Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog

For much of last year, the media was running frequent articles about the Social Security disability fund and how it would run out of money in late 2016. We heard that if Congress did not come to an agreement to fully fund the program, there would be as many as 11 million Americans who would see their Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) benefits checks cut by just less than 20 percent.

While many Democrats were urging GOP to resolve this upcoming budgetary crisis as soon as possible, many GOP presidential hopefuls vowed not to award any more money until Congress agrees to a major overhaul of the program. There were those who felt the federal disability program should not be administrated by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) as they were seen as an unnecessary middleman. Continue reading

Many opponents, including recent presidential hopefuls for the GOP nomination, like to claim that most claimants are gaming the system and are not really disabled. Senator Rand Paul was one of the biggest proponents of this theory. He basically accused everyone of the 11 million disabled Americans with malingering and pretending to be sicker they actually were to get benefits because they didn’t want to work. We know that his could not be farther from the truth.

However, this is not to say that fraud of the system never occurs, but rather that any actual fraud incidents make up a very small fraction of the total number of claimants paid each year. When someone does allegedly commit the fraud, the authorities crack down very hard on the defendant not only in hopes of punishing that person, but in deterring others from trying to do the same or similar thing in terms of benefits fraud. Continue reading

According to a recent news article from the Glen Rose Reporter, there will not be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase in the amount of money Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries receive each month.

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program is disability benefits program the the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) and is designed to provide monthly benefits for children living with disabilities in a low income household. The Supplemental Security Income program is also for elderly or blind disabled Americans. Unlike the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, a person seeking SSI must only prove they are disabled and have a total household income that is below the guideline’s maximum. Continue reading

As the campaign season for the party presidential nominations moves along, we continue to hear about the Social Security disability programs, including the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the somewhat lesser known Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.   Mostly, it is the GOP hopefuls who are intent on overhauling the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), and in some cases even shutting down the entire agency and privatizing the disability benefits system in the United States.

The main reason for these proposals is a rather misguided belief that the vast majority of Americans claiming a disability are basically pretending to be more ill than they are (malingering), because they would rather stay home and collect a check than work for a living. This is the basic “entitlements” argument, and, for the most part, it could not be farther from the truth. Continue reading

When determining if someone is disabled, or still disabled once they have already been awarded benefits, the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) first must determine if claimant engaged in substantial gainful activity during the period when claimant asserted that he or she was disabled. This is technically the first part of a five-part test that is supposed to be used by all SSA administrative law judges (ALJs).

Basically, the first question is whether claimant worked enough while he or she was disqualifying the applicant from claiming a disability for the purpose of being awarded Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. If the claimant had worked too much, then he or she would not be entitled to benefits. If claimant was already receiving monthly disability benefits and went back to work part time, he or should would likely have all benefits terminated. This, however, creates a major problem, as Congress doesn’t want people who could work staying out of the workforce for fear of losing benefits, so they have created the ticket to work program as a way to ease back into the workforce without losing benefits until claimant can support him or herself. Continue reading

People often use term “entitlements” or “entitlement program” when they are speaking out against the state and federal social service programs that allow people to take care of their families and make ends meet. While there are many misconceptions about the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, it is not a program that anyone could rightfully call an entitlements program.

The reason for this is because the Social Security Disability Insurance program works a lot like a private insurance policy that covers a long term disability. In order to qualify for SSDI, a worker must be employed for enough consecutive fiscal quarters to earn the requisite number of credits. If an employee has enough quarterly credits at the time of becoming disabled, he or she is said to have paid into the system. This is much like paying a premium in a private long term disability plan. Continue reading

Pearson v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, involves a claimant who had worked at a variety of different jobs. He was a press operator at a plastics factory and a grounds keeper to name a couple. Claimant was working at his last job when he was laid off in February 2009.

Six weeks after being laid off from his job, he applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. He claimed his disability was related to spinal arthritis, degenerative joint disease, and a torn rotator cuff in one shoulder. He also said he suffered from shin splints, artery disease in his lower extremities, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a hiatal hernia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Continue reading