Q: I have a friend who has various disabilities. She has hearing problems, chronic arthritis, high blood pressure, kidney trouble and other issues. You name it, this poor woman has had it! Yet despite her medical conditions, she has been working most of her life. She plans to retire when she turns 60 in two months and then file for Social Security disability benefits. I have several concerns and questions. Can she file for disability even though she is voluntarily leaving her job? If so, can she file ahead of time so her benefits are waiting for her when she retires? If her disability claim is denied, will she be eligible for regular Social Security when she is 62? Also, will the pension she will get from her employer offset any Social Security benefits she might be due?

A: The answers to your specific questions are Yes, No, Yes and No. But all those answers need to be qualified, so I guess I should elaborate.

The fact that she will be simply retiring from her job (as opposed to leaving for strictly medical reasons) does not really impact her potential eligibility for Social Security disability benefits. The only thing that matters is whether or not she meets the legal definition of disability for Social Security purposes.

And that definition essentially says this: You qualify for Social Security disability benefits if you have a medical condition that is expected to last at least a year and that prevents you from working. In other words, the inability to work (not just the impairment itself) is the key to qualifying for benefits.

Even though your friend "voluntarily" left her job, my hunch is all those medical problems she has certainly helped push her out the door. It may very well be that each separate condition may not be severe enough on its own to make it to qualify for benefits. But the combination of all her impairments may push her over the line. And something she has going in her favor is her age. Disability evaluators might say that a younger person with conditions similar to hers could continue to work, or be trained to do a less difficult job. But a 60-year-old woman will find it easier to qualify for benefits. My educated guess is that her claim will be approved.

Having said all that, your friend cannot file for Social Security disability ahead of time. The reason why gets back to that basic definition of disability. Again, the inability to work is the key to qualifying for benefits. If she filed tomorrow, for example, her claim would be immediately denied because she is still working. According to Social Security law, if you're working (especially full-time), you're simply not disabled — no matter how many medical problems you have. When your friend retires, she should make plans to file for Social Security disability benefits the very next day.

If her disability claim is approved, she will start getting a monthly benefit that equals her full retirement rate. That's essentially what a disability benefit is: your full, age 66 retirement benefit. It's just paid at an earlier age — in your friend's case, at age 60. If her claim is denied, she should appeal that decision. That's simply a matter of filling out a few forms. But if even her appeals are denied, then she certainly can file for Social Security retirement benefits later on. She would just have to decide if she wants to wait until age 66 to get full retirement benefits, or file anytime after age 62 and get reduced retirement benefits.

Finally, the pension she gets from her employer will have no impact on her Social Security — whether she gets disability benefits or retirement benefits.

Q: I was injured on the job about a year ago. Shortly after that, I started getting disability compensation from the state. My Social Security disability claim has just been approved and my benefits have started. But they are nowhere near what I was promised. Do you know what's going on?

A: I can make a pretty good guess. There is a law that says the combination of your worker's compensation payments and your Social Security disability checks cannot exceed 80 percent of your average monthly wage back when you were working. If the two benefits exceed that rate, one or the other has to be reduced. Which benefit gets offset varies from state to state. It sounds like in your state, it is the Social Security disability check that gets cut.

The reason for that offset law should be pretty obvious. If a person could get more money from various disability programs than he or she was getting in salary, what would be the incentive to keep working?

Q: I have been getting disability benefits since I was 58 years old. I am about to turn 65. When do I sign up for real Social Security?

A: You are already getting "real Social Security." Social Security disability benefits are as real as Social Security retirement benefits. The only difference is that one is paid because you have some medical problems. And the other is paid because you are old.

And you will officially turn "old" when you reach age 66. At that point, you will be automatically switched from the disability program to the retirement program. But because — as mentioned in the answer to the first question — a disability benefit equals an age 66 retirement benefit, your payment amount will remain the same. So the changeover from one program to the other will essentially be transparent to you.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has the answer. Contact him at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.