Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that helps aged, blind and disabled people with very low income and resources pay for food, clothing and shelter. In other words, SSI is a government program based upon financial need. SSI is often confused with Social Security Disability benefits (SSD). Although both programs are administered through.. read more →
The Social Security Administration (SSA) published its annual Fact Sheet last month, showing changes to SSA benefits upcoming in 2010. I found three items of interest on the Fact Sheet: The SSA officially acknowledged that there would be no cost-of-living adjustment next year for monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The new.. read more →
Special needs trusts (also known as “supplemental needs” trusts) allow a disabled beneficiary to receive gifts, lawsuit settlements, or other funds and yet not lose his or her eligibility for certain government programs. Such trusts are drafted so that the funds will not be considered to belong to the beneficiary in determining eligibility for public.. read more →
In a ruling seen as a major setback for disabled individuals and their families, on September 1, 2009 the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted summary judgment in favor of the State of New Mexico, affirming a denial of Medicaid benefits and holding that the State could consider a special needs trust.. read more →
As reported on my blog, Judge John Malone, Presiding Judge of the Chancery Division of the Superior Court in Union County, entered an Order authorizing the Administrator of an intestate estate, i.e., an estate of a decedent who died without a will, to establish a Special Needs Trust, often referred to as a Supplemental Benefits.. read more →
The economic stimulus legislation enacted in February 2009 provides a one-time payment of $250.00 to nearly all Social Security and SSI beneficiaries who were eligible for a benefit payment in any one of the following months: November 2008, December 2008, or January 2009. SSA made these payments in May 2009. I previously blogged about the.. read more →
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the proceeds from a home sale held in an escrow account pending an agreement between a divorcing couple as to their final distribution are countable resources for purposes of determining eligibility under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. In Kelley v. Commissioner of Social Security (3rd… read more →
Here are 10 arguments that can be used effectively when appealing the denial of a Social Security or Supplemental Security Income disability claim by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ): Failure to properly evaluate mental impairment(s). The ALJ may have erred in failing to evaluate the claimant’s mental impairment and resulting functional limitations as required by.. read more →
The following excerpt is taken from a discussion between elderlaw attorneys recently posted on a listserv (or electronic bulletin board) in New Jersey: Q. – Is there a law that mandates that a disabled child maintain his/her eligibility for Medicaid when the child loses eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits as a result of.. read more →
The Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) administers the hearings and appeals program for the Social Security Administration (SSA). The ODAR has ten regional offices, 141 hearing offices, a national hearing center, and five satellite offices. There are approximately 1,100 Administrative Law Judges and 4,900 support staff in the field organization. New Jersey, along.. read more →
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. As part of the Recovery Act, nearly 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a one-time payment of $250 each. To receive a payment, the beneficiary’s address of record.. read more →
On February 17 and 18, 2009, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a series of eight Social Security Rulings clarifying and updating the SSA’s process for determining childhood disability under the “functional equivalence” rule. The functional equivalence rule is used to determine if a child meets the SSA’s definition of “disabled” when a child does.. read more →
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 →
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 →
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 →
If a person with disabilities is a veteran, a child of a veteran, the spouse of a veteran, or the parent of a veteran, the disabled person may be eligible to receive benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Moreover, the receipt of these benefits may jeopardize Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid.. 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 →
Simply defined, a trust is an agreement between two people — a grantor who donates funds to the trust and a trustee who manages those funds according to the grantor’s wishes, which are laid out in a trust document. The funds in the trust are typically used to assist a person or group, called the.. read more →
The Social Security Administration, envisaging the near-future prospect of 10,000 baby boomers applying for benefits every day for the next 20 years, has put together a new on-line service that will allow people to get their benefits without ever traveling to a Social Security field office. “We have nearly 80 million baby boomers coming in,”.. 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 →
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