What is The Difference Between Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) and State Disability Insurance (“SDI”)?

People often confuse the term Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) with State Disability Insurance (“SDI”), when in reality each program is quite distinct.

 SSDI is administered by the Federal government through the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). It provides a cash benefit to disabled workers who have paid into the Federal Insurance Compensation Act. A person’s monthly benefit for 2017 can be as low as a few dollars to as high as $2687.00 depending on one’s contributions to FICA. If you have minor children, the benefit may be increased. SSDI is not meant to be a full income replacement, however, which often surprises some people.

Recipients of SSDI also qualify for Medicare once they are on SSDI benefits for two years. Recipients can remain on SSDI until SSA has determined that a disability has improved or until the recipient is well enough to return to work. At retirement age, a disabled person can still receive his/her SSDI rate if this rate is higher than his/her retirement rate. However, SSA will start referring to these benefits as retirement benefits regardless of what rate you are being paid at.

SDI, on the other hand, is a State disability program unique to California. California has a State-run program due to our high cost of living. It is a temporary program and only lasts for a maximum of one year. You have to have paid enough into the State system to qualify. Benefits cannot be extended past one year even if you remain disabled after those 365 days. The program is administered by the Employment Development Department (“EDD”), a State agency that also administers unemployment. Recipients of SDI do not receive health insurance with this benefit, but recipients may be able to file for Medi-Cal separately if they meet the financial requirements.  SDI recipients receive weekly benefits (normally issued bimonthly) that range from $50.00 to $1173.00 per week, or $200.00 to $4692.00 per month. Thus, SDI may provide a higher monthly income than your SSDI for the first year.

You can apply for SSDI and SSI simultaneously, but please note that there can be an offset of these public benefits.   

Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com  for more information about the SSDI program. For questions about SDI, please visit EDD’s website at: http://www.edd.ca.gov/Disability/Calculating_DI_Benefit_Payment_Amounts.htm .

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.

4 New Rate Changes that May Affect Your Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits for 2017

I previously wrote about the 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (“COLA”) for both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) recipients for 2017. However, there are some other important numerical changes that affect Social Security Disability and Supplement Security Income benefits. Below are 4 changes from the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) for 2017 to keep in mind.

1.       The Substantial Gainful Activity (“SGA”) rate has been raised to $1,170 for non-blind individuals and $1,950 for blind individuals. This means that if you can earn these amounts or more per month, you are not disabled under SSA’s laws. Keep in mind these thresholds reflect gross (not net) earnings.

2.       SSA raised the SSI Federal payment rate to $735 for an individual and $1,103 for a couple. California supplements this benefit due to our high cost-of-living, but most other states do not.  

3.       A quarter of coverage is now $1,300 for 2017. In order to receive SSDI benefits, you must be insured for benefits by securing quarters of coverage. This means you must have paid into the Social Security system through the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA”). An individual must have worked a sufficient amount of quarters to be entitled to these benefits. Every year a person can earn up to 4 quarters. This means you must earn at least $5,200 for 2017 in order to obtain all 4 quarters for the year. 

4.       The trial work period threshold for 2017 is $840. This number is important for those who are undergoing their trial work period with SSA. Any month in which a person earns $840 or more, counts as a month in which goods and services have been performed in keeping with the trial work period limitations.

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.

The Underfunded Social Security Administration to Blame for Poor Customer Service

Have you visited your local Social Security Administration (“SSA”) office lately? If you have, I bet you had a tremendous wait before receiving any help from a SSA representative. SSA’s phone lines are also difficult to get through. SSA is aware of the problem and is blaming their budget for these delays.

 “Our service budget has been underfunded since FY 2010,” reported SSA. Budget cuts are never welcomed by Federal agencies, but SSA’s underfunding has posed a particular problem for the Administration given the fact that Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income recipients have risen by 12 percent since 2010.

SSA service has also been hurt by shorter office hours and a 5 percent reduction in employees since 2010. SSA has had fewer visitors to their offices since 2010, which may be due to an increase in online services, but this decrease in visitors has not improved waiting times. In fact, 4.5 million visitors waited for over an hour before receiving help at the local SSA field offices in 2015. This is a 95 percent increase in waiting times since 2010.  

We will have to wait and see how the new Administration plans to fix SSA’s growing customer service problem. Until then, SSA continues to see its reputation tarnished as its customer service flounders.

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.

 

How Will The New Administration Change Social Security?

The results from the November 8, 2016 election have people panicked about what will happen to Social Security and Medicare. I am getting multiple calls and emails from people asking what changes are going to take place. Unfortunately, I cannot answer such questions. Like you, I am in the dark.

Unlike the targeted Affordable Care Act, Social Security and Medicare were rarely discussed by either Presidential candidate. Of course, there has been a lot of speculation by the public and the media.

People have wondered whether Social Security and Medicare would be privatized or whether monthly Social Security benefits would be reduced. We do not know the answer to this question at this time. It is common knowledge that House Speaker Paul Ryan has championed the idea of gutting Medicare and replacing it with a voucher program. Will President-elect Trump support such ideas or Speaker Ryan’s agenda? No one knows.

I think it is very important that we don’t panic about speculative changes that may take place. It isn’t productive and it isn’t healthy. Changes to these programs will undoubtedly come. Some will likely be bad. Some changes may surprise us and actually improve these programs. However, there is nothing that anyone can do until changes are proposed by the new Administration.  

