You have applied for Social Security Disability (SSDI) benefits. The first thing they want to know is whether you are now working at 'substantial gainful activity'
or SGA for short. If you are, you are not entitled to benefits no matter how severe your impairments are.
What is SGA, anyway, and why the big fuss? Social Security takes the attitude that if a person is engaged in substantial work activity they are definitely not disabled under the law, not entitled to any SSDI or SSI benefit.
In 2016, you are performing substantial gainful activity if you are working and earning at least $1,130 from this work (before tax).
Note: It is not the income that is disqualifying, it is the work activity.
There are no means tests (financial tests) for SSDI benefits. An individual does not have to be poor to get SSDI. For example, a person might receive a pension or private retirement income and still get SSDI. He or she might receive child support payments, alimony, annuities, or income from investments or rental properties, and still qualify for SSDI. But if that income comes from working, whether salary, wages, commissions, tips, or whatever--then $1,130 per month is the limit.
So, the first thing Social Security will look at is the work activity that the claimant is now performing. Does it rise to the level of substantial gainful activity? If not, the case can go forward. If the claimant is engaged in SGA, however, the claim stops at step 1. The medical evidence will not even be considered.
Common Question: "I am still working full time. However, I am being forced into medical retirement in 6 months because of my poor health. May I apply for SSDI now, so the benefit can be ready when I actually stop working in 6 months?" ANSWER: Unfortunately, no. Social Security will look at your work as of the application date. You cannot be approved for a future disability, even if you know when you will stop working.
NOTE: There are special rules for Wounded Warriors, disabled veterans who became disabled while in active military service. They may be able to apply for SSDI while still receiving active military pay if they are unable to perform their job duties.
Saturday, October 1, 2016
PROBLEMS YOU WILL HAVE WITH SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
Social Security's in-house legal system, the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, is larger than the entire regular federal court system, including the district courts, appeal courts and Supreme Court put together. When you file an appeal on a Social Security disability claim you take a number that puts you at the back of the line. There are more than 1 million people ahead of you. Your wait time will be about 15 months for a hearing.
Claimants sometimes die waiting to get a hearing. My office has lost two clients in the last 3 months who died while waiting for a hearing. There is nothing we, or anyone else, can do to speed things up.
Upon filing an initial application for disability benefits, there is only a 3 out of 10 chance of being approved. The others must appeal and wait 15 months for a hearing.
At the hearing, you will have to prove to an administrative law judge with no medical training that you are really disabled. The vocational "Bible" that they use is called the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), an outdated relic from the Great Depression, last published in 1991. It still lists such jobs as mule driver, horse and wagon driver, switchboard operator and telegraph deliverer. (Western Union sent its last telegraph in 2006). The DOT doesn't mention the internet at all.
By law, you have prove your disability with medical records. Doctor's records often look like careless chicken scratches. Maybe a drunken chicken. The judge will spend hours trying to read the records and decide whether you meet the legal definition of disabled or not. In 58 percent of cases, they will decide that you are not.
At the hearing, you may also have to deal with technical issues involving things like alleged onset date, date last insured, substantial gainful activity, past relevant work or whether alcohol or substance abuse is material to your case.
Enter the disability attorney or representative. He or she has been trained and experienced to sit by the claimant's side and help wade through the technicalities, explaining to the judge why you are entitled to benefits. Much of the representative's work took place in the months before the hearing--complex and delicate planning that, hopefully, will allow the hearing to go smoothly and result in a favorable decision.
That favorable decision, by the way, will come with an annual benefit for the average claimant amounting to about $14,000 cash per year. It will also provide Medicare (or in some cases Medicaid) health insurance that will allow many claimants the first opportunity for medical care since they lost their ability to work. The lifetime value of an SSDI award has been estimated between $300,000 and $411,000, not counting the medical insurance benefits.
If you are unable to work and have been denied SSDI benefits, please contact the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL. PHONE (256) 799-0297.
Free initial consultations and answers to your questions. Never any cost to you until you win and are paid past due benefits. Call (256) 799-0297.
Claimants sometimes die waiting to get a hearing. My office has lost two clients in the last 3 months who died while waiting for a hearing. There is nothing we, or anyone else, can do to speed things up.
Upon filing an initial application for disability benefits, there is only a 3 out of 10 chance of being approved. The others must appeal and wait 15 months for a hearing.
At the hearing, you will have to prove to an administrative law judge with no medical training that you are really disabled. The vocational "Bible" that they use is called the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), an outdated relic from the Great Depression, last published in 1991. It still lists such jobs as mule driver, horse and wagon driver, switchboard operator and telegraph deliverer. (Western Union sent its last telegraph in 2006). The DOT doesn't mention the internet at all.
