Social Security Disability News

Thursday, October 27, 2016

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.

Friday, September 30, 2016

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.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

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.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

7 Things we Learned From the Social Security Administration’s Statitistics from 2014

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) released its 2014 statistics regarding the Social Security Disability Insurance program (“SSDI”) at the end of 2015. SSA plans to update these statistics using 2016 data in 2017, but here are some important highlights from the most recent statistical research:

1. Disability benefits were awarded to over 10.2 million people.

2. Average age of a disability recipient was 53.

3. More men received disability than women (men represented just under 52% of the recipients).

4. People with musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases represented the largest categories of disabilities.

5. The average monthly payment was $1,165.39.

6. In December 2014, SSA issued $11.4 billion in payments to disability beneficiaries.

7. SSA stopped benefits for 779,229 disabled workers who were receiving benefits in 2014.

For a complete breakdown of the 2014 statistics, check out the “Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Program, 2014” available at: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2014/di_asr14.pdf

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Is the Social Security Fund Out of Money?

Everyone has heard the rumors that the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) is running out of money. Earlier this month, SSA released its annual report, which explains the realities of the situation. While the combined trust fund reserve is still growing, it is expected to exceed the income the trust fund is bringing in, starting in 2020. This means that if Congress does not address the depletion beforehand, SSA will only be able to pay recipients 79% of their scheduled benefits beginning in 2034.

SSA also revealed that it paid out benefits of $886 million in 2015. These benefits were issued to 60 million beneficiaries last year.

Take a look at the report and spend some time perusing the numbers. It helps to explain why the SSA has become a hot button this election year, as it is quite apparent that changes must be made to ensure that this vital beneficiary system can provide for future generations.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

California Public Employees Beware: You May Be Opting Out of Social Security for You and Your Family

California has provisions that prevent certain public workers from “double-dipping” from both state pensions and Social Security benefits. Such provisions affect some teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public civil servants. Prior to 1983, public employees could collect a state pension and Social Security earned from other types of work that they performed in the private sector. Congress, however, prohibited certain public employees from receiving both a state pension and Social Security in 1983.

Thus, even if you paid into Social Security for many years, you may be forfeiting your right to collect Social Security benefits that you earned in the private sector once you become a public employee of the State of California. Your children and spouse are also prohibited from collecting survivor’s benefits on your Social Security number if you become a public employee who is prohibited from “double-dipping.” This is the case even if your child or spouse never worked in the public sector.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is hoping to get this law changed so workers are entitled to the benefits they worked hard to obtain. In the meantime, however, always check with your human resource department when starting a new job to see what benefits you are entitled to and to make sure you are not inadvertently opting out of your Social Security benefits.

For more information on the possible pitfalls of public pensions, please read: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Ripoff-Social-Security-and-California-Teachers.html

Saturday, April 16, 2016

The Social Security Administration Plans to Hire New Judges to Help Curb the Ever-growing Hearing Backlog

The Federal government announced its plan to hire new Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) for its various agencies, including the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). The ALJ application process opened on March 29, 2016 and closed on April 8, 2016. During this limited application window, applicants who met the minimum hiring requirements were able to submit applications and resumes in hopes of being selected to go through the ALJ examination process. If selected, applicants will be subjected to various tests, including an online examination, a proctored component and an interview. Applicants can be eliminated at any time. Applicants who make it through all rounds will then be issued a score and will be eligible to have their names added to the current ALJ register. Agencies looking to hire new ALJs will select their candidates from this register.

SSA desperately needs new ALJs to oversee its Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income hearings (“SSDI/SSI”). According to a Freedom of Information Act report from March 9, 2016, claimants have to wait an estimated 502 days to get a hearing in front of an ALJ. While this number represents the national average, some claimants in the most backlogged jurisdictions are waiting even longer to appear in front of an ALJ. Keep in mind that this 502 day average only addresses the hearing timeframes and doesn’t take into account the additional 9 to 18 months that a claimant must endure at the initial application and reconsideration levels as well.

The timeframes associated with the SSDI/SSI process are devastating to the millions of claimants who suffer from disabilities that prevent them from working. Such delays can be ruinous to families who are desperate to receive SSDI/SSI benefits in order to put food on their tables, secure shelter and access medical care. Bankruptcies and homelessness are just some of the challenges that claimants applying for SSDI/SSI may face. Thus, news that some new ALJs will be hired in the near future to relieve SSA’s backlog was welcomed by SSDI/SSI claimants everywhere.

SSA is hoping to find new ways to improve the timeframes associated with the disability claims process. Simply hiring new ALJs is not enough, but it is at least a start. We will update you when we learn how many new ALJs get hired on by SSA at the completion of application process.