SSI Tag Archives — Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog

April 8, 2017

Legal Help With Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Cases

When we talk about Social Security disability benefits, we are generally talking about what is formally known as the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. This is a program whereby people who work have money taken out of their paychecks, along with their state, federal, and, sometimes, local income tax, and that money is put in a disability fund. In the event that they become disabled and apply for benefits, if they have paid enough money into the system, they can collect benefits, assuming they are found disabled.

In a recent case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, a claimant was denied for what is known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) runs this program, as they do with the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits program, but this program is not for people who have worked and earned credits to qualify for SSDI benefits. Continue reading

March 17, 2017

Disabled SSI Recipients Given a Chance to Build Savings

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Up until very recently, recipients of SSI benefits – or Supplemental Security Income – were not allowed to build any sort of savings account beyond $2,000. Many have long argued this is a grave disservice, particularly for those individuals who are able to work to some degree.

But as The New York Times recently reported, recipients risked losing their much-needed benefits if they started to compile even a meager savings beyond that $2,000. Take, for example, the 27-year-old man with Down syndrome profiled. He works two jobs – one folding towels at a local gym and another taking tickets at a nearby movie theater. However, he was never allowed to keep more than $2,000 in the bank at any given time, otherwise he’d lose the SSI benefits on which he heavily relied.

Now, a new kind of savings account is giving this young man and others an opportunity to begin saving more cash. It’s called an ABLE account, and it allows people with disabilities and their families to save up to $14,000 annually – without losing any benefits. Continue reading

January 31, 2016

Social Security Disability Issues with Adult Disabled Children

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A recent news feature from Forbes deals with a rather complex issue involving Social Security disability benefits for adult children with disabilities. While the term “adult children” sounds a bit odd, we are talking about someone’s son or daughter who is now an adult.

The article followed a couple that went to the Social Security Administration (SSA) office to deal with an issue involving their Social Security Old Age and Retirement benefits. This is what most people think of when they are talking about Social Security benefits. These are benefits you receive if you have worked and paid taxes and reach a certain age when you are supposed to be able to retire. Continue reading

December 20, 2015

Report: Thousands Do not Receive Social Security Disability Checks this Month

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There is no question that applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits can be a long and difficult process, especially for the claimant who is not represented by experienced disability counsel. Once a claimant finally gets declared disabled and is deemed eligible for Social Security benefits, he she will obviously depend on those benefits to make ends meet and help take care of his or her family. If those benefits were to stop being deposited in claimant’s bank account without warning, that would not only be inconvenient, but could subject a claimant to a significant hardship.

According to a recent news article form Kiro 7 News, thousands of Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries were shocked to discover the monthly direct deposit for their disability benefits was not made last month. The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) has stated that there was some kind of problem with the Supplemental Security Income benefits payment file. Continue reading

December 16, 2015

Differences Between SSDI and SSI

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is the federal agency responsible for the oversight and administration of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. These are two different programs. While both programs are designed to provide benefits for disabled Americans, they operate differently and have different requirements for qualification for disability benefits.

In a recent news article from Public Opinion, a manager from a local SSA office explained the difference between Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. As the manager describes, Social Security Disability Insurance is based upon the prior earnings of a disabled claimant. This program obtains funding by taxes workers pay into Social Security taxes, which are withheld from each paycheck. Continue reading

July 10, 2015

Social Security Disability Benefits for Children

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When people think of the Social Security disability benefits program, they are normally thinking of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. SSDI is a program where workers have taxes withheld from their paychecks each pay period. Some of the tax withheld goes to federal and state income and some goes to fund federal benefits programs like the Social Security programs. However, the money is then further divided and some goes to fund the Social Security retirement fund and some goes to fund the Social Security disability programs. SSDI is one of these programs.

After paying taxes by working for a specific number of fiscal quarters in a row, workers earn credits into the SSDI program. Essentially, every worker is paying a premium for disability insurance in case that worker suffers an injury or illness that causes a disability and prevents that person from working full or part time. Continue reading