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Posts Tagged ‘SSA’

Social Security Administration Disability- Do I tell the SSA if I move?

Friday, January 27th, 2012

It is not unusual for either a Social Security Disability Insurance case or Supplemental Security Income case to be initiated in one state and then somewhere in the process the claimant has to move. A common question claimants ask is, “Do I need to move my disability case when I move?”

This may seem like a strange question given that Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income benefits are federal benefits and are administered by the Social Security Administration. The decision making process and the award calculations are the same throughout the United States (with the exception of state supplemental payments for SSI). Given this fact, it is not unusual for some claimants to not contact the Social Security Administration when they move.

The general rule is if you are going to move and you have not initiated the disability process, wait to file your claim until you get settled. If you have to move and cannot wait to file, go ahead but contact the SSA as soon as you are in your new location. If your claim is being “processed” by the Social Security Administration and you have to move, make sure to contact them when you get your new address.

How does location affect the disability decision?

As mentioned above, the Social Security Administration has done a good job of establishing standardized procedures to ensure that all disability examiners use the same process to determine whether or not a claimant is disabled.

The Social Security Administration does, however, divide the United States into regions. Not only is your Social Security Administration and Supplemental Security Income application processed in a specific Social Security Administration regional office, if you are scheduled to have a hearing your application is sent to a specific Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) for the hearing.

According to the Social Security Administration they have “10 regional offices, 169 hearing offices (including 7 satellite offices), 5 national hearing centers, and one national case assistance center. There are approximately 1,300 administrative law judges and 7,000 support staff in the field organization.”

For example, Region I is called the “Boston” region, although it services Boston, Hartford, Lawrence, Manchester, and several more cities. Each of the corresponding cities has a local ODAR office which services the local SSA field offices. For example, the Boston ODAR office services the field offices in the following cities: Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Dorchester, Falmouth, Fitchburg, Farmington, Gardner, Hanover, Hyannis, Lynn, Malden, Norwood, Quincy Roslindale, Salem, Somerville, and Waltham.

It can become very clear that if your case is pending in the wrong court this can cause issues when your case is ready to be scheduled. You do not want a case to be scheduled in a court that is in a different state from your home state. Additionally, the wait to hear cases is very long and you do not want to do anything that can jeopardize your “place in line” for your Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income case.

Hiring a Disability Lawyer

Now if this is all confusing and you need help disability lawyers work on contingency fee basis and are ready to review your case at any time to find out if they can help you. The good news is they are only paid if they win your Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income case.

Can I work up until I receive Social Security Administration disability benefits? (disabilitybenefitshome.com)
Social Security Administration and Calculating my Disability Benefits (disabilitybenefitshome.com)
Not enough work credits for SSDI but I cannot work (disabilitybenefitshome.com)

Tags: filing disability, Social Security Disability Insurance, SSA, Supplemental Security Income
Posted in Disability Benefits, Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income | No Comments »

How long does it take to receive Social Security Disability Benefits?

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

One of the most common questions asked by SSDI or SSI claimants is how long do I have to wait for a disability decision. Many claimants have waited weeks and the SSA has not responded. Other claimants want to know if it the rumor that it could take up to 2 years is true.

Disability Process

So why does it take so long? Here is the answer.

After you file your Social Security Disability application the Social Security Administration is allowed 90 to 120 days to make their initial disability decision, and up to 70% of the initial disability applications are denied.

If you are denied at the Social Security Disability application level you have 60 days to file your Reconsideration (which is the first step in the Social Security Disability appeals process). The SSA may allow another 30 to 90 days to make their decision at the Reconsideration level. Unfortunately, up to 80% of Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income claimants are denied a second time.

What if you are denied a second time? Claimants denied at the Reconsideration level have up to 60 days to request a Social Security Disability hearing. At this point your SSDI or SSI application or claim is sent to the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) for the region that services the area in which you live.

This is where the waiting can really start. In many parts of the country the hearing case loads which are pending number in the hundreds and may be divided among only 5 to 10 Administrative Law Judges. The volume of Social Security Disability cases can be overwhelming for the number of judges available to hear the claims. It is not unusual for disability claimants to wait 12-14 months for a Social Security Disability hearing.

Do all cases go through the same process? No, the Social Security Administration has aggressively been making changes the disability process and they have created expedited approval processes for claimants who have a condition which clearly meet the pre-established medical criteria established by the SSA, who have certain terminal illnesses (ex. AIDS, ALS, bone marrow transplant cases, any malignant cancer that is metastatic (stage IV), and small cell or oat cell lung cancer), and the wounded warriors program for officers seriously injured or disabled from their military service on or after Oct. 1, 2001,

The bad news is with the down turn in the economy, there have been more workers applying for Social Security Disability benefits than ever before, and the number of cases which must be reviewed by the SSA is very high.

