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Disability Law

Social Security Disability Law Blog

News, information support and resources for Social Security and SSI disability claimants.

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Last Entry: May 15, 2009 at 14:14:08

Social Security Held its Value Better Than Your 401K

Posted on May 15, 2009
As the the Trustees of the Social Security Trust Fund found, the Social Security (SSA) funds are secure thru 2037. This is a slight fall from the prior 2041, but it IS three decades out. And how’s your 401K? Cnn comares the two: “The 2009 Social Security Trustees report released Tuesday provides [...

With 401K’s Disappearing, Social Security Retirement’s Solid Value Becomes Clear

Posted on May 15, 2009
From Today’s New York Times, here’s an interesting reminder about the core value of the Social Security system, in an era of disappearing private retirement programs: The availability, stability and value of traditional defined benefit pensions are diminished...

Obama Calls for Increased Scrutiny of Disability Programs

Posted on May 12, 2009
From NASDAQ Online: Doctors and patients, including those collecting disability payments, would get a closer look from federal officials under the budget plan issued by the Obama administration on Thursday. Obama’s fiscal 2010 budget includes increased funding to attack waste, fraud and abuse in federal health and disability programs, an area where the administration estimates [...

Does SSA terminate Benefits Fast Enough When Work Resumes?

Posted on May 12, 2009
From Charles T. Hall’s blog on disability law: Congressman John S. Tanner (D-TN), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security, today announced a hearing on the Social Security Administration?s (SSA?s) employment support programs for disability beneficiaries, including the Ticket to Work Program...

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Special One-time Payments to Social Security and SSI Recipients

Posted on January 26, 2009
The President’s radio address yesterday proposed a one time payment to the disabled and elderly, an aspect of the $825-billion stimulus plan being put together by the Obama administration and Congress Seniors, disabled and veterans: $300 payments to Social Security beneficiaries, and $300 payments under the Supplemental Security income program for elderly and disabled people [...

Obama’s Weekly YouTube/Radio Address Today

Posted on January 25, 2009
President Obama’s weekly address today discusses his plans for economic stimulus plan - needed to help get people back to work. The process of rebuilding and retrofitting America is needed ASAP - skeptics are invited to hold him accountable. See YouTube Link to address now...

Economic Free Fall: Who Thinks We Should Revisit Privatization?

Posted on January 25, 2009
If there is one recurring nightmare for Social Security attorneys who study the question, it is the idea of privatizing Social Security. How anyone can even dream that this is a good idea after the performance of the stock market in 2008 is beyond most of us...

When an SSA Overpayment Notice Arrives at Your Door

Posted on January 20, 2009
It is a gloomy day for anyone who receives a notice of overpayment from Social Security (SSA). It can be just a misunderstanding, or something more serious. If the government thinks you have received too much money - that is what this term really means - then you must quickly set about [...

Medicare and Medicaid - Can These Programs Take Up the Slack in Medical coverage?

Posted on January 19, 2009
The LA Times reports that most states are slashing health services to their poorest residents amid the economic downturn. This is happening in the face of President Obama’s push for Universal Health Care. As more people experience reduced income, states’ personal and business income tax revenue falls, and state budgets nationwide [...

Obama on CBS: Time to Get Entitlement Programs Under Control

Posted on January 17, 2009
In a far-ranging CBS Interview, the new president promises a detailed review of all entitlement programs, code for Social Security and Medicare. While I think there is waste in these programs that needs attention, I hope the reviews find it in the administrative aspects of the programs, and in medical cost-accounting...

Petagon Says It Takes PTSD Seriously

Posted on January 12, 2009
Last week, news stories reported that veterans with PTSD would be inelegible for the Purple Heart, setting off a storm of commentary about the “value” to the military of PTSD and other invisble wounds . More recently the military spokepersons assure us that all wounded vets are honored and treated...

Wikipedia Provides Extensive Information about Social Security

Posted on January 11, 2009
Who’d ever think to consult Wikipedia for information about the Social Security Administration? Actually, there is a readable and useful article in that venerable online resource - a little history, a view of the scope of the agency, all in all a good overview...

Unacknowledged Toxins Threaten Veterans’ Health

Posted on January 10, 2009
Oregon and Indiana Veterans report ongoing health problems from exposure to toxins generated by US Contractor in Iraq: “Early in the Iraq war, Oregon Army National Guard soldiers say they encountered environmental disaster in oil fields. Now it’s clear a deadly toxin also swirled in the desert air...

Obama Takes Aim at Social Security to Help Reduce Deficit

Posted on January 08, 2009
From today’s Boston Globe, a story about the devastating deficits we face, and the new president’s ideas for facing them down: “Pointing with concern to “red ink as far as the eye can see,” President-elect Barack Obama pledged yesterday to tackle Social Security and Medicare as a central part of his effort to control federal spending [...

