Deep Budget, Service Cuts from Secial Security
The non-partisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities reports this week that budget cuts have forced SSA to cut drastically services, and even impose a hiring freeze in 2011 in the face of increasing applications. This led to a deterioration in SSA phone service that the agency has only partially reversed. In 2016, the average caller to SSA’s 800 number can expect to spend over 15 minutes on hold, and nearly 10 percent of callers will receive busy signals. The cuts also affected SSA field offices, where people can apply for benefits, replace lost Social Security cards, or report name changes (due to a marriage or divorce, for example). SSA has closed 64 field offices and 533 mobile offices since 2010 and reduced hours at remaining offices. Before the budget cuts, more than 90 percent …
Outdated Stats Used to Support Attacks on Social Security
The Los Angeles Times recently ran a great article debunking a recent Wall Street Journal piece that attacked Social Security recipients. “… Put it all together, and what you get is an op-ed that appears to be based on statistics but whose import is political. Its implicit theme seems to be that disability appeals are suspect by nature, and judges who approve more than the average must be up to no good. As we’ve written before, this is a variation on ancient conservative attacks on the “undeserving poor.” Disability benefits, in truth, are hard to get; only about 40{9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872} of applicants end up with payments, even after all appeals are exhausted. Wait times are long, and the average benefit of $1,165 per …
April is Autism Month
Nearly a quarter century ago, the Autism Society launched a nationwide effort to promote autism awareness, inclusion and self-determination for all, and assure that each person with ASD is provided the opportunity to achieve the highest possible quality of life. This year we want to go beyond simply promoting autism awareness to encouraging friends and collaborators to become partners in movement toward acceptance and appreciation. Let’s embrace a new perspective. For 50 years the Autism Society has worked in communities large and small to provide services and programming, and support all individuals living with autism. Let’s ensure the acceptance and inclusion in schools and communities that results in true appreciation of the unique aspects of all people. We want to get one step closer to a …
Wondering About Taxes on Disability Benefits?
With April 15 looming on the horizon, many people ask questions about taxes on disability benefits. Some people have to pay federal income taxes on their Social Security benefits. This usually happens only if you have other substantial income (such as wages, self-employment, interest, dividends and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return) in addition to your benefits. No one pays federal income tax on more than 85 percent of his or her Social Security benefits based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. If you: If you: file a federal tax return as an “individual” and your combined income is between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits. more than $34,000, up to 85 …
US Disability Standards Strictest in the World
This is from a recent comment in the Columbus (OH) Dispatch, and very well put! The U.S. has by far the strictest set of requirements in the developed world; it is more difficult to win an award here than anywhere else. According to numerous sources, fraud amounts to less than 1 percent of total claimants. Actuaries for Social Security attribute approximately 5 percent of new applications to the economy, but at the same time, award rates dropped from 39 percent in 2007 to 33 percent in 2011. Furthermore, increases in applications were long predicted because of changing demographics. The baby boomers are aging and getting sick or injured. Considering that the first priority of the first day of the new Congress was to change a rule that likely will force Social Security …
Social Security: More than Retirement Benefits!
Social Security is more than just a retirement program. It provides important life insurance and disability insurance protection as well. In June 2012, 56 million people, or about one in every six U.S. residents, collected Social Security benefits. While three-quarters of them received benefits as retirees or elderly widow(er)s, another 11 million (19 {9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872}) received disability insurance benefits, and 2 million (4{9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872} received benefits as young survivors of deceased workers.) Workers earn life insurance and disability insurance protection by making Social Security payroll tax contributions: About 96{9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872} of people aged 20-49 who worked in jobs covered by Social Security in 2011 have earned life insurance protection through Social Security. For a young worker with average earnings, a spouse, and two children, that Social Security protection is equivalent to a…
People With ‘Invisible Disabilities’ Fight For Understanding
Some disabilities are more obvious than others. Many are immediately apparent, especially if someone relies on a wheelchair or cane. But others — known as “invisible” disabilities — are not. People who live with them face particular challenges in the workplace and in their communities…It is hard to pinpoint the number of Americans with an invisible disability, but it’s estimated there are millions. Their conditions may range from lupus to bipolar disorder or diabetes. The severity of each person’s condition varies, and the fear of stigma means that people often prefer not to talk about their illnesses. But in employment disability discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission between 2005 and 2010, the most commonly cited conditions were invisible ones, according to analysis …
Benefits Paid as Claimant Dies
Here’s a heartbreaking story from Channel 11 in Atlanta, one that underscores the importance of having a lawyer help you with your claim early on. Melissa Kern, who suffered from ALS, spent seven long years pleading with Social Security to get her Social Security Disability Benefits–and for seven long years was summarily turned down. “I was told no–flat out ignored at every turn–it was kind of heartbreaking,” her husband Chris told 11Alive’s Bill Liss. “It’s been hard with someone who is so obviously disabled for them to deny it. A lot of times, not even to look at any of the medical records and things like that, because of one technicality. To deny it out of hand astonished everybody….
Back Pain Claims Can be Challenging, But Can be Won
Cases of back pain, especially involving lower back problems, are some of the most challenging to prove in a Social Security Disability claim. Unfortunately, “objective medical findings” such as x-rays may not fully support a patient’s experience of pain and limited movement. A case of disability based on low back problems is sometimes a clear one – such as a case of a ruptured disk, particularly when surgery has failed to improve the condition. A case may also fall into the category of “other vertebrogenic disorders,” in the words of the regulation. In either case, in order to win the case, a claimant’s records must show: 1. Pain, muscle spasm, and significant limitation of motion in spine, and 2. Appropriate pain distribution and significant motor …
How Do you Qualify for Social Security Disability?
To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must first have worked in jobs covered by Social Security. Then you must have a medical condition that meets Social Security’s definition of disability. In general, we pay monthly cash benefits to people who are unable to work for a year or more because of a disability. Benefits usually continue until you are able to work again on a regular basis. There are also a number of special rules, called “work incentives,” that provide continued benefits and health care coverage to help you make the transition back to work. If you are receiving Social Security disability benefits when you reach full retirement age, your disability benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits, but the amount remains the …
How Do Non-citizens and Nonresidents Get Benefits?
Social Security pays retirement and disability benefits to tens of millions of Americans. But the program doesn’t just provide for benefits to U.S. citizens. Indeed, even as controversy rages over the status of undocumented workers for various government programs, Social Security’s rules contain many provisions for resident and nonresident aliens, and some of them shock people who didn’t realize that noncitizens could even qualify for Social Security benefits. The Motely Fool takes a look at five ways in which Social Security looks beyond citizenship when making payments to workers. 1. Many noncitizens living in the U.S. can get Social Security benefits Being a U.S. citizen isn’t a requirement for receiving Social Security. According to the Social Security Administration, noncitizens who are …