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After the Social Security determination process is over and a claimant has been found disabled Social Security begins the process of issuing the official decision, sending out the award letter, which explain past-due benefits and monthly payments, and finally issuing payments. Sometimes people are surprised by the amount they receive in past-due benefits or monthly amounts, but Social Security has a specific formula in place to determine this. Understanding this formula and the rules associated with the different Social Security programs will give claimants a better idea of what they can expect when the award letter is issued and the payments are issued. Below is some information from Social Security that tries to explain when and how disability payments start. The Process Disability benefits for workers and widows usually cannot begin for 5 months after the established onset of the disability. Therefore, Social Security disability benefits will be paid for the sixth full month after the date the disability began. The 5-month waiting period does not apply to individuals filing as children of workers. Under SSI, disability payments may begin as early as the first full month after the individual applied or became eligible for SSI. In addition, under the SSI disability program, an applicant may be found “presumptively disabled or blind,” and receive cash payments for up to 6 months while the formal disability determination is made. The presumptive payment is designed to allow an individual with limited income and resources to meet his or her basic living expenses during the time it takes to process the application. If it is finally determined that the individual is not disabled, he or she is not required to refund the payments. There is no provision for a finding of presumptive disability or blindness under the Title II program.  

When You Are Approved For Benefits Getting the news that you have been approved for Social Security disability benefits may seem like the end to a long, exhausting process, but approval does not mean the final end to a claim. Although it is great to learn you have been approved the process is not over. Typically there is more waiting involved and there are some important factors to consider once Social Security advises that someone is disabled and eligible for benefits. Below is from a Social Security publication detailing what happens next after a claim is approved. What happens when my claim is approved? Social Security will send a letter to you telling you your application is approved, the amount of your monthly benefit, and the effective date. Your monthly disability benefit is based on your average lifetime earnings. Your first Social Security disability benefits will be paid for the sixth full month after the date your disability began. Here is an example: If the state agency decides your disability began on January 15, your first disability benefit will be paid for the month of July. Social Security benefits are paid in the month following the month for which they are due, so you’ll receive your July benefit in August. You’ll also receive What You Need to Know When You Get Disability Benefits (Publication No. 05-10153), which gives you important information about your benefits and tells you what changes you must report to Social Security. Can my family get benefits? Certain members of your family may qualify for benefits based on your work. They include: Your spouse, if he or she is age 62 or older; Your spouse at any age, if he or she is caring for a child of yours who is younger than age 16 or disabled; Your unmarried child, including an adopted child, or, in some cases, a stepchild or grandchild. The child must be younger than age 18 (or younger than 19 if still in high school); Your unmarried child, age 18 or older, if he or she has a disability that started before age 22. The child’s disability must also meet the definition of disability for adults. NOTE: In some situations, a divorced spouse may qualify for benefits based on your earnings, if he or she was married to you for at least 10 years, is not currently married, and is at least age 62. The money paid to a divorced spouse doesn’t reduce your benefit or any benefits due to your current spouse or children. How do other payments affect my benefits? If you’re getting other government benefits (including those from a foreign country), the amount of your Social Security disability benefits may be affected. For more information, you should see the following: How Workers’ Compensation And Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits (Publication No. 05-10018); Windfall Elimination Provision (Publication No. 05-10045); and Government Pension Offset (Publication No. 05-10007). You can get these publications from Social Security’s website www.ssa.gov, or you can contact Social Security to request them.  

Social Security was established in the 1930s and many people know that Social Security was a response to the Great Depression when there were few safety nets available to provide benefits to the elderly and disabled, but what was the atmosphere that led to the Great Depression, which then led to Social Security? Below Social Security chronicles the changes America was going through leading up to the Great Depression, which gives some insight as to how our country changed forever back then and eventually Social Security was born. America Changes Despite all of the institutional strategies adopted in early America to assure some measure of economic security, huge changes would sweep through America which would, in time, undermine the existing institutions. Four important demographic changes happened in America beginning in the mid-1880s that rendered the traditional systems of economic security increasingly unworkable: The Industrial Revolution The urbanization of America The disappearance of the “extended” family A marked increase in life expectancy The Industrial Revolution transformed the majority of working people from self-employed agricultural workers into wage earners working for large industrial concerns. In an agricultural society, prosperity could be easily seen to be linked to one’s labor, and anyone willing to work could usually provide at least a bare subsistence for themselves and their family. But when economic income is primarily from wages, one’s economic security can be threatened by factors outside one’s control–such as recessions, layoffs, failed businesses, etc. Along with the shift from an agricultural to an industrial society, Americans moved from farms and small rural communities to large cities–that’s where the industrial jobs were. In 1890, only 28 percent of the population lived in cities, by 1930 this percentage had exactly doubled, to 56 percent. This trend toward urbanization also contributed to another significant shift in American society, the disappearance of the extended family and the rapid rise of the nuclear family. Today we tend to assume that “the family” consists of parents and children–the so-called nuclear family. For most of our history, we lived in “extended families” that included children, parents, grandparents and other relatives. The advantage of the extended family was that when a family member became too old or infirm to work, the other family members assumed responsibility for their support. But when the able-bodied left the farms to seek employment in the cities, often the parents or grandparents stayed behind. And when new immigrants first arrived in our land, it was often the breadwinner who first made the passage and only later could he bring the family over. And finally, another significant change happened in the early decades of this century. Thanks primarily to better health care and sanitation, and the development of effective public health programs, Americans began to live significantly longer. In three short decades, 1900-1930, average life spans increased by 10 years. This was the most rapid increase in life spans in recorded human history. The result was a rapid growth in the number of aged persons, to 7.8 million by 1935. The net result of this complex set of demographic and social changes was that America was older, more urban and more industrial, and fewer of its people lived on the land in extended families. The traditional strategies for the provision of economic security were becoming increasingly fragile.  

