My SSDI stopped while I was incarcerated. How do I restart it?

BEFORE RELEASE:
AFTER RELEASE:
    Once you know your release date, notify your correctional counselor (or another staff member at your facility) that you want to restart your SSDI benefits. It’s best to start this process at least 3 months before your release date.[1714]
    If your facility has a pre-release agreement with Social Security:
    Staff should be available to help you complete and submit the necessary paperwork in a timely way.[1715]
    If your facility doesn’t offer pre-release assistance—and/or you have trouble working with correctional staff:
    Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778) to notify Social Security that you were getting SSDI before incarceration, and you want your benefits to restart as soon as possible after your release. The toll-free line is open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
    Be prepared to provide your Social Security number and release date.
    If Social Security’s automated phone system doesn’t accept your call, you should ask a non-incarcerated family member to call as an Authorized Representative (“AR”) on your behalf (use the form in Appendix F, PG. 518 to appoint a family member as an AR).
    A representative will set a post-release appointment for you at a local Social Security office, ask you to provide official release documents, and tell you what else you need to do.[1716]
    You can also ask a friend, family member, or trusted advocate to communicate with Social Security about your benefits on your behalf. You have a right to appoint any individual—such as a friend, family member, attorney, or social worker—to act as your representative in the application process. To do so, use the form located in Appendix G, PG. 523.[1717]
    If you weren’t able to do so while incarcerated, call Social Security to report that you were released from prison and want to restart your SSDI benefits. A representative will set an appointment for you at a local Social Security office, ask you to bring your official release documents, and tell you what else you need to do.[1718]
    If your SSDI has only been suspended (paused)—which is what normally happens—it may take only a month to restart it. If you were incarcerated for 12 months or more, then your SSDI benefits would have been terminated, and you have to file a new application to reestablish your eligibility.[1719]
  1. 1714

    See Benefits After Incarceration, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/reentry/; Entering the Community After Incarceration—How We Can Help, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf; Arrested? What Happens to Your Benefits?, Bazelon Center, http://www.kitsaPGov.com/pubdef/Forms/LinkClick.Benefits.pdf ↑

  2. 1715

    What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf; Entering the Community After Incarceration—How We Can Help, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf; Arrested? What Happens to Your Benefits?, Bazelon Center, http://www.kitsaPGov.com/pubdef/Forms/LinkClick.Benefits.pdf ↑

  3. 1716

    Benefits Available to Paroling & Discharging Inmates, Prison Law Office (2011), http://www.prisonlaw.com/pdfs/BenefitsLetter,Aug2011.pdf; What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf; Entering the Community After Incarceration—How We Can Help, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf ↑

  4. 1717

    Your Right to Representation, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10075.pdf ↑

  5. 1718

    Be prepared to provide your Social Security number. See Benefits After Incarceration, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/reentry/; What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf; ↑

  6. 1719

    Thanks you to Steve Weiss, Regional Social Security & SSI Advocacy Coordinator at Bay Area Legal Aid, for his feedback and commentary on this portion of the Manual. See What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf; Entering the Community After Incarceration—How We Can Help, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.3ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf; Arrested? What Happens to Your Benefits?, Bazelon Center, http://www.kitsaPGov.com/pubdef/Forms/LinkClick.Benefits.pdf ↑