Household Income Limits For Social Security Disability – Our Underwood Law Social Security Disability Attorneys are dedicated to helping YOU get the disability benefits you deserve.
If you are considering applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or your case has been denied, we can take you through every step of the application or appeal process, from start to finish. The best part is that we can do it for you at no cost.
Household Income Limits For Social Security Disability
The government has not made obtaining SSDI or SSI benefits easy. There is endless paperwork to complete and complicated guidelines to determine whether or not you are eligible. Our qualified attorneys are specialists in Social Security disability law and have a much greater chance of obtaining the maximum benefits for you. If you have been denied, it is even more important to have successful Social Security Disability Litigation Attorneys on your side.
Program Financial Guidelines For Certain Masshealth Applicants And Members
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has its own set of rules for determining disability. These rules are an endless source of confusion for medical providers who want to be helpful and great frustration for claimants who are denied and don’t understand why.
To be found ineligible under Social Security or SSI standards, we must prove that our clients are completely unable to do any kind of full-time work – even the lightest kind of work. Most other disability insurance programs only require proof that a person cannot return to previous work.
SSA calls its standards for disability the “List of Disabilities.” It is part of the Code of Federal Regulations, a publication about 70 pages long.’ This relatively short document sets out disability standards for most physical and mental disorders.
The “Listings”, as they are known, are quite comprehensive. Rare conditions are harder to prove, but most disabled people can fit somewhere in the Listings, and in fact can fit into more than one if there is a combination of disabilities.
Expanding Social Security
At the third step in the process, Social Security checks to see if a person “meets” the list of disabilities. Does the diagnosis and list of symptoms match those shown anywhere in the lists? Do the clinical observations and laboratory findings adequately support the claim? If so, the plaintiff can win the case and no further evidence is needed. If not, the decision-making process continues after an evaluation of whether there is any kind of work that the person can perform.
In late 2008, Social Security created a list of about 30 conditions that qualify for immediate “compassionate benefits.” These diseases are so serious that they always result in an allowance. The list includes some leukemias and cancers, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. The complete list can be viewed at http://www.socialsecu-rity.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm.
The most valuable contribution we make to a case is our experience, which means we know exactly what Social Security needs to allow a claimant to win. We work closely with medical providers to get exactly the right information. We ask treating sources the right questions, and so we get the answers in terminology that the Administration will recognize.
Because Social Security’s standards are unique, a simple statement that “this patient is disabled and unable to work” is of little value. Precise information is needed, and we will elicit it and present it with our arguments, showing why claimants should be found disabled under the law.
Social Security Caregiver Program
Virtually all Social Security and SSI disability claimants are unemployed. As a result, many claimants (and those who try to help them) believe that they cannot afford appropriate legal aid. It is a common misconception to think that a lawyer’s help is not an option.
It would be ideal if these applications and appeals were simple enough to do on your own. The new all-electronic records implemented by Social Security this year have actually made things more complicated. Getting things in the right place in electronic files is a new obstacle.
Our Underwood offices will help with the paperwork that often overwhelms a disabled claimant. We will obtain the necessary medical reports and records and submit them to the proper office.
We have been working in this area of law for many years. We know the people and the rules and laws.
Is Social Security Disability Income Taxable?
We will work with you to form a winning strategy. We may also be able to obtain a greater recovery benefit for a claimant by reopening a previous claim.
But how can a plaintiff, who is disabled and usually in financial distress, afford to hire an attorney? We represent claimants on a contingency fee basis. The fee – 25% of the back benefit obtained for the claimant is determined by federal regulation and must be approved by Social Security. The claimant does not have to pay unless and until the case is won and there is a recovery of benefits. Congress also sets a maximum of $6000 on the fee for work done, up to and including a trial.
If the claimant is indigent and cannot pay for medical records, we will delay obtaining those records
Reimbursement until the claimant receives benefits or other arrangements are made to repay the costs. Anyone can have an attorney for a Social Security or SSI claim. In our practice, we offer a free initial consultation and will review a case free of charge.
Understanding The Differences Between Ssi And Ssdi
Social Security has two programs that pay disabled people. One is SSI (Supplemental Security Income); the other is “regular” Social Security, or SSDI. There is a lot of confusion about these two programs in the minds of the public. The difference is simple.
The SSDI or “ordinary” disability program pays a claimant based on the money paid into Social Security over a lifetime. The amount is determined by how much has been paid in, divided by life expectancy. Payments can also be sent to a spouse and children. Eligibility includes Medicare two years after the date of eligibility.
The SSI program is an entitlement program paid to people who have had no work record for the past five years. There is an asset limit and a household income limit for eligibility as well. There is immediate state Medicaid coverage with this program.
In our area, approximately 73% of initial applications are denied. Two-thirds of those who appeal the denials eventually win their cases.
Chart Book: Social Security Disability Insurance
While waiting the 2-3 years that an appeal takes, many have had to declare bankruptcy, some have even died while waiting for hearings. After that initial denial, many become discouraged and drop out of the process.
Claimants should take the appeal to the next level, called “Reconsideration”, and be prepared to be denied again, because about 90% of claimants are denied at this level. Hearing requests are filed after the denial of the “Reconsideration” request. The Huntington office has a staggering 320-day wait for hearings, and a request for a hearing is only filed after it has been denied twice. People need help getting the decision right the first time, and that’s where we come in. We find the
Greatest success rate at the audience level. The national statistics are that 62% of claims are granted at trial level. For plaintiffs with attorney representation, the success rate is much higher, up to 90% settled favorably.
Claimants must be closely monitored to ensure that the necessary appeals are filed within 60 days of denial. A claim that must be refiled rather than appealed can result in significant loss of back benefit payments.
Oregon Health Plan
There is a dilemma in applying for federal Social Security disability benefits while also applying for state unemployment insurance. On the one hand, a Social Security disability applicant claims, in order to be eligible, that any kind of work is impossible. On the other hand, asking for unemployment insurance means swearing that the applicant is “available, willing and able” to work. Often, proof of continued job search must be provided for unemployment to continue.
This sticky situation is usually not considered at the first levels of applying for Social Security benefits. But when a case comes to trial, issues of credibility can arise. While receiving unemployment benefits is not an automatic bar to disability benefits, it is a delicate matter to present to a judge. Technically, a claim cannot be denied on this basis alone. But there can be challenging moments when a plaintiff is directly asked a question such as: “did you lie then or are you lying now?”
Questions to be addressed include whether the application for unemployment benefits occurred at a time when the applicant thought he could work. Explore the history of the unemployment application:
Was the claimant ever actually offered a job? Were there work attempts that failed? A claimant may have truly believed that he could work when he applied for unemployment. A medical condition may have deteriorated since then, or the market may have shown that the claimant is not employable. A desire to work does not determine ability to work.
Updating Ssi Would Improve The Economic Resilience Of Low Income Women
The reality is that state unemployment benefits are processed and paid much faster than Social Security benefits. Most federal courts hold that applying for unemployment is “some” evidence, but not “conclusive” evidence of ability to work and of credibility.
Social Security often says it is “never bound by the determination of another agency.”