The Need of a Social Security Lawyer in Updating a Hearing Testimony

Getting through the hearing process can be quite a hassle. If you are under stress in dealing with this stage of the appeals process, it is quite common to forget certain things that are worth mentioning to the administrative law judge (ALJ) who is handling your case. In this regard, you may be thinking if you can do something about updating your testimony for the hearing.

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In essence, you may feel like doing so if the information that you need for the update would be very important in shifting your chances of winning the case at the disability hearing. Good thing there are ways in which you can update your testimony, especially if you forgot to bring up that so-called “missing link” to help the ALJ veer towards an approval.

For this to happen, you must have first retained the services of an expert disability attorney. To begin with, since your claim is denied, it would be very useful for you if you work with a lawyer at this stage of the appeals process. If you have one, then your two-way communication with the ALJ will go through your representative first.

In this sense, if you want to update your hearing testimony with the ALJ who is handling your case, it is best that you consult with your attorney first. You must let your attorney know about what you left out in the testimony, and ask him or her to submit the information to your judge through writing.

Meanwhile, if you don’t have a lawyer from the start of the disability appeals process, it is best that you should retain one at the soonest possible time. As it is, not having one would just hurt your chances of winning back your disability benefits, therefore resulting in another denial and another stage of the appeals process, which is the Appeals Council.

Incidentally, as early as now, you may want to retain the services of an attorney, even at the initial application process. If you are living in California, you may retain the services of any Los Angeles Social Security disability lawyers to boost your chances of getting an approval.

After Disability Claim Approval, What’s Next?

The feeling of overwhelming joy and exuberance rules over a lot of approved disability claimants every year. Waiting for months just for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to decide on their claims finally ends with a proverbial sigh of relief.

At last, Social Security applicants, now beneficiaries, can collect benefits while they are trying to improve their status of health after they were held out of work because of disabling medical conditions.

Now the “waiting game” is out of the picture, and that they are bound to receive their first monthly payment, a lot of them may wonder and ask this question: “What’s next?”

What to do next when your Disability Claim gets approved?

Most Social Security disability beneficiaries may think that their only focus is collecting monthly benefits from the SSA. However, every one of them must remember that they should still carry the responsibility of dealing with their Social Security status, especially if there are changes in certain aspects in their lives, such as living arrangements and the like.

Here is a list of what newly-approved individuals must prepare and must know regarding their Social Security case:

·         Continuing disability review. The SSA, from time to time, may ask you to undergo a continuing disability review. The purpose of this is for the federal agency to see if your disabling condition still meets the qualifying criteria that will determine if you may still continue receiving disability benefits. The disability review would depend on the severity of your condition and your likelihood of improvement.

·         Medicare. If you are a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiary, you may be eligible for Medicare, the United States’ top health insurance program. If you have been entitled for benefits for 24 months, you are then eligible to receive Medicare benefits on the next month.

·         Changes in living arrangements. It is your responsibility as a Social Security beneficiary to inform the SSA about certain changes in your living arrangements.

·         If you are moving to another state, you don’t have to re-apply for disability benefits again. If you are a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiary, you must be aware of the changes in the state supplemental payments. Not all states are the same in terms of the amount of the supplemental payments they provide to their constituents who are receiving SSI benefits.

Beneficiaries may need the expertise of Los Angeles Social Security Claim Lawyers in case their disability cases are denied. They may be denied once they failed to inform the SSA about any changes, or the continuing disability review proves that their health has improved.

SSA Beneficiaries to Receive Electronic Payments by 2013

The year 2013 marks a new chapter in the history of the Social Security Administration (SSA). It was announced by the federal agency that starting March of next year, all benefits will be paid electronically. This means that next year, every SSA beneficiary won’t be relying on their mailboxes anymore for them to receive their monthly disability benefits.

This development won’t only affect the SSA and its beneficiaries, but also beneficiaries who are receiving veteran’s benefits, railroad pensions, and federal disability payments. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) even strongly encourages taxpayers to process their tax refunds with the use of the electronic method.

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Last year, the SSA told those who were planning to apply for Social Security benefits on or after May 1, 2011 that electronic payments would be given to them. Anyone who is thinking of applying for Social Security disability or retirement benefits this year may still receive checks via mail after getting approved. But with the March 2013 deadline looming, every new beneficiary is now encouraged to sign up for electronic payments.

Before, disability checks sent through mail was the SSA’s primary method of payment. But because of the rising incidents of fraud and lost or stolen benefits in the mail delivery system, the SSA decided it was time to switch to the electronic method.

The SSA’s effort to exclusively send payments electronically from March 2013 onwards is seen by the federal agency as a cost-cutting measure. The SSA, with the switch to the electronic mode of payment, will save the federal government nearly $120 million. For the next ten years, the SSA will be saving up to $1 billion dollars.

For those who are still receiving benefits via mail, here are some options in which they can sign up for the electronic method:

A.      Direct deposit

B.      Direct Express® card program

C.      Electronic Transfer Account

Signing up for any of the above options must be done before the deadline next year. They can contact their nearest bank or their nearest Social Security office for further inquiries.

