The majority of people who’ve gone through the process of trying to apply for Social Security disability benefits know how difficult it is to finally start collecting benefits, so it may be somewhat of a surprise that some people actually collect more money than they are entitled to from Social Security. Occasionally Social Security will… Read more »
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Social Security Announces 1.5 Percent Benefit Increase
Social Security made it official with an announcement Oct. 30 that the Social Security benefit increase for disability and retirement recipients will be a miniscule 1.5 percent in 2014, which is down from a 1.7 percent increase in 2013. The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase averages out to be an extra $19 per month. The… Read more »
New Study Identifies SSDI Beneficiaries
A recent Urban Institute report on the economic status and demographics of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients indicates that a large portion have limited education, low income and few assets. According to the report, about 44 percent of SSDI recipients aged 31-49 are considered “poor” or “near poor” based on income that is between… Read more »
Investigative Report Detects Zero Instances of Overpayments
On November 20, 2009 President Obama issued Executive Order 13520, which required the Social Security Administration to investigate purported incidents of overpayments to recipients of Social Security Disability payments and Supplement Security Income. Yesterday, the Office of the Inspector General issued a long-awaited report on its investigation into “High Dollar Overpayments.” The results were quite… Read more »
Notice of Decision – Partially Favorable, What’s that?
There are two types of partially favorable decisions. One is for a closed period of disability. The other is for an alternative disability onset date. A closed period of disability means the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) finds that you have been disabled for only a certain period of time. You will be paid benefits for… Read more »
Social Security Administration takes steps to improve transparency
The Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner, Michael J. Astrue, has developed an Open Government Initiative to increase transparency, participation and collaboration in his federal agency. The program is part of broader initiative within the federal government to increase openness in the programs and operations of the various federal agencies. This effort to improve transparency started… Read more »
What Is a Technical Denial for a Social Security Disability Claim?
A technical denial is issued to a claimant who does not meet the non-medical requirements for one or more of the disability benefit programs through the Social Security Administration (SSA). If you do not meet the non-medical requirements for any of the SSA benefits programs your claim will not be evaluated for a medical determination…. Read more »
Who Qualifies for SSA Dependent Benefits?
Despite the fact that most people are aware that anyone who has been deemed disabled by the Social Security Administration (SSA) is entitled to disability benefits, most of these same people are unaware of dependent benefits. Social Security provides benefits to children of insured workers who die, become disabled, or retire. According to SSA, approximately… Read more »
What Exactly is an ALJ?
The majority of Social Security disability claimants, who continue to appeal unfavorable decisions at lower levels, will eventually have to request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ is in charge of deciding whether or not a claimant is disabled and should be awarded either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental… Read more »
Medication Non-Compliance
What if I haven’t been taking my medications regularly? Does that affect the likelihood of being awarded benefits? The realistic answer is: maybe. Social Security Ruling 82-59 outlines the circumstances under which a failure to follow prescribed medications would be accepted as “justifiable” and would not preclude a finding of disability. Social Security finds a failure… Read more »
