talk to me about disability

Hello,
I receive SSDI here in the United States. I do work part-time. how does that translate over to the UK?
My chronic illness is not something seen easily or at all with the naked eye, so to speak. It's what we can an invisible illness.
If I am granted disability status here in the U.S. does that follow me over to England or do I need to reapply according to their rules and regulations?
Thank you!
And if any of you are disabled and went to the UK from the US, I'd love to hear from you.

SSDI is paid to you in the UK for as long as you continue to qualify for it.  SSA will send you a statement for you to complete every year asking about your condition and any work that you have done, you must return this to them for your payments to continue.

Here in the UK the payments are treated as a pension and do not entitle you to any other disability benefits paid by the UK unless you qualify for them in your own right.

It will very much depend on the NHS trust you are in as to how you care will or won't continue (not the SSI, but medical care).  Your doctor may take everything straight from the US or they may insist that you go back through the diagnosis processs in the UK.  I'd recommend joining some support groups specific to your disability for people based in the U.K. to get an idea of what to expect.

@Kezzie62 Do you mean the US will continue sending me SSDI while I'm in the UK, as long as I qualify for it... in the US? That sounds unlikely, but I Just wanted to be sure of what you said.
Is there a thread already made that I can read about pensions in general in the UK?

@KFdancer
The hard thing is.... my actual chronic illness is very little-known, even though very wide-spread. The CDC doesn't even acknowledge it exists, so much controversy exists around it. So my diagnoses that got me SSDI here in the States are cognitive and psychological. It's nearly impossible to get SSDI for my chronic illness in the States so I'm guessing it will be doubly hard in the UK. Very sad. I will look for a group specific to my illness; thank you! If you know of any UK chronic illness message boards, etc, do let me know. I don't know if this will impact your reply, but as far as my disability goes, I require no care from the government except in the form of lost income due to inability to work full time. I do work part time but even that is sporadic.

Also is there a general NHS trust thread I can read and familiarize myself with it?

You can Google NICE guidelines for your condition and get some ideas.  But each trust varies (sometimes considerably).  Definitely a postcode lottery!

Yes, I believe in some cases you can continue to receive your SSI payments while living in the U.K.

I strongly encourage you to do research for the condition you have & care in the area where you will be moving. I have ehlers danlos syndrome and already know I will have to pay private to be rediagnosed & referred to the many specialists I need for ongoing follow-up care & monitoring. I immediately joined support groups, found the national foundation for it in the UK, and will come armed with all my medical records & summary of the main issues that are immediate needs for care. Be prepared to continue paying out of pocket for quite a few things, NHS is great for some stuff but not others, and if you need specific therapies they might not be covered. Private insurance in the UK rarely helps with pre-existing conditions, except I have heard of a few being able to petition to get coverage for things like PT because it is part of our recommended care guidelines. Good luck! Invisible disabilities are some of the hardest to live with, but the UK has some of the top doctors for a number of rare diseases.

@Kezzie62 Do you mean the US will continue sending me SSDI while I'm in the UK, as long as I qualify for it... in the US? That sounds unlikely, but I Just wanted to be sure of what you said.

I am sorry you think it unlikely that SSDI will continue to be paid if you live outside the USA but that is exactly what happens. You can find full details on the SSA website. Here is a pdf leaflet about it.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf

Have you seen the film "I, Daniel Blake "?  I would guess that if you come to the UK with a hidden disability that is not completely black and white proveable, that's the treatment you will get if you ask the government for money. 

'I Daniel Blake' made me sob! Brilliant but such a sad and distressing film. And very real! It is much harder in the U.K. to get a referral to a specialist in many cases as the GP's have strict guidelines on when to refer. I had follicular lymphoma nearly eleven years ago while living in The Bahamas. It is supposed to be incurable and I have been very lucky so far. Over there though, I had regular scans, covered by insurance. Here, any time I mention a concern that some symptom or other that I might have could be a return of the lymphoma, my GP says 'oh, I don't think it is that'! So no referral to a specialist! And really because it is not palpable or can be measured by a blood test. My husband, on the other hand, had a rising PSA (prostate cancer marker) and was referred immediately to a specialist who started treatment in a week!