Monday, October 31, 2016

How to Get Your Social Security Statement

Most clients expect their Social Security Disability Lawyers to know the amount of the monthly benefit that they will receive if their cases are won.  Unfortunately, getting to know this amount can be a difficult process. Moreover, in the vast majority cases, the amount of the monthly check is a secondary concern for the attorney.  
Calculations used to figure out the monthly amount are quite complicated.  I often find out the estimated monthly amount once I get the client's electronic file through the electronic file system (ERE) used by the SSA.  If you do not want to wait until your lawyer gets access to your file through the ERE to find out the monthly amount, can can get this figure by creating your own electronic account with the Social Security Administration.  
Social Security Disability Lawyers are not allowed to create these accounts and obtain statements on behalf of their clients.  Clients must set up this account on their own.  In fact, it is illegal for us to set up these accounts for others. 
To set up your own account and get access to you estimated benefit, you must visit: https://secure.ssa.gov/RIL/SiView.do  You need to have your own email address and create a secure username and password. 
  

Monday, October 24, 2016

Social Security, the COLA and the SAVE Benefits Act

Last week it was announced that Social Security Disability beneficiaries will get a tiny cost of living adjustment (COLA) to their monthly check of only .3 percent.  Federal Law mandates that Social Security COLA's must be based on a consumer price index known as CPI-W which relies heavily on oil prices.
This means that the average disabled or senior beneficiary will get only an additional $3 to $4 a month. This is the fifth year in a row of minuscule raises.  In fact, last year there was no COLA at all.
Many Social Security Disability lawyers and advocates have pointed out that the measure of inflation used by the CPI-W is not a proper methodology for measuring the economic reality faced by most seniors and disabled Americans.  CPI-W is meant to be used for wage earners in urban areas.  It was not developed to asses the cost of goods and services most often purchased by retired or disabled individuals.
In response to the unfairness caused by the very small COLA paid to Social Security beneficiaries, a group of prominent U.S. Senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), have proposed a special one-time payment of $581.  This legislative initiative is know as that the "SAVE Benefits Act.  This figure of $581 represents 3.9 percent of the average annual Social Security benefit. The 3.9 figure was picked by Senator Warren because this was the average raise received last year by top corporate CEO's.  According to the Senator from Massachusetts this small one-time payment could cover three months of groceries for a disabled person or or a whole year of out of pocket expenses for prescriptions.
Last Sunday Senator Schumer met with disabled beneficiaries in the Lower East Side of Manhattan to learn more about their situation and promote the Save Benefits Act.  For a great article about the economic plight of some SSD beneficiaries in NYC click here.


Social Security, the COLA and the SAVE Benefits Act

Last week it was announced that Social Security Disability beneficiaries will get a tiny cost of living adjustment (COLA) to their monthly check of only .3 percent.  Federal Law mandates that Social Security COLA's must be based on a consumer price index known as CPI-W which relies heavily on oil prices.
This means that the average disabled or senior beneficiary will get only an additional $3 to $4 a month. This is the fifth year in a row of minuscule raises.  In fact, last year there was no COLA at all.
Many Social Security Disability lawyers and advocates have pointed out that the measure of inflation used by the CPI-W is not a proper methodology for measuring the economic reality faced by most seniors and disabled Americans.  CPI-W is meant to be used for wage earners in urban areas.  It was not developed to asses the cost of goods and services most often purchased by retired or disabled individuals.
In response to the unfairness caused by the very small COLA paid to Social Security beneficiaries, a group of prominent U.S. Senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), have proposed a special one-time payment of $581.  This legislative initiative is know as that the "SAVE Benefits Act.  This figure of $581 represents 3.9 percent of the average annual Social Security benefit. The 3.9 figure was picked by Senator Warren because this was the average raise received last year by top corporate CEO's.  According to the Senator from Massachusetts this small one-time payment could cover three months of groceries for a disabled person or or a whole year of out of pocket expenses for prescriptions.
Last Sunday Senator Schumer met with disabled beneficiaries in the Lower East Side of Manhattan to learn more about their situation and promote the Save Beneficiaries Act.  For a great article about the economic plight of some SSD beneficiaries in NYC click here.


