Why is it important to appeal your disability denial?

Appealing an SSDI or SSI denial at any stage of the process is important to maintain your original filing date, which protects your potential eligibility for back pay benefits. This is especially important if you are far along in the process (such as after an ALJ hearing or Appeals Council decision). At that point, it is likely you applied many years ago and if you later win your case, you could be entitled to back pay (sometimes also called retroactive benefits) for some or all of that time.

Rather than re-applying and losing this crucial protected application date, appealing allows you to continue with the process. A lawyer can help you with the appeals process and ensure that all deadlines are met. If you do not have a lawyer yet, there is information on how to file an appeal on the Social Security Administration’s website here: https://www.ssa.gov/apply/appeal-decision-we-made.