What does this mean for you? Unless your mental or physical health condition automatically meets or exceeds a listing on the SSA Listing of Impairments and you are able to avoid all appeals, especially waiting for an administrative hearing, it could take 3 months to 2 years for you to win Social Security Disability benefits.

What if you are approved at some point in the process outlined above? If you are approved at either the application, reconsideration or hearing level, it can take 30 days to 90 days to start receiving benefits. If you are approved for benefits the Social Security Administration will send you a letter which tells you your payment amount and the estimated date of your first payment.

If you would like a disability attorney to review your claim you can fill out the FREE evaluation form and a disability advocate will call you to review your claim or you can call our office at 1-800-641-3759 to talk to someone now.

Tags: Disability Benefits, Disability lawyer, reconsideration, SSA, SSDI benfits, SSI benefits
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Social Security Disability and your Work History

Monday, September 20th, 2010

The Social Security Administration will determine a claimant is disabled if they have a severe impairment and are unable to work at least 12 continuous months. They may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance if they have worked and earned enough “work credits”. If they do not have sufficient work history, but they are limited in resources and income, they may qualify for Supplemental Security Income.

Evaluating Work History

It is difficult to understand how your work history affects your ability to win Social Security Disability benefits without understanding the disability determination process. The main objective of the SSA is to determine whether or not the claimant’s condition is so severe they are unable to work. To do this the Social Security Administration analyzes your residual functional capacity and work history to decide if you can work your current job or any other job you have performed in the last 15 years given your mental of physical limitations.

The Disability examiner will analyze your work history, only considering jobs which lasted for 3 months or longer and which were performed at SGA level. The examiner will match past jobs to jobs listed in the SSA’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles and rate the physical and mental requirement of each job. If the disability examiner determines that you do not have enough RFC or residual functional capacity to perform any of your past work they will decide if you are able to be retrained for a new job.

For example, if you are a 24 year-old construction worker who has a college degree and has worked several other types of skilled office positions and the DDS determines you are not able to return your construction job due to a leg injury or some other physical impairment they may decide, based on residual functional information from your doctors, you are able to perform work at a light exertion level. Next they will decide if given your age, educational level and work skills if you could retrain for another type of job. If they decide you could, you will be denied Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits.

In some cases your work history or age may be benefit your case. For instance, if you are a fifty-five year old construction worker who did not graduate from high school, has always worked heavy labor, and is now required to do sedentary work the DDS may determine given your work history, education level and your age you it may be impossible for you to retrain for a desk job and will therefore be awarded disability benefits.

The Social Security Administration not only considers a claimant’s mental or physical health condition, they also analyze a claimant’s residual functional capacity, age and other factors to determine a claimant’s ability to maintain employment. The evaluation process can be complicated, and disability examiners can use a variety of tools created by the SSA such as vocational guidelines and GRID rules to help make their disability decisions. If you are unsure of whether or not you meet the definition of disabled according to the Social Security Administration, contact a Social Security Disability lawyer for more information.

Tags: Disability, Disability Determination Services, Health, Law, Social Security Administration, Social Security Disability Insurance, SSA, Supplemental Security Income
Posted in Social Security Disability | No Comments »

Can You Win Social Security Disability Without Going to a Hearing?

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Winning Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income Benefits at the application level and avoiding a Social Security Disability hearing is not impossible, but it can be difficult. How can you increase your chances of winning benefits at the Social Security Disability application level? The best way is to understand the Social Security Disability process and how the Social Security Administration will make the determination about whether or not you are disabled and unable to work.