SSA Creates More User-Friendly Online Application

Posted on January 07, 2009
Social Security today announced that they are presenting o simplified online application. The AP reports: “The Social Security Administration, envisaging the near-future prospect of 10,000 baby boomers applying for benefits every day, has put together a new online service that will allow people to get their benefits without ever traveling to a Social Security field [...

The Oregonian Posts a Database of Social Security’s Most Productive Judges

Posted on January 06, 2009
All of us are aware of the unprecedented backlogs at the disability hearing offices around the country - Atlanta is the worst with waits just under 1000 days — and that after a claimant goes thru preliminary levels of appeal that can cost a year’s time...

How Are Social Security Benefits Taxed?

Posted on January 03, 2009
If you’ve ever wondered whether disability benefits are taxed - or how - here is a great article that explains all the ramifications of these payments. Follow the link at the end to see the full article. It comes from the extensive web site maintained by the National Organization of Social Security representatives: [...

Social Security Site Allows You to Calculate Benefits

Posted on December 31, 2008
The official Social Security website gives valuable information that allows you to estimate your retirement benefit — this figure will also be approximately what you would draw as a disabled person. Your retiremnet entitlement stays in the fund until you retire, unless you become disabled before retirement age...

“Disability Secrets” Site Provides Extensive Info

Posted on December 31, 2008
This site has an amazing depth of information on many aspects of Social Security disability law. I like this link, which gives a list of specific tips on applying and appealing, See link here:

Staffing Shortages Cause Hearing Waits, Say Oregonian Investigative Reporters

Posted on December 31, 2008
In this week’s (Portland) Oregonian, investigative reporters search out the causes of the enormous backlogs in waits for hearings. Rare interviews with sitting judges reveal the staffing shortages that keep them from being fully productive: The slow pace of a few judges and an overwhelmed staff at Portland?s Social Security hearing office are key [...

The Invisible World of Brain Injuries

Posted on December 29, 2008
Here’s a window into the invisible world of those with brain injuries, a touching story from the Ventura County Star in California: …”It really just has to do with the degree of brain injury, said Dr. James Herman, a neurosurgeon at Ventura County Medical Center...

With 401K’s Disappearing, Social Security Retirement’s Solid Value Becomes Clear

Posted on December 29, 2008
From Today’s New York Times, here’s an intersting reminder about the core value of the Social Security system, in an era of disappearing private retirement programs: The availability, stability and value of traditional defined benefit pensions are diminished...

Vets Still Wait for Expedited Disability Claims

Posted on December 23, 2008
There was nothing dramatic about how Spc. Cristapher Zuetlau’s career in the Army came to an end: he stepped in a hole. But the damage to the tank crewman’s wrenched back was so brutal he can barely walk. The Army agreed he was no longer fit to serve, but in doing so determined his disability was [...

New York Times: The Year in New Ideas for Retirement

Posted on December 23, 2008
Teresa Ghilarducci, an economist at the New School for Social Research, has emerged as the primary exponent of ?Guaranteed Retirement Accounts,? or G.R.A.?s. The way they work is simple: workers who don?t have access to a conventional defined-benefit plan would contribute 2...

Wait Two Years for Medicare if You’re Disabled

Posted on December 23, 2008
Newsweek reports: (WASHINGTON) Master toolmaker John McClain built machine parts with details so small they couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. Then a lump on his neck turned out to be cancer. Shalonda Frederick managed a bakery, and decorated cakes for special occasions...

Social Security Will Use Electronic Screening for Disability Cases

Posted on December 23, 2008
The Social Security Administration will begin using the Nationwide Health Information Network in early 2009 to evaluate disability claims, according to an agency announcement released Dec. 16. NHIN is designed to connect providers, consumers and others involved in health care...

SSA Proposes Streamlined Processing of Claims to Reduce Backlogs

Posted on November 11, 2008
As baby boomers reach their most disability-prone years, the SSA has seen its disability workload grow significantly in the last five years. In order to speed up and improve the quality of the disability determination process, the agency intends to ensure that individuals who are clearly disabled receive a decision within 20 calendar days of [...

TV station in North and South Carolina Investigates Delays

Posted on November 07, 2008
Viewers in our area filing for Social Security Disability insurance benefits and waiting years for answers. Sadly, some die before they even get a final answer from the government. So what?s being done to help and how is the backlog here, one of the worst in the country, getting reduced? Talk about waiting...

Does Anyone Still Want Privatized Social Security?

Posted on November 06, 2008
US News and World Report asks the question. Many retirees who have reduced spending power because of depleted 401(k) accounts are thankful that President Bush’s plan to partially privatize Social Security was never realized. But the debate over personal Social Security accounts rages on...

2009 COLA’s Announced, 5.8% Increase for Social Security Recipients

Posted on November 01, 2008
THe Wall Street Journal reports that more than 55 million Americans will see a 5.8% boost in their Social Security benefits in 2009, the largest jump in 27-years and a development that could add more than $200 billion to federal spending over the next decade...

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