Blog

Surviving Financially Until the ALJ Hearing

Among the questions asked to Greeman Toomey attorneys and staff, the most frequent one is “how am I supposed to survive until my hearing?” Unfortunately the average wait time for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge is 12-15 months from the date of your appeal. If a claimant receives unfavorable decisions at the Initial… Read more »

How will becoming incarcerated effect my benefits?

Incarceration may impact your eligibility for benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA).  This depends on how long you are incarcerated for and what type of benefits you receive. If you are receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments and you are in jail or prison, your payments will be suspended after you have been incarcerated… Read more »

Timeliness and Quality of the Disability Process

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 »

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 »

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 »

I Received an SSA Notice of Overpayment

A notice of overpayment sent by the Social Security Administration can be one of the more deflating pieces of mail to receive. Basically, this notice indicates that you received too much money from Social Security and now they want the money back. According to Social Security, “an overpayment occurs when Social Security pays you more… Read more »

Treating for your Conditions is Crucial to your Disability Claim

A successful Social Security disability claim is dependent on a lot of variables, but there is nothing more crucial to a Social Security claim than medical evidence to prove your disabilities. You are going to need to prove you are disabled to the Social Security Administration and the best way to do this is through… Read more »

I was approved at my hearing, when will I get paid?

If you are eligible for DIB benefits, your claim will be transferred to one the SSA’s payment centers. The payment center will calculate what your monthly benefit is and how much you are owed in back pay. The benefit value is based on what you have paid into the SSA. There is a five month… Read more »

Social Security Disability and Early Retirement

Many people approaching the early Social Security retirement age of 62 wrestle with whether they should apply for early retirement. If a person is suffering from impairments that they believe limits their ability to work they also may consider applying for Social Security disability. This is brief article about making the decision is bit easier…. Read more »