How do you get disability benefits in Texas?

Texas Health and Human Services completes the disability determination for SSDI and SSI applicants in Texas, and Social Security makes the final decision on who qualifies. For office addresses, including in Dallas, see find a Social Security office.

SSDI, SSI, and how to file

SSDI sends monthly payments to people with a disability that stops or limits their ability to work. Social Security says people with a disability or blindness and enough work history may be eligible. The payment amount is based on your work history before your disability began, and SSDI benefits may include Medicare.

Texas Health and Human Services describes SSDI as paying people who can't work because of a medical condition expected to last at least one year or result in death. It also says people who get Social Security disability benefits for 2 years are enrolled in Medicare automatically.

SSI provides cash to people who are older, blind, or have a disability and who have little or no income. It is paid based on financial need.

To file a disability claim, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 and make an appointment to file at your local Social Security office, or to have someone take your claim over the phone. Before you call, you can check who can get Disability on Social Security's site.

Social Security's national line takes calls on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., your local time, and its automated phone services run 24 hours a day. Social Security says waits to reach a person are typically shorter in the morning, later in the week, and later in the month. Its TTY number, for callers who are deaf or hard of hearing, is 1-800-325-0778.

After you file

Social Security puts its average processing time for disability applications at 200 to 230 days, and it mails the decision to you in a letter.

If you have already filed a disability claim, you can call Texas Health and Human Services at 512-437-8000 or 1-800-252-7009 to give more information or ask questions about your claim.

Disability insurance in Texas

For income while you are hurt or sick and cannot work, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) says to first ask whether your job provides disability insurance. If it does not, you can buy it on your own.

Disability insurance pays part of your income, usually a percentage of your pay, if you get sick or have a physical or mental disability that keeps you from working. Short-term policies usually pay for up to a year, and long-term policies pay for up to the maximum number of years in your policy. Both have a waiting period before payments start: up to 90 days for a short-term policy, and up to a year for a policy that pays for longer than 2 years.

Some jobs have paid sick time you can use to get paid while you recover from an illness, surgery, or accident. TDI also names SSDI, a federal program, as another option, and it takes questions about insurance at 800-252-3439.

How a disability affects unemployment benefits

To get Texas unemployment benefits, you must be able to do full-time work, physically and mentally, and be available for it. Being able and available for work lists everything that rule covers.

If you already receive SSDI, TWC says you may be eligible for unemployment benefits while able to work only part time, as long as you are looking for part-time work. Social Security says you may be able to go back to work, or keep working, without losing Disability benefits, and Social Security's page on returning to work has more.

If you receive a military disability pension, TWC still requires you to be able to work full time to be eligible. Disability pay from a military branch is deducted from your benefit payments, as other payments that reduce your benefits explains.

If a medically verifiable illness, injury, disability, or pregnancy kept you out of work, ask TWC about an alternate base period, which uses wages paid before the illness or injury. Enough wages in your base period gives the rules for using one.

Find a Social Security office, including in Dallas

To skip the line at an office, Social Security suggests making an appointment first, and you can make an appointment on Social Security's site. Social Security's Office Locator finds your local office and its phone number.

Social Security lists these offices in and around Dallas:

Search your own address in the Office Locator to see which office it is assigned to. If you cannot use Social Security's online services, call your local office or 1-800-772-1213.