What the Budget Cuts Could Mean to you

On March 1, 2013, automatic budget cuts will be made across the board in our federal government. You may have heard the word “sequester” in the news lately, which is the term for these automatic budget cuts. The cuts only apply to discretionary spending, and not to mandatory spending. Mandatory spending includes the monthly amount you are paid for disability, retirement, unemployment, food share or Medicaid. The delivery of checks should not be interrupted. However, the cuts will have an impact on the Social Security Administration’s day-to-day functioning and will mean different things for different people who are currently receiving benefits or are in the process of applying for SSDI/SSI benefits.

The Social Security Administration is facing an 8% budget cut totaling $11.5 billion. Former Commissioner, Michael J. Astrue estimated 5000 positions would be cut, 1500 temporary employees would be terminated and all overtime would be eliminated. These cuts will create more backlog, longer waits and reduced hours.

Although SSA has already started opening their doors later and closing them sooner, sequestration would likely leave us with even more limited hours. Currently, most offices are open from 9 AM to 3 PM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 9AM until noon on Wednesdays. With the budget cuts, these hours would be further reduced. It is also likely that entire office locations would be forced to close, making it more difficult for people to get to an office in person.  Wait times on the phone or in the office will increase with more limited hours and limited staff expected to handle the same amount of claimant traffic.

Furloughs, or days where the admiration is not open, are also a possibility, as they would save SSA $25 million a day. Not only would phone lines and offices not be open, hearing offices would be forced to close, meaning Administrative Law Judges would not be able to hear claims. Approximately 3000 ALJ hearings are held each day across the country. The potential for backlog if furloughs are needed is certain. The budget cuts will lead to more backlog within Social Security. For you, that means longer waiting times. It is estimated an initial application will take two weeks longer to process and waiting for a hearing could take up to a month longer than current estimates. If you are already receiving SSDI or SSI benefits, the changes will likely have little impact on you. However, if you are just beginning the application process, or appealing a denial, you can expect to spend more time waiting and more frustration in dealing with SSA.

 

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What does “Insured Status” mean?

When you are denied Social Security disability benefits, you are sent a form letter from Social Security. Most times, this letter tells you absolutely nothing about why Social Security denied your claim. For most people, the only meaningful piece of information is the date the decision was issued. That date is important because it lets you, or your attorney, know when your appeal needs to be filed.

Sometimes, however, the notice you receive will indicate that your insured status is at question in the case. In order to collect Title II Social Security Disability benefits, a person must have insured status. If your insured status is at question, the bottom of the first page of the notice will have similar language to the following:

“We also considered that your condition was not disabling on any date through 03/31/2011, when you were last insured for disability benefits. In deciding this, we studied your records, including the medical evidence and your age, education, training and work experience in determining how your condition affected your ability to work.”

If you receive a denial notice that has the above language, there is a question about whether you are currently insured for Social Security Disability benefits. Title II Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI) is a publicly funded disability program that is paid for through payment of FICA taxes on wages by workers and their employers. (or through the payment of self-employment tax by the self-employed) When a person pays FICA or self-employment tax, they are in essence paying premiums into a government run disability insurance plan. Some people have private disability plans. In a privately funded disability insurance plan, premiums are paid directly from the insured to the insurance company. In such a plan, a person remains privately insured for so long as (1) The person pays their insurance premiums and (2) The insurance company continues to offer insurance. For Title II Social Security Disability, the “premiums” paid by the individual, just like in a private insurance plan, only provide for coverage for so long. For Social Security purposes, all American citizens and other authorized individuals are eligible for the program provided they have worked enough to achieve insured status.

With limited exceptions, insured status is obtained by having worked a sufficient amount in both the workers lifetime and during the last ten years. In the example above, the individual has insured status through March 31, 2011. For this worker, March 31, 2011 is that claimant’s date last insured. If you have a date last insured listed on your denial notice, this can be a serious issue for your claim. Although a date last insured may make it difficult to obtain your benefits, it is not the end of your case. Even if you cannot prove that you are disabled prior to your date last insured, you may still qualify for Disability under Title XVI Supplemental Security Income.

The Ins and Outs of the Social Security Disability Program – February 21 at the Appleton Public Library

I will be giving an informational talk at Appleton Public Library on February 21, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.  I will be giving background information on the Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, including the basics legal requirements and procedure.  We will be in Meeting Room C.  The Appleton Public Library is located at 225 N. Oneida St.  Appleton, WI 54911.   For more information, you can visit the library’s event posting.

Kewaunee program on Social Security Disability and SSI

We will be presenting a program tonight at the Kewaunee Public Library explaining the Social Security Disability and SSI programs.  This is an informational program intended for the general public.  The talk begins at 5:00 p.m. The Kewaunee Public Library is located at  822 Juneau Street, Kewaunee WI. 54216.

2012 Super Lawyers Rising Stars announced

I’m happy to report that for the second year in a row I’ve been named among the Rising Stars in this year’s Wisconsin Super Lawyers magazine.  A digital copy of the magazine is available at digital.superlawyers.com.  Thanks to those lawyers who nominated me.  According to the Super Lawyers website, the Rising Stars are chosen after “[l]awyers are asked to nominate the best attorneys who are 40 or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less.”  There is then a research and final selection process after which “[n]o more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are named to the list.”

Social Security offices closed on Black Friday

Social Security’s website indicates that it’s offices will be closed to the public on Friday, November 23, 2012. Although it’s not a federal holiday, Social Security employees are going to be using the day to catch up on their workload.

Social Security disability awards now accepted as basis for student loan forgiveness

Earlier this week, the Department of Education announced that Social Security disability awards will now serve as proof of disability for purposes of requesting forgiveness for outstanding student loans.  As explained in an article by Lily O’Donnell at The Huffington Post, the new rules eliminate redundant disability determination processes:

Under federal law, someone who becomes severely disabled after taking out student loans is eligible to have their debt forgiven. But until recently, they’d have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to do so, even if they’d already gone through an essentially identical process to receive Social Security benefits.

Under a new set of rules, adopted earlier this month, the Education Department will recognize Social Security award letters as proof of disability, streamlining the process immensely.

For more information on the history of the change in rules, there is an interesting article at GantDaily.com:  U.S. Education Department Adopts Crucial Reform for Disabled Borrowers.

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