Social Security has an $800 billion annual budget, and is one of the government’s largest expenses. Best known for sending monthly payments to retired Americans, SSA also pays disability claims for 18 million people each year, with numbers increasing due to the recession. The Social Security Administration currently faces one of the largest backlogs in the… Read more »
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Hearing Wait Times Vary Depending on Hearings Office
For those who do not know, the Social Security disability process is a long, winding road that can take many applicants the better part of two years to navigate until a final decision is reached. There are a variety of reasons for this, but probably the biggest reason is it takes, on average, 12-15 months,… Read more »
One Way Social Security Can Save Money
Wasteful spending is counter productive when an operating budget is stagnant as is the case with Social Security. Literally every dollar counts as Social Security is dealing with massive backlogs of disability claims and far too few resources, so you would think Social Security would be interested in saving a buck where it can. Unfortunately,… Read more »
The Problem With Working And Not Paying Social Security Taxes
No one likes to pay taxes, but sometimes when you don’t pay taxes you can pay for it in the long run when it comes to Social Security benefits. There are many types of jobs that people have, typically cash jobs, where Social Security taxes are not paid. This might increase your take-home pay,… Read more »
Social Security Myths Uncovered
We hear stuff all the time about Social Security that isn’t true. For example, many Republicans would have the public believe that Social Security disability is running amok paying people who are not disabled and too lazy to work. This not the case as there is less than 1 percent fraud found in the Social… Read more »
The House Wants To Save Social Security But May Destroy It In The Process
A recent draft of a budget resolution from the U.S. House Of Representatives demands that the president and congress act to secure the solvency of the Social Security trust funds. The resolution does not really say how that would be accomplished, but there are generally two ways to do this – cut benefits or increase… Read more »
What Are the Social Security Listing of Impairments?
Social Security disability attorneys and representatives are very familiar with the Listing of Impairments, which is the basis for disability evaluations under the Social Security Administration. The Listing of Impairments describes, for each major body system, impairments considered severe enough to prevent an individual from doing any gainful activity. This is a bit different for… Read more »
Enjoying Retirement While Working
Millions of Americans work day-after-day for decades with the hopes of one day being able to save enough money to retire. For some this dream becomes a reality, but for others they never get a chance to retire and end up working until the day they die or until they are much older than past… Read more »
Who Knew The Program Existed?
Social Security announced it was extending a pilot program that allows the agency to set the date and time for a disability hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) if Social Security deems it necessary. Prior to the pilot program the ALJ assigned the case had the only authority to determine when a hearing would… Read more »
Adjusting The Solvency Of Medicare And Social Security
The latest estimates on the solvency of Medicare, Social Security retirement and Social Security disability were released by the Social Security trustees and it is a little bit more concerning than expected. Each year the Social Security trustees release estimated dates in which Medicare and Social Security will be unable to meet 100 percent of… Read more »
