As a Social Security disability attorney, I frequently receive emails like pose this question – from a man or woman in their 30’s or early 40’s with a long standing medical condition that makes work a real struggle.

Sometimes the issue is chronic pain – in the back, the knees or even a generalized body pain (like fibromyalgia). Sometimes the underlying medical condition is a chronic disease like diabetes or kidney disease that saps one’s energy and makes it difficult to function reliably day after day.

I even hear from potential clients who are cancer survivors – the cancer may have been removed surgically but the struggles with long term effects of chemotherapy or radiation remain.

More recently I am hearing from Covid “long haulers” – people who contracted Covid in 2020 and who continue to struggle with cognitive loss, low energy and occasional breathing issues.

And almost every younger person I correspond with has some level of anxiety or depression about how facing a future with likely lifelong medical complications, and stress about how they will support themselves or their families.

Should You Quit Work to File for Disability?

So, if you find yourself in one of these situations, what should you do? Keep working? Quit and file for disability? Work part time and file for disability? Here are my thoughts about the reality of pursuing disability if you are under 50 and still hanging on at work. Continue reading →