Articles Tagged with SSDI

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A 56-year old disability benefits recipient was first very pleased when she got a letter form the Untied States Social Security Administration (SSA), because she was finally receiving an increase in her monthly benefits, according to a recent news article from the Mail Tribune. For many years she had been living off $766 a month in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits plus another $350 in EBT benefits (food stamps).

selfportrait2However, when she read more of the letter, she learned that she was not receiving an additional $260 in benefits each month as she had originally thought, but instead was being told she owed SSA $260.40. This amount of money she is told she now owes comes from an overpayment made to her mother over 40 years ago when claimant was still in high school. The problem had something to do with the fact that her mother allegedly improperly claimed her as a dependent, and this allowed for the overpayment to occur. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from MSNBC, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) is now suggesting a connection between the millions of Americans collecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and serious drug addiction.

1034029_medicine_2The controversy started when Cotton was making a speech at a conservative foundation and started talking about how Social Security disability benefits have changed from a safety net for those who can’t work to the “norm” where people are just expected to apply for benefits. He said this was particularly prevalent in the Southern Appalachian region of the country. Continue reading

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In Lesterhuis v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, claimant was 47 years old and had an 11th grade education. He was employed as commercial truck driver for a food distribution company. While working for employer, claimant injured his back in 2008.

901196_driverIn the years following his injury, claimant had a variety of treatments, including various surgical procedures, but there had not been much improvement in his condition.   He filed a claim for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in 2009 with his disability date listed as 2008. His claim was initially denied, so he filed a request for an administrative hearing. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits hearings are presided over by an administrative law judge (ALJ) who is employed by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA). Continue reading

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After years of fighting the Global War On Terror, there are more disabled veterans living in America who can no longer work and are no longer in the armed forces. Many of these disabled veterans are receiving benefits from the United States Veterans Administration (VA), but these benefits are not enough to make ends meet. Many of these veterans are asking whether they can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits while also collecting VA benefits. A recent article from PBS deals with this issue.

peacekeeping-soldiers-1202476-mThe article focused on a question from a person currently collecting VA benefits. He said the VA awarded him benefits with a 100 percent disability rating in 1994. He went on to say that when he applied for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, he was told he didn’t qualify, because he was already collecting VA benefits. Veteran said he accepted what they told him and didn’t pursue his case any further. He did feel bad about that fact that he had even bothered them by asking about benefits. However, he also felt a little upset, because he had paid into the system since he was 16 years old. Continue reading

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In addition to the ridiculous claims that many people who are collecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are not really as disabled as they are claiming to be, there are some allegations that people are committing outright fraud to obtaining disability benefits under false pretenses. While we see these claims surface on the news from time to time, they really represent a very minor problem in light of the nearly 10 million Americans who are truly disabled and very much in need of their monthly benefits.

hand-cuffs-12754-mAccording to a recent news article from Star Telegram, a woman who is now 53 claimed she was suffering from severe hallucinations from the age of 15. She also claimed she had other family members with severe mental illness.   According to court records, she also told screeners at the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) that her entire family was stricken with mental illness. Prosecutors are claiming this was part of an elaborate ruse to fraudulently obtain more than $500,000 in public benefits to which she and her family was not entitled. Continue reading

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Since there has been no movement toward fixing the impending budget shortfall facing the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, experts are still predicting funding for the program will run out in late 2016, and this will mean that the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) only has enough money to pay 80 percent of all disability benefits claims.

948188_learning_with_pencilBased upon the way in which the system works, there will be about nine million Social Security Disability Insurance benefits recipients who will be facing a 20 percent reduction in benefits late next year. In order to prevent this from happening, several think tanks and public policy organizations have been making suggestions as to how Congress can avert the budget shortfall and help make sure the this same thing does not happen again in the future. Continue reading

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There have been many speeches about how we can overhaul the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and how we must do so before the money runs out. It should be noted that there are currently around 11 million Americans collecting benefits, including nearly two million children.

question-mark-1323680-mChildren collect what is what is known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is available to disabled children living in low-income households. The difference between Supplemental Security Income benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits is that SSI benefits do not require claimant to have any work history. It makes sense that it is available to children and elderly or blind adults who have never worked a day in their lives. However, unlike with Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, the total household income is taken into account, and there are very rigid income guidelines. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from the Los Angeles Times, Social Security disability recipients have been a virtual “punching bag” for those who are opposed to funding the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).

1088940_2_annual_reports__3However, it seems like they do not have evidence to support their long-standing scapegoating practice. A blue-ribbon Technical Panel group recently performed a full analysis of the Social Security programs and released a report to the Social Security Board of Trustees. A lot of this report focused on the reasons for the somewhat recent increase in the number of Americans receiving disability benefits. Continue reading

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Everyone who has suffered a disability and is contemplating filing for Social Security Disability Insurance (SDDI) benefits is probably aware that it is often a difficult process to get their applications for benefits approved by the Social Security Administration (SSA). And the process takes a long time to complete.

1100587_hospital_handIt would make sense that people who are terminally ill and may not have a long time left to live would be given priority to obtain approval for their SSDI benefits, and SSA even has some specific cases where this occurs, but the reality of the situation is that most people, including the terminally ill, have at least six months of waiting before getting approved for benefits. This is assuming they get approved, which, for many unrepresented claimants, is also no easy task. Continue reading

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According to a recent news feature from Forbes, the media focus on the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and the United States Social Security Agency (SSA), which oversees the disability benefits program, is nothing new.

money-choise-concept-1439274-mIn 2013, NPR ran a series explaining how the number of Americans collecting disability benefits was increasing and showed the SSDI program as being outdated and mismanaged. It also implied many of the people collecting Social Security disability benefits were exaggerating their illnesses or other disability to get benefits to which they were not rightfully entitled. The exaggeration of benefits is known as malingering by administrative law judges (ALJs) who oversee hearings and make determinations as to whether a denial of benefits by SSA employees was correct. Continue reading

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