By law, you have prove your disability with medical records. Doctor's records often look like careless chicken scratches. Maybe a drunken chicken. The judge will spend hours trying to read the records and decide whether you meet the legal definition of disabled or not. In 58 percent of cases, they will decide that you are not.
At the hearing, you may also have to deal with technical issues involving things like alleged onset date, date last insured, substantial gainful activity, past relevant work or whether alcohol or substance abuse is material to your case.
Enter the disability attorney or representative. He or she has been trained and experienced to sit by the claimant's side and help wade through the technicalities, explaining to the judge why you are entitled to benefits. Much of the representative's work took place in the months before the hearing--complex and delicate planning that, hopefully, will allow the hearing to go smoothly and result in a favorable decision.
That favorable decision, by the way, will come with an annual benefit for the average claimant amounting to about $14,000 cash per year. It will also provide Medicare (or in some cases Medicaid) health insurance that will allow many claimants the first opportunity for medical care since they lost their ability to work. The lifetime value of an SSDI award has been estimated between $300,000 and $411,000, not counting the medical insurance benefits.
If you are unable to work and have been denied SSDI benefits, please contact the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL. PHONE (256) 799-0297.
Free initial consultations and answers to your questions. Never any cost to you until you win and are paid past due benefits. Call (256) 799-0297.
GETTING SSDI DISABILITY IN ALABAMA
The Forsythe Firm has helped disabled clients win an estimated $200 million in Social Security benefits.*
The firm will provide you with a free consultation. If we represent you, you will never pay a fee or expense until you have won your case and been awarded back payments.
Social Security has 2 programs: SSDI for individuals with a qualifying recent work history and SSI (a disability program for low income individuals).
You may qualify for SSDI if you......
___ Worked until at least 2010.
___ Are not presently working with substantial wages
___ Have a severe medical condition that will last at least 12 consecutive months (physical or mental).
Have consistent and recent medical records.
You might also qualify for SSDI widows or widowers benefits on a deceased spouse's work record.
Dependent children of the disabled worker may also be eligible for benefits if they are under age 19 and have not graduated high school.
Be aware that according to Social Security, almost 70 percent of disability applications are denied. There is no "Reconsideration" process in Alabama. If you are denied, you request a hearing with an administrative law judge within 60 days of the denial letter. At the hearing, the average approval rate is higher, especially with experienced representation.
The Forsythe Firm will answer questions about your disability and offer a free case evaluation. If we agree to represent you, we will guide you toward properly filing an application, help you obtain medical evidence, prepare any appeals necessary and attend hearings as your representative. Initial consultations are free. There's never a charge unless you receive past due payments.
Location: We are directly in front of the Bridge Street Town Center at 7027 Old Madison Pike NW, Suite 108, Huntsville, AL 35806, a few miles east of the airport. Convenient to Madison and I-565. PHONE (256) 799-0297.
____________
*Includes past due benefits and average lifetime benefits. The Forsythe Firm is a private professional firm not affiliated with the US Government or the Social Security Administration. No guarantee is made as to the outcome of any case.
The firm will provide you with a free consultation. If we represent you, you will never pay a fee or expense until you have won your case and been awarded back payments.
Social Security has 2 programs: SSDI for individuals with a qualifying recent work history and SSI (a disability program for low income individuals).
You may qualify for SSDI if you......
___ Worked until at least 2010.
___ Are not presently working with substantial wages
___ Have a severe medical condition that will last at least 12 consecutive months (physical or mental).
Have consistent and recent medical records.
You might also qualify for SSDI widows or widowers benefits on a deceased spouse's work record.
Dependent children of the disabled worker may also be eligible for benefits if they are under age 19 and have not graduated high school.
Be aware that according to Social Security, almost 70 percent of disability applications are denied. There is no "Reconsideration" process in Alabama. If you are denied, you request a hearing with an administrative law judge within 60 days of the denial letter. At the hearing, the average approval rate is higher, especially with experienced representation.
The Forsythe Firm will answer questions about your disability and offer a free case evaluation. If we agree to represent you, we will guide you toward properly filing an application, help you obtain medical evidence, prepare any appeals necessary and attend hearings as your representative. Initial consultations are free. There's never a charge unless you receive past due payments.
Location: We are directly in front of the Bridge Street Town Center at 7027 Old Madison Pike NW, Suite 108, Huntsville, AL 35806, a few miles east of the airport. Convenient to Madison and I-565. PHONE (256) 799-0297.
____________
*Includes past due benefits and average lifetime benefits. The Forsythe Firm is a private professional firm not affiliated with the US Government or the Social Security Administration. No guarantee is made as to the outcome of any case.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)