An Alabama woman who worked for Easterseals is accused of stealing more than $100,000 in Social Security benefits from beneficiaries she was supposed to be managing funds for. Tamara Jean Conwell, who worked as a representative payee for Easterseals, allegedly took $105,000 in Social Security benefits meant for beneficiaries and spent the money on her own expenses. Representative payees are in charge of managing Social Security benefits for people who have been determined to be unable to manage their own benefits. Typically family members serve as representative payees, but when a family member is not available outside organizations, like Easterseals, become a beneficiary’s representative payee.  According to this story, federal prosecutors say Conwell has agreed to pay restitution in the matter, but is still potentially facing prison time. The Disability Numbers Over the last few years Social Security has seen a reduction in the amount of disability cases being filed and approved. The recent numbers posted by Social Security also show that there are less people collecting benefits than a few years ago. Below is a closer look at the numbers. Number of claims received for adjudication: 2018                                       2017                                       2010 1,300,668                               1,377,803                                1,926.398 Number of claims approved: 2018                                       2017                                       2010 733,879                                     762,141                                  1, 052,551 These numbers clearly show that the number of people applying for Social Security disability benefits is substantially less than it was in 2010 and that the number claims being approved is about 25 percent less than in was in 2010. Both of Social Security’s trust funds have shown improvement over the last few years and if these trends continue there would be less strain on the Social Security disability trust funds. Any notion that the Social Security disability program is running out of control because of increased applications is simply not true.

Disability denials issued at the initial application level and the first appeal level are sent out by Social Security, but many people do not understand that Social Security does not make the decision of whether or not someone is disabled, that is decided by a state agency known as Disability Determination Services (DDS). Understanding who DDS is and what they do is important in understanding a disability claim. State Disability Determination Services The DDSs are State agencies responsible for developing medical evidence and making the initial determination about whether the claimant is or is not disabled or blind under the law.  These State agencies are fully funded by the Federal Government. Usually, the DDS obtains evidence from the claimant’s own medical sources first. When the evidence is unavailable or insufficient to make a determination, the DDS may arrange a consultative examination (CE) to obtain additional evidence. The individual’s own medical source(s) is the preferred source for the CE; however, the DDS may also obtain the CE from an independent source. (See Part II, Evidentiary Requirements, for more information about CEs.) After completing its development, the DDS makes the disability determination. An adjudicative team consisting of a medical or psychological consultant and a disability examiner usually makes the determination. If the adjudicative team finds that additional evidence is still needed, the consultant or examiner may re-contact a medical source and ask for additional information. The DDS will refer the case to the State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency if the claimant is a candidate for VR. The DDS returns the case to the field office after making a disability determination.  The field office takes appropriate action depending on whether the claim is allowed or denied.  If the DDS finds the claimant to be disabled, SSA will complete any outstanding non-disability development, compute the benefit amount, and begin paying benefits. If the claimant is found to be not disabled, the file is retained in the field office in case he or she decides to appeal the determination. If the claimant appeals an initial determination, the appeal is usually handled much the same as the initial claim with the exception that a different adjudicative team in the DDS than the one that handled the original case makes the reconsideration determination.

A report released in February of 2018, by the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, showed that the agency underpaid widows and widowers by more than $131 million because these beneficiaries were not informed that they would receive a higher benefit amount, if they delayed receiving retirement benefits until age 70. Basically, it would’ve been beneficial for these beneficiaries to collect widow and widower benefits until age 70, when they could have opted to receive retirement benefits at a higher rate. The OIG indicated that Social Security, in many instances, neglected to inform these beneficiaries of the advantages of delaying retirement benefits until age 70. “SSA employees must explain the advantages and disadvantages of filing an application so claimants can make an informed filing decision. SSA employees must discuss and document any unfavorable filing decisions, such as filing an application for retirement benefits when it would be advantageous to delay the application. If a claimant applies for benefits even though it is not in his/her best interest, SSA employees must document the facts and decision in its automated system,” the report said. The OIG’s report randomly sampled the cases of 50 beneficiaries and determined that 82 percent were eligible for higher monthly benefits if they had delayed receiving retirement benefits until age 70. OIG Recommendations To rectify the situation, the OIG made a list of recommendations that Social Security agreed with and these include: Taking action on the cases identified where beneficiaries were underpaid and determine whether Social Security should review the more than 13,000 other similar types of cases; Remind Social Security employees to discuss with widow and widower claimants, the effect of delaying their applications for retirement benefits and document the facts and decisions in accordance with SSA policy; Determine whether Social Security should develop additional controls to ensure it informs widows and widowers of their option to delay their application for retirement benefits.