Common Questions for Social Security Lawyer
Posted by admin on Mar 29, 2009
Q: When should I expect to actually start receiving benefits payments for SSDI?
A: You are not eligible to start receiving social security disability benefits until you have been injured for five months. You will really begin receiving payments the sixth month after the onset date of injury, since benefits are paid a month after they are due. If you have been awarded retroactive benefits, most claimants receive those payments in about 60 days. Remember that you will not receive retroactive benefits for the aforementioned five months you must wait to be eligible for benefits. If you have any questions regarding backpay or the length of time it is taking for you to receive your benefits, it may be wise to speak with a social security lawyer.
Q: Will your dependents also receive disability payments?
A: Yes, your dependents might qualify for disability benefits too. Unmarried children under the age of 18 are eligible. If your child is a student, he is eligible until he turns 19. If your husband or wife is 62 or older, he or she might be eligible for benefits. At any age your husband or wife may be eligible if he or she is providing financial support to your children that are under the age of 17. The payments your eligible dependents can get each month may be up to 50 percent of your benefits rate. Contact a social security lawyer, if you have any concerns about eligibility or applying for disability benefits for any of your family members.
Q: When you are currently receiving social security disability payments and your file is reviewed, what does it mean?
A: Your file will be periodically reviewed even after you receive benefits. A diary or schedule of when reviews should be conducted is established when you are awarded benefits and is based on the factors of your individual case. Most reviews are usually conducted every one, three, and seven years. Many state social security agencies have a bit of a review logjam right now, which means that many reviews are not happening on the one, three, seven year timeline. Because of that, you should be ready for a review at any time. Your file is reviewed periodically to assure that the most recent details about your condition are noted. Disability examiners are interested in determining whether your injury has improved, worsened or remains the same. If you are concerned about the results of a recent review of your file, it may be wise to seek the counsel of a social security lawyer. The experience and knowledge of a social security lawyer can be invaluable, if you are worried about losing social security disability benefits due to changes in your condition or employment.
Determining whether social security disability insurance should be given is in part dependent upon the work a person could do, in spite of his current medical condition. The disability examiner for your case will, therefore, look at your employment record to see the types of work you have performed in the past. Social Security also looks at your previous employment to determine if you might be able to do another kind of job. A social security disability claims examiner uses standard medical vocational principles when evaluating an application. When determining if a person can perform a work function, the examiner will look at the functional and physical limits of the injury, how old a person is and his education.
The age at which you can receive full social security benefits is dependent upon the year in which you were born. For example, individuals born in 1937 or earlier can opt to receive their full social security benefits at the age of 65. You can refer to the SSA website or you local SSA office for complete information concerning when you are eligible to receive full social security benefits.
Many people opt to receive their social security benefits before their full retirement age, which is as early as age 62. However, you should be aware that your social security benefits will be reduced by 5/9ths of 1 percent for every month between the date you retire and your full retirement age, up to 36 months.
If you do apply for survivor’s benefits, you will generally receive full benefits if you are at full retirement age or older at the date of application (or over 50 and disabled). If you are not disabled, you can get anywhere from 71 to 99 percent of your spouse’s benefits before you reach retirement, as long as you are 60 years old or older.
Q: I am receiving social security disability but I want to apply for SS retirement.
A: Generally, if you receive social security disability benefits, those benefits will be transferred to retirement benefits upon reaching retirement age. Most people who get social security disability have to do little or nothing to bring about the transfer.
If you have children, have supporting documents that confirm their status as your dependents. If you served in the military, bring your separation documents. Sometimes, your time in the military can increase the amount of benefits. After the disability case manager has confirmed your personal details, he will move on to the details of your case. Make sure you bring copies of your medical records and treatments for your current injury.
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One of these is requesting a reconsideration when you think the SSA has made a mistake. This means you will request that the SSA take another look at your case, and perhaps meet with you to speak with them (in which case you may want to speak with a social security lawyer).
Another option is to ask the SSA for a waiver. This means that you acknowledge that you received an overpayment, but cannot pay the amount back. A social security lawyer will often tell you to do this if you were not at fault for the over payment.
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You have only “paid” so much money into you Social Security account. It is similar to if you had a regular bank account that you withdrew monthly funds from, there is only so much money in that bank account and no more is being added because you are not working.
Q: “Before I went to jail, I was receiving Social Security Disability. Why do I no longer receive my benefits?
A: When you are in jail or prison, you are a ward of the state and the state is paying for your food, clothes, and necessities. During this time, your SSD benefits will automatically stop, and you will have to apply for benefits all over again when you are released.