Changes to these programs may start in 2017 or much further down-the-line. After all, these benefit programs have not been one of the major cornerstones of President-elect Trump’s campaign initiative. Only once proposed changes are articulated by the new Administration in regards to Social Security and Medicare can we take action (if it is necessary).

There is one certainty that I can promise at this time…We will continue to fight for the rights of the disabled regardless of the ever-evolving Social Security and Medicare regulations.

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.

Will There be a Cost of Living Adjustment for Social Security Benefits in 2017?

Yes. The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) announced this month that both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) benefits will be increased by 0.3 percent in 2017. This cost-of-living adjustment (“COLA”) will go into effect for SSI recipients on December 30, 2016. Social Security recipients will realize the increase beginning January 2017.

SSA will also increase the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax from $118,500 to $127,200. This means that about 12 million people will pay more Social Security taxes due to this increase.

The purpose of a COLA is to make sure that Social Security and SSI benefits stay in line with inflation. COLAs were first instated in 1975. There was no COLA in 2016. The COLA  for 2015 was 1.7 percent, which was a much higher increase than we will see in 2017.

In 2017, we will have a new President. The impact that the new administration will have on SSA remains to be seen. SSA has not been at the forefront of any debates and discussions by either candidate. The COLA should stay in effect regardless of who is voted in. However, we cannot predict the changes that SSA may undergo under a new administration. Keeping that in mind, do not forget to vote on November 8, 2016. It is your privilege and right!

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.

4 Reasons That It Is Taking So Long To Get A Disability Hearing With The Social Security Administration

It is no secret that the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) has a significant backlog right now, but it seems that it is taking SSA a ridiculous amount of time to schedule a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). It is estimated that people are waiting an average of 525 days at the hearing level before appearing before an ALJ. ALJs oversee the hearing process through the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (“ODAR”). The hearing process is the third stage in the Social Security Disability process.   
We recently met with a group of ALJs to find out why the ODAR backlog was growing. Below are 4 reasons for the lengthening timeframes.

1.       The ODARS are understaffed. – The ODARs currently do not have enough workers to handle all the cases. In fact, we were told that the ODARs were operating at a 31% staff deficiency per volume of cases compared to the staffing situation from a decade ago.

2.       SSA has a hiring freeze. – In spite of the growing backlog, SSA has a hiring freeze that is further impacting the waiting times. SSA has consistently had to deal with budget cuts that have prevented the Agency from staffing their offices to handle the volume of cases assigned.

3.       ODARs have had to change the way that they writing decisions. – It has become more time-consuming to write a hearing decision. The District Courts have encouraged SSA to add more detail to their hearing decisions to make them tougher to appeal. Thus, the ALJs have to provide more instructions to their writers and inject more details in the decision letters to make them ironclad should an appeal be filed.

4.       Duplicate records and last minute submissions of evidence create major problems for the ODARs. – When attorneys or claimants submit the same materials over and over or bombard the ALJ with sizable submissions a few days before the hearing, it creates havoc for the ALJs and their staff. Thus, they have asked all attorneys and claimants to avoid submitting duplicates and have prohibited attorneys from submitting evidence for the final five business days before the hearing.    

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.

Additional Budget Cuts Would Be Devastating To the Social Security Administration

It is no secret that the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) is floundering these days. Backlogs and budget cuts mean that claimants applying for disability benefits through SSA are waiting over 500 days to get a hearing, according to a recent Washington Post article.  The 500-plus days of waiting at the hearing level does not take into account the processing periods at the initial application and reconsideration levels either. Both the initial application and reconsideration levels can take SSA anywhere from 4 to 9 months to process, thus tacking on the potential for another 18 months of waiting before a claimant can even request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”).  

Now House Republicans hope to pass an appropriations bill that would further cut SSA’s budget, thus triggering worsening backlogs in an already painfully delayed system. Since 2010, SSA’s operating budget has been decreased by 10 percent in spite of the fact that beneficiaries have increased by 12 percent. Currently, more than 1.1 million people are waiting for a disability hearing. The reality is that SSA lacks the staff and an efficient system to process all these hearing requests, which in turn, makes it difficult for disability applicants to receive their benefits in a timely manner. Budget cuts would just be another giant hurdle in the way of disabled claimants and the disability benefits that they need in order to survive.

These proposed budget cuts would come with a temporary furlough and a hiring freeze – measures that undoubtedly would negatively impact SSA’s ever-growing backlog as well. “Cutting staff when SSA is processing historically high claims is irresponsible and a sign that the Republicans who voted for this cut are not interested in providing tax payers with good service regarding SSA,” said Witold Skwierczynski, President of the American Federation of Government Employees SSA Council. Such drastic measures do seem that they have the potential to further cripple this already struggling agency.

The future of SSA is in jeopardy. It is already an agency in vast need of improvement, but it is currently teetering on the brink of failure. SSA needs to take a hard look at ways to improve its efficiency, especially in the face of potential budget cuts. However, it is a government beast that is resistant to change. In spite of the fact that SSA has promised to utilize their attorney-writers for early decisions, review on-the-record requests, direct national overflow branches to prescreen the cases, it appears they have been reluctant to implement these promises. Thus, the prospect of further budget cuts and increasing delays is devastating news to the disability community.

 Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.