June 2012 Archives

Advantages of Disability Hearings versus Disability Applications and Reconsideration appeals

By SSDRC on June 26, 2012 10:31 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Someone posted a picture of their swollen leg on this site's facebook page with the following statements:

How many of your doctors could walk a hospital floor for an 8 hour shift with these knees. Not many and I did it for 4-5 years before I gave in because of the pain. They only see paperwork and never ask to see you or they would know that a person who has spent 40+ years working without drawing anything from the Gov. is not just playing. They need to see the person before making there decisions from other doctors paperwork.

I responded with this: Thank you for sharing this. You're right. An image can sometimes express more. I think many would agree that this is one of the advantages of the hearing appeal level. You actually meet the individual deciding the outcome of your claim. Approval rates at hearings are substantially higher than at the disability application and reconsideration appeal levels where the decision is made by an examiner who only has access to a file, one that is often part of a caseload of several hundred.







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Will Social Security cut my Disability Benefits?

By SSDRC on June 25, 2012 2:09 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
"While waiting for SSA to determine if I qualified I collected disability insurance from my employer. After being approved, I was required to pay back my ex-employer for the benefits they paid me. NOW! SSA is counting both payments as income are going to cut my SSD by over $8.000. I didn't get to keep both payments, what can I do?"

I am not sure why you think that Social Security is cutting your disability benefits. If you had long or short disability benefits from your employer, they generally have you sign an agreement that forces you to repay benefits paid when you get a back payment of disability benefits. That is something that is strictly between you and the long or short term disability benefit provider.

The only kind of benefit that could cause Social Security to offset their disability payment would be workman's compensation benefits. If you collected those benefits at any time since you became unable to work, Social Security will use the amount you were paid to reduce or even suspend benefits payable. Social Security considers Workman's Compensation benefits to be government benefits and they may reduce your monthly Social Security benefits or even the full benefit amounts for the months you receive workman's compensation benefits.

This information, btw, was obtained from the official IRS site.

You should receive your Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 by early February for the benefits paid in the prior calendar year. The form will show benefits paid to the person who has the legal right to receive them, and the amount of any benefits you repaid. It will also show amounts by which the benefits were reduced because you received workers compensation benefits. The substitute workers compensation benefits would be taxable to the same extent. For additional information, refer to Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits.







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Will my disability be stopped if I work or does it depend on the kind of job I have?

By SSDRC on June 19, 2012 6:47 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
You can work and receive disability benefits under SSD or SSI as long as your monthly gross earned income is less than the allowable limit. That limit is the SGA limit. SGA stands for substantial gainful activity. Working and earning at least this amount signifies to SSA that you are not disabled.

So, if your earnings do match the SGA limit, your benefits could be stopped. However, SSA (social security administration) does allow for trial work months which allow you to attempt working. Here are some discussion pages. The first is on trial work, the second is on expedited reinstatements, and the third is on the SGA limit.

Just to reiterate: keeping yourself in pay-receipt-status does not have anything to do with the kind of job you have, but, rather, how much you are earning if you are engaged in work activity.

1. Social Security Trial Work Period

2. What is a Social Security extended period of eligibility?

3. The Social Security Earnings Limit - SGA

Here's a link to a page that perhaps explains what I said more succintly: Working and Disability - Are You Allowed to Work While Receiving Social Security Disability or SSI?







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Do I lose my disability benefits if I go back to school?

By SSDRC on June 13, 2012 2:27 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Going back to school wouldn't cause your disability benefits to be stopped under SSD or SSI. Both programs are really just concerned with the issue of medical improvement, which is why anyone approved to receive disability benefits will periodically undergo a CDR or continuing disability review.

Medical improvement, however, can be demonstrated by the mere fact that a person is engaging in work activity that earns them a monthly earnings amount that is at least equal to the SGA limit in effect for a given year.

None of this applies, of course, to school activity. So, to sum up, going back to school won't take you off disability benefits. However, if you were put on benefits for a mental impairment, the disability examiner who reviews your case during your CDR may be influenced by your ability to engage in academic studies when they evaluate your claim. SSD and SSI claim determination is unavoidably a somewhat subjective process.







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What if you are over the Social Security SGA limit but special considerations are being made?

By SSDRC on June 11, 2012 3:25 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
You may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits. Social Security would verify your alleged special considerations or subsidy with your employer. They may call your employer or mail them a subsidy questionaire to complete.

This questionaire allows your employer to address special considerations and the worth of the work you are performing for them. Depending on their answers, your disability claim may be sent for a medical disability determination or it may be denied for the performance of SGA.







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Filing for Disability Online, Work Credits, and late appeals

By SSDRC on June 7, 2012 8:22 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
"I filed for disability online (only got through the first part) and was sent a letter saying I don't qualify based on not enough work credits. I have a condition where I can no longer work, drive, walk for long periods of time, stand for more than 15 mins at a time, etc. What do I file for then? I'm 30 yrs old and unable to work or leave the house alone. I'm at a loss. I did get a hold of a disability lawyer but when I see him, the rejection letter will be at day 57."

Your situation is a good example of why I am not in favor of filing for disability online. A large percentage of individuals who apply for disability will have an SSDI (social security disability insurance) claim. However, many will find that their claim is for title 16 SSI disability benefits only, or is concurrent, meaning that a claim is taken in both the SSDI and SSI categories. Here's the problem with that: the Social Security Administration does not allow an actual SSI disability application to be filed online. Meaning you don't get a protected filing date.

If you begin the process online and it turns out that your claim will be for SSI only, or will be a concurrent claim, you will have to speak with a CR, or claims representative at a Social Security office...which basically defeats much of the reasoning for trying to use the online process in the first place. My position is that it is usually best to speak with a claims representative at a social security office, either in person or over the phone from the very start.

As to work credits, SSDI, or social security disability, is based on insured status. Meaning that if you haven't worked long enough to be insured, or your insured status has lapsed (i.e. you have a DLI, or date last insured, that is in the past) because you haven't work enough recently, then you will only be apply to apply for SSI. However, you can only apply for SSI if you meet the non-medical requirements for SSI. SSI is need based. Because it is, not just your income but your family income (meaning yours and income from a spouse) can be used to determine if you are above the allowable limits. Additionally, unlike SSDI which is not concerned in the least with assets, SSI has an asset limit, or resource limit.

If you are not insured for SSDI because of insufficient work credits, a claim will be taken in the SSI program. From what you've said, I am assuming that one was not taken and so I have to wonder if an evaluation of your income and/or assets puts you over the SSI limits.

If you will be at day 57 by the time you see your disability lawyer, you would ordinarily want to consider sending in your disability appeal on your own to avoid missing the filing deadline. This is what I have usually told people over the phone when they were seeking disability representation but were butting up against the deadline. However, it sounds as though you have received a technical denial, one that does not involve any type of case processing. Technical denials occur when a person does not qualify for disability based on non-medical criteria alone, such as assets or earned income. It sounds as though the best approach will be to confer with the lawyer to get a better handle on your situation. Good luck with your case.







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