On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka the stimulus bill). This law provides for a one-time economic recovery payment of $250 to most Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries who were eligible under the programs during November or December.. read more →
According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, shrinking staff levels, a dramatically increasing workload and more complicated disabling impairments will lead to an exploding backlog of claims for social security retirement and disability claims. Staffing in Social Security field offices dropped 4.4 percent from 2005 to 2008. The agency also estimates that.. read more →
Here are the ten most common reasons why a claim for benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) may be denied on appeal, either at an administrative hearing or in Court, as identified in an article by a Social Security attorney in Decatur, GA with 30 years of SSA experience. The article was published in.. read more →
The average time it took to process a claim for benefits with Social Security Administration (SSA) in November and December 2008 was 480 days. The Newark, NJ district (covering northern New Jersey) did somewhat better, ranking 58th out of 447 districts nationwide, with an average processing time of 447 days. Looking only at disability claims,.. read more →
A recent Social Security case I got involved in brought this issue to my attention for the first time. My client, who had received Social Security disability benefits in the past, had not received any benefits during his incarceration in prison, and wanted to reinstate his benefits now that he had been released. I researched.. read more →
The Social Security Act (Act) provides a streamlined process for an attorney to obtain approval of the fee he or she wishes to charge for representing a claimant before the Social Security Administration (SSA) in claims for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits. To use that process, the attorney and the claimant must agree,.. read more →
A new Programs Operations Manual System (POMS), used by Social Security Administration employees to administer the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, has recently been issued by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for trusts under the heading “SI 01120.200 Trusts – General, Including Trusts Established Prior to 1/1/00, Trusts Established.. read more →
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued a final rule that applies the “preponderance of the evidence” standard, not the “substantial evidence” standard, to decisions made in claims at all levels of administrative review, including decisions made by an administrative law judge. 73 Fed. Reg. 76940 (Dec. 18, 2008) Preponderance of the evidence “means such.. read more →
Retirement Estimator. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a new on-line calculator that allows authenticated individuals to calculate estimates of potential retirement benefits in real time, based in part on their SSA-maintained records and in part on information they enter. The Retirement Estimator was released in July 2008. It uses different parameters and assumptions, such.. read more →
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has launched a national rollout of the agency’s Compassionate Allowances initiative, a way to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants whose medical conditions are so severe that their conditions obviously meet the SSA’s standards. “Getting benefits quickly to people with the most severe medical conditions is both the.. read more →
1. Claims for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims based on disability, usually take a long time to process. The decision on an initial claim will usually take months. If you get denied on your initial claim, and you usually will, the next step in the appeals process, called a.. read more →
Below is compilation of Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and other figures for 2009 that are of interest to the elderly, the disabled and their families. Source: ElderLawAnswers.com Medicaid Spousal Impoverishment Figures for 2009 – effective January 1, 2009 In 2009, the spouse of a Medicaid recipient living in a nursing home (called the “community spouse”).. read more →
On December 16, 2008, I spoke at the 2008 “Elder Law College”, held at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, NJ. I was the “Professor”, for one day, of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Law. This is how the NJ Institute of Continuing Legal Education described the seminar: 2008 ELDER LAW COLLEGE:.. read more →
Because much of the elder law practice population is elderly or disabled and at or below the poverty level, a basic understanding of Social Security programs (and related Medicare and Medicaid benefits) is important. Social Security Disability (“SSD”) Benefits: Available to a blind or disabled worker who: (1) applies for benefits; (2) has not reached.. read more →
The nation’s roughly 53 million elderly and disabled Social Security recipients will get their biggest pay hike since 1982 — a 5.8 percent cost of living increase in payments in 2009. This is expected to raise the average monthly payment for the typical beneficiary by $63. The 2009 increase is up from the 2.3 percent.. read more →
Many people continue to work beyond retirement age, either by choice or out of necessity. But if you are receiving Social Security benefits, working may affect your benefit payments. Earning income above Social Security thresholds can cause a reduction in benefits and mean your benefits will be taxed. If you work and are “full retirement.. read more →
In this divorce case, the trial court denied the defendant ex-husband’s post-divorce-judgment motion in which defendant sought (1) to terminate his alimony and child-support obligations, (2) relief from his obligation to maintain life insurance for the benefit of the parties’ children, and (3) a credit for Social Security benefits received by the plaintiff ex-wife for.. read more →
Fast Facts & Figures answers the most frequently asked questions about the programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). It highlights basic program data for the Social Security (retirement, survivors, and disability) and Supplemental Security Income programs. Most of the data comes from the Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, which contains.. read more →
(I acknowledge with appreciation the Academy of Special Needs Planners website and the resources available to members which I used to compile the following list of links.) PRIMARY SOURCES: Social Security Administration’s Main Page: Social Security Online – The Official Website of the U.S. Social Security Administration Social Security Administration’s “Our Program Rules” compilation of.. read more →
The federal statute concerning the stimulus checks exempts them from being counted as income by any federally funded program like Medicaid or SSI. Further, the checks are not counted as resources in the month of receipt or the following two months.The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice on this issue which.. read more →
Social Security statements now are advising recipients that Medicare does not cover long-term care expenses. The Social Security Administration recently changed the wording of its annual earnings statements at the direction of Congress to make it clear that individuals need to plan for the possibility they might eventually need long-term care. The new wording follows:.. read more →
Processing times for Social Security determinations have reached intolerable levels. For instance, the average processing time for cases at the hearing level has increased dramatically since 2000, when the average time was 274 days. In the current fiscal year, SSA estimates that the average processing time for disability claims at the hearing level will be.. read more →
New Jersey issued updated numbers for calculating Medicaid eligibility in 2008. They are: Minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance – $20,880.00 Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance – $104,400.00 Resource Allowance for an Individual – $2,000.00 Resource Allowance for a Couple (both husband and wife in a nursing home) – $3,000.00 Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance through.. read more →
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