Monday, October 17, 2016

What do Disability Lawyers Mean by Exertional and Non-exertional Limitations?

Social Security Disability Lawyers use complicated terminology that very often confuses their clients and other lawyers who do not practice in the area of disability law.  Two of the disability law terms that most people find confusing are: "exertional" and "non-exertional" limitations.  
In analyzing a disability claim, all judges must make a determination regarding what the claimant can or cannot do.  In other words, the judge must determine what are the claimant's limitations.  To reach a proper decision, the judge must separate a claimant's limitations into two different areas: those that are exertional and those that are not.  I will explain these two terms below:
Exertional Limitations: These limitations deal mostly with the strength demands required for a job. The Social Security Administration considers exertional demands to be: sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling.  These limitations are used to determine whether a claimant's ability to do work is considered to be at the sedentary, light, medium, heavy or very heavy level. These classifications are fairly straight forward and can assist the judge in making a decision on your case without having to go into other non-exertional limitation, which as you will see, can be more complicated and subjective.
Non-exertional Limitations:  These limitations include areas dealing with much more etherial or subjective matters such as: mental restrictions. environmental restrictions or requirements for changes in posture.  Symptoms related to a medical condition such as pain or fatigue are very common examples of non-exertional limitations.  
Here are several other examples of non-exertional limitations:

  • Difficulty functioning because of depression or anxiety.
  • Difficulty concentrating.
  • Memory problems.
  • Hearing or vision problems.
  • Difficulty tolerating some physical feature(s) of certain work settings, e.g., you cannot tolerate dust or fumes.
  • Requiring to change positions from sitting and standing.



Monday, October 10, 2016

GOP's Budget Cuts are Killing Social Security

In anticipation of the upcoming presidential election, I urge all of my readers to watch the video below.  Americans who have had to stop working due to a severe disability are being subject to unprecedented hardships as a result of the actions of Republicans in Congress.  As a Social Security Disability Lawyer, I receive calls practically on a weekly basis from persons who are about to go homeless or have ended up in shelters while waiting for their cases to be heard.  I spend a great deal of time explaining the current crisis to callers.  Few of them seem to understand the true cause of this problem or realize that this crisis is not unique to them.  Fortunately, the video and the article cited below will help me back up some the comments and explanations that I give to clients regarding the critical state of affairs at the SSA.

If Social Security Disability matters to you, please watch and the video and read the article below before you vote.  


I encourage everyone to read the wonderful piece written by Nancy Altman, Founder and Co-director of Social Security Works: Slowly Killing Social Security: Death By A Thousand Cuts

Monday, October 3, 2016

Social Security Completely Revamps the Mental Disability Listings

On September 26, 2016, the Social Security Administration finalized a total overhaul of the listings used to evaluate mental disorders and intellectual disabilities.  Most Social Security Disability Lawyers are surprised that these changes have been announced prior to the presidential election.   However, the new rules will not be in effect until January 17, 2017.  This is a major change and a very controversial move by Commissioner Colvin.  For a copy of the new listings click here.
"The Listings" are a long list of medical conditions with specific criteria that the SSA uses to determine whether a condition qualifies as disabling without having to determine whether a claimant can work or not.  If a claimant's conditions meets a listing, then the claimant is found to be disabled without the need to make any findings with respect to his or her residual functional capacity or vocational skills.
The new rules cover practically all mental disorders including: intellectual disabilities, schizophrenia, eating disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, anxiety and autism.  Each one of these new listings deserves a separate blog post.  It will take Social Security Disability Lawyers many months to fully understand the impact of these new changes. 
The new listings reflect the terminology used in the DSM-5 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) to classify mental disorders.  The DSM-5 is relatively new.  It replaced the DSM-4 on May of 2013.  On a first reading of the new rules, I noted some significant changes.  For example, there is a new listing for trauma which is separate from the listing for anxiety disorders.  On the intellectual disorder listing (12.05), the term "deficits in adaptive functioning", which was the subject of much litigation, has been thoroughly defined.  Another change is that listing 12.05 now requires evidence that the intellectual disability began prior to the attainment of age 22.