Resource directory · Disability benefits and rights
SSDI, SSI, VA compensation, Medicaid, and state programs each run on their own rules, and people usually meet them at a hard moment. We built Disability.help as an independent plain-language guide that explains each program from the agency's own sources, with dated 2026 figures, five browser tools, a page for every state plus DC and Puerto Rico, and condition pages tied to SSA's Listing of Impairments. The site doesn't decide claims or give legal advice; it explains the rules so readers can deal with the agencies that do.
The Problem
SSA's amounts change each January and VA's rates each December 1, so a guide carrying last year's SSI payment or earnings limit points someone the wrong way. Every yearly figure on Disability.help lives in one data file with its value, the year it applies to, the official page it came from, a quote from that page, and the date it was checked. Pages read from that file, so the $994 SSI payment and the $1,690 earnings limit appear the same way everywhere.
The build fails when those figures are more than about a year old, so stale amounts can't go live unnoticed. Sources are limited to government pages and regulation text: ssa.gov and SSA's operations manual, va.gov and 38 CFR Part 4, the eCFR Listing of Impairments, and each state's own agencies. Forums, law-firm blogs, and other benefit sites are never used.
The Research Tools
Veterans want to know what their VA ratings add up to. Social Security applicants want to know whether they qualify at all. The calculator and the requirements guide each show the rule, with the 2026 figure beside it.
VA Ratings
VA doesn't add disability ratings; it combines them with a whole-person table and rounds once at the end. The calculator reads that table from 38 CFR 4.25, applies the bilateral factor from 38 CFR 4.26, and shows the 2026 monthly payment for the household the reader picks. Where the copy of the table on va.gov differs from the regulation in one cell, the page says so and follows the regulation.
Try the VA combined rating calculatorWho Qualifies
The requirements guide splits a claim into the medical test both programs share and the extra test each adds: work credits for SSDI (usually 40, with 20 in the last 10 years) and income and resource limits for SSI ($2,000 in countable resources for one person). It walks through SSA's five-step review under 20 CFR 404.1520, the $1,690 monthly earnings limit for 2026, SSA's duration-of-work table by age, and the special rules for blindness, children and surviving spouses.
Read who qualifies for disabilityWho Uses the Research
Link earning starts with the person who would need the resource. The architecture makes that path explicit instead of publishing content first and hunting for a reason to promote it later.
| Primary Evidence | Published Resource | Who Uses It |
|---|---|---|
| SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet and Program Operations Manual System (POMS) | SSDI and SSI amounts, the earnings limit, back pay rules, and the SSI estimator | Applicants and people already on benefits |
| VA compensation rates effective December 1, 2025, and 38 CFR 4.25 and 4.26 | 2026 VA pay rate tables and the combined rating calculator | Veterans and their families |
| State agency sites and the eCFR copy of SSA's Listing of Impairments | 52 state pages and 15 condition pages | Residents comparing state programs and claimants checking a condition |
Explore the Site
Start with the guides people use most when applying, appealing, or checking VA pay.
Build
Project Scope
Related Work
An independent finder for every SSA office, with guides to the errands behind a visit.
A directory linking each SSA field office to the hearing office that handles its appeals.
An online college publication built around military-friendly schools and verified degree availability.
We keep each number tied to its official source and date, and build the checks that stop a stale figure from reaching readers.
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