The Social Security Administration uses a five-step approach called the Sequential Evaluation Process to determine if claimants are disabled and unable to find a job given their current physical or mental limitations. Under the Sequential Evaluation Process the Social Security Administration will ask:

Are you working? Work (as defined by the Social Security Administration) is making more than a certain amount every month. The amount is updated periodically but for 2010 the claimant is allowed to make $1000 per month (blind individuals can make $1,640 per month)
Is your medical condition severe? Severe medical conditions are those which will last at least 12 months and do not allow or severely limit a claimant’s ability to perform basic work activities.
Is your medical condition on the List of Impairments? The List of Impairments is maintained by the SSA and describes groups of mental and physical health conditions which are so severe that a claimant is unable to work. If the claimant’s condition is not on the List of Impairments the SSA will continue to step 4.
Can you do the work you did before? If the claimant’s medical condition is too severe to perform their current job the SSA will continue to step 5. If the condition enables them to continue working Social Security Disability Benefits are denied.
Can you do any other type of work? If a claimant’s condition is too severe for the claimant to continue in their current line of work the SSA evaluates whether or not there is any other job they would be qualified to perform in the current economy. The SSA will make this determination by evaluating the claimant’s age, medical health condition, education, past work experiences and any additional skills the claimant possesses. Claimants who can be retrained for other types of employment are denied Social Security Disability benefits. Claimants who can not perform their current job and can not be retrained for any other type of employment are considered disabled and given Social Security Disability Benefits. Whether or not the claimant qualifies for SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) will depend on whether or not they have enough work credits. The amount of credits and the amount of Social Security Disability benefits paid will depend on how old you are and when you became disabled. Claimants who do not qualify for Social Security Disability Income may qualify for Supplemental Security Income benefits if they meet the Social Security Administrations income and resource requirements.

Understanding the determination process, understanding the List of Impairments and documenting your mental or physical health conditions clearly and concisely can greatly increase your chances of having your Social Security Disability application approved at the first level and avoiding a hearing. The Social Security Administration is responsible for gathering current and accurate medical records but following-up and sending medical records you already have can also be helpful. Many claimants also increase their chances of getting Social Security Disability benefits by hiring a competent Social Security Disability lawyer who can follow and review the process every step of the way.

Tags: Disability, Employment, Health, Law, Social Security Administration, Social Security Disability Insurance, SSA, Supplemental Security Income
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Will the Social Security Administration consider me disabled?

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits are not short-term disability benefits. Individuals who are substantially gainfully employed who are making more than $1,000 per month or whose mental or physical health conditions are not expected to last for at least 12 months need not apply. Medical conditions must also be supported by medical evidence.

The Social Security Administration defines “disabled” as the “inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) which can be expected to result in death or … has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.”

To determine if an adult (over the age of 18) is disabled the Social Security Administration will evaluate their mental and physical health conditions (as evidenced by the claimant’s medical records) using a five-step Sequential Evaluation Process:

Is the claimant engaged in substantial gainful activity (SGA)? The Social Security Administration considers substantial gainful activity in 2010 as making more than $1,000 per month or working a regular 40 hour per week work schedule (or the equivalent work schedule). If a claimant is able to make this much money each month the SSA will consider them not disabled, regardless of their mental or physical health condition, their education, their work experience or their age.
Is the claimant’s mental or physical condition severe? The claimant’s ability to do work should be severely limited for at least 12 months or more. If the claimant’s mental or physical health condition is not severe the claimant will be determined not disabled. If the claimant’s condition is severe the Social Security Administration will continue to step 3.
Is the claimant’s mental or physical condition listed on the Social Security Administration’s “List of Impairments”? The List of Impairments is a document which identifies conditions that are so severe that the claimant who has these conditions will be determined automatically disabled. If the claimant’s conditions meets or equals one of the listings documented on the Social Security Administration’s List of Impairments the SSA will determine the claimant is disabled, if not the Social Security Administration will continue to step 4.
Can the claimant perform the work they have done before? The Social Security Administration will evaluate if the claimant can do any of the previous jobs they have done in the past (the SSA generally evaluates jobs held in the last 15 years). The Social Security Administration will make this evaluation by analyzing the claimant’s residual functional capacity or RFC. RFC can be physical and can include the claimant’s ability to sit, stand, walk, bend or lift, or it can be mental and include the claimant’s ability to follow directions, get along with co-workers, regularly attend work and maintain standards of cleanliness, pace and concentration.
Can the claimant perform any other type of work which is found in the general economy? If a claimant is unable to perform a past job the Social Security Administration will evaluate if there is any type of work they could do given their age, their medical condition, their past job experience and any other residual skills. If the SSA determines the claimant can not do any other work they will be determined disabled. If the claimant could be retrained to do some type of job they will be determined not disabled.

Additional non-medical requirements exist for claimants to qualify for either SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) or SSI (Supplemental Security Income). Talk to a qualified Social Security Disability lawyer for more information about Social Security Disability requirements.

Tags: Disability, Employment, Health, Social Security, Social Security Administration, Social Security Disability Insurance, SSA, Supplemental Security Income
Posted in Social Security Disability | No Comments »