social Security Disability Insurance benefits or Supplemental Security Income is to apply for benefits at your local SSA office, online, or by phone. Also, read How to Apply.
The Social Security Disability Claim Process
Applying for Social Security disability can involve a lengthy appeals process.
The initial claim, reconsideration level, hearing level, Appeals Council, and District Court can all be a part of your journey to attain Social Security Disability.
You can be approved at any level in the appeals process, but statistically speaking you have your best chance of approval at the hearing.
The initial and reconsideration decisions are made by a state agency, which in North Carolina is called Disability Determination Services. The name of the agency varies by state, but its function remains the same.
At DDS, disability claims are assigned to examiners who send questionnaires to you and/or a third party about your medical condition, order medical records, and possibly send you to a consultative examination if they do not have enough medical information to make a decision.
Unfortunately, DDS denies around 70% of the applications that it receives.
A claimant has a greater statistical chance (around 50%) of being approved by a Social Security Administrative Law Judge after a disability hearing.
At each stage of the appeals process, SSA uses the Five Step Sequential Evaluation to determine if you are disabled:
- Step 1 – Are You Working? The Social Security Administration defines work as “Substantial Gainful Activity” (SGA). Substantial Gainful Activity is roughly defined as work from earnings that average more than $1,620.00 per month (as of 2025). If you are earning that amount, you are generally not considered disabled.
- Step 2 – Is Your Condition “Severe”? Severe is defined by the Social Security Administration as: your condition must interfere with basic work-related activities for your claim to be considered.
- Step 3 – Is Your Condition on the List of Disabling Conditions? The Listings are tough to meet in most cases and not always interpreted as a common reading would suggest. If you meet a listing, you are gravely ill. The listings are here.
- Step 4 – Can You Do the Work You Did Previously? The Social Security Administration will look at your work history and determine if it was sedentary, light, medium, or heavy. They will also evaluate the skill level: unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled. For instance, an attorney would be sedentary skilled work. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles is here.
- Step 5 – Can You Do Any Other Type of Work? If the Social Security Administration determines that you can no longer perform your previous duties, they then assess whether you can still perform other tasks. This is where the “grids” come into play. The grids are the Medical-Vocational Guidelines. The grids are only for exertional impairments. The grids do not consider non-exertional impairments, like mental illness. If you are found to be capable of any other work, you will be found not disabled. Read The Grids and Your Social Security Disability Case.
FREE CASE REVIEWS
The most crucial step to attaining Social Security Disability Benefits is the first step, which is to apply:
- Call The Bishop Law Firm for your free case evaluation at 919-615-3095, or start online now. We will send you some information to get you started.
- Call your local Social Security Office and set up an appointment to file for SSDI or SSI. The SSA office for Cary is located in Raleigh at 3315 Poole Road. Their phone number is 800-772-1213. You will need this information to file.
- Create a list of your medical treatments and the medications you currently take. You will also need a family member or friend who is willing to provide information about your impairments to Social Security.
- After you apply, your case will be sent to DDS (Disability Determination Services) for the initial level of review. An examiner at DDS will review your information and send you forms to fill out. Fill out this information as soon as possible and return it to the examiner.
- Talk and stay in touch with us! One of our paralegals will schedule a time to discuss your claim with your representative at our Raleigh Office.
You should know that DDS denies most of the disability claims that they see. If you receive a denial, do not be upset. Many people receive denials from DDS, and they go on to be approved at a later level. Unfortunately, denied claims can be a regular part of the process.
Do you need Cary Disability Lawyers?
While it is not required to have an experienced Social Security Disability Attorney to help with your case, it can help your claim for disability benefits go more smoothly.
What do Social Security Disability Lawyers do?
Disability claims revolve around medical records demonstrating your impairments.
A Social Security Disability Lawyer can gather all your medical evidence and ask your treating doctor for their medical opinion regarding your illness.
Keeping a disability claim moving through DDS and informing your examiner of your medical treatment can help expedite a case to approval or a more prompt denial.
Either option will ensure that your case doesn't languish at a stage in which your chances of getting approved are diminished.
If your case goes to the hearing level, your disability attorney will present evidence (medical, educational, and vocational) to the SSA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in an orderly and complete manner for them to make the right decision on your disability claim.
In addition, an attorney will make arguments to the ALJ regarding your eligibility for Social Security Disability based on all your impairments, including physical or mental illness.
In summary, disability lawyers can help you tell your story to the judge.
How are Social Security Disability Lawyers paid?
The Social Security Administration regulates the fees that attorneys can charge their disability clients. Disability lawyers are paid out of the client's disability benefits back pay.
Effective November 30, 2024, an attorney may charge up to 25% of the claimant's back pay, up to a maximum of $9,200.00. For an attorney to receive $9,200, a client would have to receive $36,800.00 in back pay.
If a client receives $100,000.00 in backpay, the most that the disability attorney will receive is $9,200.00.
If Social Security Disability claimants do not receive backpay, the attorney is paid nothing.
The Bishop Law Firm represents clients in claims for Social Security Disability benefits in Cary, NC.
We do not receive payment unless we win (on a contingency fee basis), and we offer free case reviews by phone at (919) 615-3095. Alternatively, you can start your case online now.
Also, read about North Carolina Social Security Disability Lawyers.
