The post Getting the Earnings Record Right appeared first on Law Office of Geri N. Kahn.
]]>In both SSI and SSDI cases, the issue of earnings arises at the first step of the disability evaluation. The adjudicator determines if the claimant is working and if so, then determines whether it is substantial gainful activity. (In 2014, substantial gainful activity (“SGA”) was equivalent to earnings of $1070 a month, for a non-blind person. In 2022 it is $2260.) It is not uncommon in a disability case for a claimant to have stopped working but then again resume working at a reduced level of hours. If the person is making over $2260 (in 2022 dollars) he or she is not considered disabled. (There are exceptions to this, of course.) The adjudicator looks to the earnings record as well as other earnings information to make this determination.
The earnings record also comes up at the third step in disability evaluation. At that step, the adjudicator is determining what kind of work you did in the past. The adjudicator looks back to the last 15 years. I have seen cases in which employment was listed that my client did not perform, or vice versa, employment was not listed but my client had performed it.
It is in your best interest to obtain your earnings record and check it. There are two ways of doing this. The first is to go online and set up what Social Security calls “My Social Security.” After you create your account, you may obtain an online earnings record. This will not be a detailed record but you can see the years of your employment and check to see if the amounts listed are correct. There is no charge to obtain your record online.
If you would like to obtain a detailed earnings statement which will list years and names of employers, you must complete SSA Form 7050-F4, Request for Social Security Earnings Information. The Social Security Administration charges $102.00 for this request.
With a case that is at the hearing stage, we normally do not see earnings information in the record until a few weeks before the hearing if at all. Sometimes I have been at the hearing and the Judge orders a new report to be run right then. We then find out too late that there are errors in the record. With Social Security’s expanded online access, we now have the capability to check online and obtain at least the basic information. We all should be doing so, even if we are not applying for disability. It is important to make sure the earnings record is correct.
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]]>The post Social Security Administration fails to reduce initial claims backlog due to funding appeared first on Law Office of Geri N. Kahn.
]]>As background, the SSA in November 2010 released a report on its strategy to reduce initial disability claims. They outlined a four part plan: (1) increase staffing at Disability Determination Services (“DDS”), (2) improve efficiency through automation; (3) expand the use of screening tools to streamline claims likely to be allowed, and (4) refine policies and business processes to expedite cases.
The OIG examined each of these four areas. As to increased staffing, they noted that from Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2008-2010, the number of DDS employees increased by 3000. Also by the end of FY 2010, the SSA had over an additional 400 disability examiners at its federal disability processing units compared to FY 2008.
As to their goal of automating processes, the OIG noted that SSA has initiated several systems. (They did not evaluate how well these were working.)
In the third area, the SSA has increased its ability to screen the most severely disabled claimants through two new programs – compassionate allowances and quick disability determinations. In FY 2014, the SSA expects to identify 6.1 percent of all disability cases using these programs, up from 4.6 percent in FY 2010.
As to the fourth area, SSA has refined its polices and business processes to expedite case processing but the OIG did not state how well this was working.
The OIG also noted that the SSA has initiated other programs to increase efficiency and reduce the backlog. These included the creation of a “Disability Case Processing System” and a “National Vendor File.” The systems are not yet fully instituted.
The SSA’s efforts in these areas worked at the beginning. Initial disability claims pending decreased for 3 consecutive years from a high of 842,000 in FY 2008 to 698,000 in FY 2013. SSA was striving for a goal of 525,000 initial disability claims for 2014. Unfortunately they did not make it. The SSA indicated that the inability to reach this goal was due to decreased and/or uncertain funding. They have not been able to replace staff losses at DDS offices. As a result, DDS staffing in FY 2013 was the same as it was in FY 2008. Moreover, in FY 2013, initial claims receipts were almost 15% higher than they were in FY 2008. While SSA felt they could keep processing times at a reasonable level, they could no longer reach their goal of reducing the backlog. They therefore were no longer striving to reach their goal or any goal.
The OIG recommended that SSA create a new goal given the funding that they have been given. The SSA agreed with OIG’s recommendation and in comments to the report, has now stated that their goal is 642,000 for FY 2014 with a processing time of 109 days.
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]]>The post Thoughts on applying for SSDI after the end of DOMA appeared first on Law Office of Geri N. Kahn.
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“Are you married?” This is the question I asked today of my client when we were filling out her form for disability insurance benefits. In the past, I would not bother asking that question when my client was in a same-sex relationship; I always indicated “single,” on the application. Today I paused. I asked my client and her partner when they got married. It turns out they were married in California during that short window of time in 2008 when it was legal. Now it is legal again.
The US Supreme Court today struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), a law that denied federal benefits to same-sex partners. They also found a ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional by deciding that supporters of Proposition 8 did not have standing to appeal a federal district court ruling that struck the ban down. By their decision, the
justices permitted a lower-court ruling to stand that had found the ban
unconstitutional. It is a coincidence that I happened to see my clients today, on the same day the Supreme Court issued their decisions.
I later had to call Social Security about this case. The claims representative asked me why my client was not applying for SSI. I explained that her partner was working and earned too much money – was over the resource limit. I could tell he was puzzled by all of this. Well, you take the bad with the good. Some individuals who may have otherwise been eligible for SSI because they were indigent, may no longer be if they are married and their partner is working.
My client does not want to be applying for disability at this point in her life. She would be rather be working and she is extremely depressed. Nevertheless, saying that she was “married,’ brought a smile to her face. Mine too.
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]]>The post Social Security launches new site for mobile users but they do not answer their phone appeared first on Law Office of Geri N. Kahn.
]]>This is all great if you have an unlimited data plan and you feel like spending your time cruising around the Social Security website. Of course, if you try to call their 800 number using a smartphone, you will use up all your minutes and then incur additional charges. Despite all of the advances in technology they have not found a way to help you when you call. You will be placed on indefinite hold and then when you reach a live person, you are unlikely to obtain a real answer to your question. Perhaps they should place their limited resources in assisting the public the “old-fashioned” way, by talking to people when they call.
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]]>The post Free workshop in Vallejo on navigating through the Social Security Disability Process appeared first on Law Office of Geri N. Kahn.
]]>- Overview of the application process
- What you need to know before applying for Social Security Disability
- Tips on how to obtain evidence to help your case
- The differences between SSDI and SSI
- SSI resource limit
- Statistics on approval and denial rates
- Procedures for appealing
The workshop is open to the public and will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For more information, please see the attached Flyer.
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]]>The post Ongoing medical treatment – essential for your health and to your case appeared first on Law Office of Geri N. Kahn.
]]>Too often my clients think that they cannot go to the doctor because they do have money for insurance. It may be true that you cannot go to some doctors because you do not have insurance but fortunately there is a way to receive medical care if you are resident of Solano county. If you do not have money to pay for health insurance and you meet other financial eligibility criteria, you may apply for CMSP (County Medical Services Program), through the county welfare department. If you are approved, you may receive medical treatment including prescription medications.
Help yourself by seeking out the treatment you need. Help your case by obtaining the treatment so that the judge can see that you are doing all you can to help yourself and that there is medical evidence to support your statements as to why you cannot work.
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