Source: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10153.pdf

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dont-wait-social-security-check-120033750.html

Dealing with SSI Overpayments

If you are a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiary, you are expected to receive an exact amount of monetary benefits. The amount is based on your “limited” income and resources. However, a monthly SSI payment may exceed more than the amount you are expected to receive. The difference of the payment you received and the amount due is called an overpayment.

There are many reasons for having SSI overpayments. First, your income may be more than what was estimated prior to your approval of your SSI claim. Then, you may have more resources than the set criteria for possible beneficiaries.

Another is that you may have failed to inform the SSA about any changes in your living arrangements such as divorce, marriage, separation, or having a child. And then, you may have also provided insufficient information that caused the SSA to give you a large sum of monetary benefits.

If the SSA has knowledge of your overpayment, they will send you a notice asking you to fully refund the excess amount within a month. The notice also contains the following guidelines in case you failed to refund the overpayment:

·         The withholding of the overpayment at 10-percent rate from your total income

·         The month the withholding scheme would start

·         Instructions for appealing

·         Instruction on how the overpayment can be reviewed and waived by the SSA

If you know that you are not overpaid, you can file an appeal through the reconsideration process. You have 10 days to appeal your case, starting from the date you received the notice from the SSA. You can still receive monthly SSI payments until the SSA decides on your case.

If you know that you are receiving overpayments but you believe it is not your fault, you can ask for a recovery waiver. You can secure a request for waiver form (SSA-632) anytime. You can also ask for a waiver if you have to use the overpayment for your monthly expenses. You must provide proof of billing. You must have also possessed hardship in repaying the overpayment.

If ever you get in this kind of situation, solicit the legal counsel of a social security disability benefits attorney. You can be sure that his or her expertise will help you with your problems regarding SSI overpayments.

Important Paperwork That You Need to Fill Out When Applying for SSDI

The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program is a Social Security program that provides monthly benefits to approved disability claimants on the basis of their medical condition or “disability” and their inability to work because of it. 

You must have worked long enough to earn work credits to become eligible for SSDI benefits. You must also have a physical or mental condition that is expected to last for at least a year or longer and that prevents you from doing manual work.

When applying for SSDI benefits, it is important that you first establish your disability claim. You may start by gathering information about your medical condition and your employment history.

Your doctor’s statements regarding your limitations, as well as your clinical and lab test results and record of your previous employments, will greatly help the SSA in deciding whether or not you are eligible for disability benefits.

In establishing a disability claim, it is not enough that you provide the abovementioned records and documents. You must also take time in filling out paperwork provided by the SSA. This will help the federal agency understand more about your overall situation as well as help them in deciding if you are eligible for benefits or not.

Here are the three forms that constitute the needed paperwork that you must accomplish and submit together with your medical and employment records:

·         Application for Disability Insurance Benefits (Form SSA-16-F6)

It is important that you fully accomplish this form, as this will inform the SSA that you are applying for SSDI benefits. The form contains basic information, as well as questions that seek brief answers.

·         Adult Disability Report Form (SSA Form 3368-BK)

This 14-page document contains detailed questions that tackle your past employment, educational attainment, medications that you take, and your medical treatment. The first two pages of the document give you instructions on how to fully accomplish the document. The accomplished form will serve as your input in providing the SSA with information regarding your disability and your inability to work.

·         Social Security Disability Medical Authorization (Form SSA-827)

Accomplishing this form means that you are allowing health care providers, educational institutions, insurance providers, and other individuals to provide to the SSA any important records, such as medical documents, necessary for evaluating your claim.

Documents that Applicants Would Need for Social Security Disability Claims

A former worker who has met an accident or infirmity that led him or her to stop working may find assistance through the social security disability benefits. This is a collective term used to describe the two programs under the Social Security Administration (SSA). Through the social security disability benefits, surely any granted application would help a former worker to compensate for their losses and even get them through costly medication. 

Moreover, if the applicant was severely disabled and couldn’t afford to go to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) office, he or she may apply through the website of the aforementioned government agency. It is already a thing of the past to go to government agencies by foot, today, through the internet transactions are made in real time at the comfort of one’s own home. Normally like any other program or policy that is given by the government, there shall be of course requirements that needed to be fulfilled to avail the claim, they include the following:

Requirements

Before giving all of the things that are written under the list, it is vital to first know if the applicant is able to get the considerable amount of tax requirements as well as the length of working tenure to qualify. Here is the list of the documents that would be needed in being able to apply for the social security disability:

• Social security number of the applicant as well as their immediate family members
• Birth certificate as a proof of citizenship
• The bank account number wherein the benefits will be placed once approved
• The applicant must be 18 years old above
• The person applying must be disabled for the past 12 months or more.
• If the one who applies came from the military service and got the disability there, he or she shall need the DD 214 Form or the Military Service Discharge Information.
• Those who are formerly employed shall need the W-2 Form or IRS 1040 from the last year. If it so happens that the applicant is self employed they will need the Schedules C and SE.