Attorneys’ Fees in Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income Claims

Attorneys’ fees are highly regulated under Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) and Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) law. In fact, with the exception of Veteran’s Administration law, SSDI/SSI law is the only other area of law in which the Federal government sets the attorneys’ fees.

Attorneys are only paid a fee in SSDI/SSI law if they win the case. This is called a contingent fee arrangement as the fee is “contingent” on the attorney winning the claim. In the majority of claims, if the attorney wins a SSDI/SSI case, the attorney will be paid 25%, or $6,000.00, whatever is less, out of the retroactive benefits. Retroactive benefits are the benefits that accrue while a claimant waits for the Social Security Administration to grant a claim. Once a claim is granted, an attorney is not entitled to any fees from future benefits. In most cases, SSA withholds the attorneys’ fees from the retroactive benefits and pays the attorneys directly.

The fee agreement described above is how attorneys are paid in the vast majority of SSDI/SSI claims. There are some exceptions, however. If a claim is denied by an Administrative Law Judge, the attorney may have to appeal a case to the Appeals Council, and possibly, Federal Court levels. These stages represent the fourth and fifth potential stages in the SSDI/SSI process. Due to the additional work required at these two levels, an attorney can petition for up to 25% (not limited to $6,000.00) of the retroactive benefits at the Appeals Council and Federal Court levels. In order to receive a fee at these stages, the attorney must submit his/her hour logs and work entries showing the work that he/she did on a claim to SSA or a Federal Court Judge. SSA or the Judge has to approve this fee petition. 

 In claims where there are no retroactive benefits, the attorney may also have to file a fee petition to SSA and request a reasonable fee for his/her services. SSA will determine a reasonable fee in such matters. In such instances, SSA will require that the claimant pay the attorney the fee directly. If the claimant does not pay the attorney timely, SSA will send the claimant’s benefits into Overpayment and deduct the attorneys’ fees from the claimant’s monthly benefits.

In rare instances, specifically when we are handling an Overpayment matter or a Continuing Disability Review claim, we will require an upfront retainer fee prior to representation. This is because there are never any retroactive benefits available in such matters. Thus, if we are successful, our fee will come from the retainer fee. If we do not win your claim, the retainer fee will be returned to the claimant in full.

For more information about attorneys’ fees, please visit the link on our website at: http://www.westcoastdisability.com/The-Social-Security-Disability-Claims-Process/Attorney-s-Fees.shtml.

 Got a question that you need answered? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with valuable information on our website that may help you navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to shoot us an email at info@westcoastdisability.com or call us at (800) 459-3017.

Your Social Security Earning Statement

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) used to send out an annual statement about three months before everyone’s birthday explaining an individual’s entitlement to Social Security Retirement and/or Social Security Disability benefits. SSA stopped sending out these statements in 2010 due to budget cuts.  You can still access this information if you set up an online account with SSA at http://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. It is a free service.

Make sure you are access the exact link that I mentioned above. There are some private commercial sites that have no affiliations with SSA that may try to charge you a fee for information that is already free. If the website does not end in .gov, it is not the real SSA website.  

I recently set up an account myself to see how user-friendly SSA’s online accounts were. I was quite impressed as it took me less than ten minutes to set up an account. Once I created my account, I had access to valuable information about my full retirement, early retirement, disability, and survivor’s benefits. I could also view my taxed Social Security earnings and taxed Medicare earnings to make sure they were accurate.

It is very important to periodically check your online SSA statement. Accounting errors do take place and you want to make sure that your Social Security earning record matches your own personal earnings records and W2s.

Please note that not everyone pays in the Federal Insurance Compensation Act (“FICA”). You must pay into FICA to be insured for Social Security Disability benefits. Some County and State employees have their own private pension plans through their employers and do not pay into Social Security Disability.   If you notice that there is no mention of disability benefits on your online earning statement, you may want to call the human resource department at your employer’s office, to verify if you paid into FICA or not. If you think there is an error on your earnings record contact SSA at 1-(800) 772-1213.

Got a question that you need answered? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with valuable information on our website that may help you navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to shoot us an email at info@westcoastdisability.com or call us at (800) 459-3017.