As part of the bipartisan budget of 2015, Congress instructed the Social Security Administration to enact a rule excluding evidence from medical providers who have been convicted of fraud. This mandate arose out of the concern that disability claimants could be gaining an unfair advantage by using medical opinions that had been obtain through dishonest means.
Although this rule serves a good purpose, its strict application could lead to unfair results. In many cases involving fraud accusations, claimants were completely unaware that their lawyers or medical experts were involved in fraud. I have seen this in cases that I have worked on in Kentucky where some claimants were completely unaware of the fraud. Unfortunately, when cases from claimants from Kentucky were re-opened during the course fraud investigations, it was extremely difficult to prove their cases without relying on evidence from sources who were implicated in the scandal. It isn't fair to assume that all medical evidence produced by a doctor who was involved in fraud is unreliable. Take the example of a case from Puerto Rico that I worked on. In Puerto Rico, the same doctor who was involved in the fraud was also hired by the agency to perform consultative evaluations. Under those circumstances, it wasn't fair to exclude the consultative evaluation from the review process.
The proposed regulation will allow the SSA to admit evidence otherwise excluded if there exists "good cause". The proposed regulations lays out five circumstances under which good cause might exist. For a copy of the proposed rule visit:
Another important mandate of this new rule is that it requires medical providers to inform the SSA that they have been subject to penalties for fraudulent conduct.
On March 20, 2015, the Social Security Administration published a "final" rule regarding the duty of Social Security Disability Lawyers to submit all relevant evidence pertaining to a disability claim. These new regulations are available at at
80 Fed. Reg. 14828 (Mar. 20, 2015). For a PDF version of the rule click here.
Many lawyers expressed concern regarding this new rule because it erodes the attorney-work product privilege that protects certain documents created by lawyers during the course of a judicial or administrative proceeding. Specifically the new rule states that claimants and their lawyers must "inform
us [SSA] about or submit all evidence known to you that relates to whether or
not you are blind or disabled,” with two exceptions: (1) material subject to
the attorney-client privilege, and (2) the representative’s “analysis of the
claim,” a narrow version of the attorney work product doctrine. Therefore, both favorable
and unfavorable evidence must be submitted. What “evidence” must be
submitted? The claimant and his or her lawyer must inform SSA
about “all evidence.” Claimants and representatives must submit everything
“relevant” they receive. However, claimants and representatives do not need to
request “all evidence.” SSA’s response to comments reiterates the agency’s duty
to develop the file. SSA’s response also states that “if claimants or their
representatives request only the discharge summary from a hospital chart, we
require them to submit only what they receive in response to that request in
its entirety. We would not require them to request and pay for all of the other
records from that hospitalization.” SSA’s response to comments also notes that
medical records for an individual other than the claimant, sent accidentally by
a treating source, are not considered relevant.
What
about opinions and questionnaires generated by doctors during a disability claim? In addition to requesting extant medical
records, representatives often ask medical providers to write letters or
complete questionnaires about a claimant’s impairments. SSA’s response to
comments explain that “if a claimant’s medical source sends his or her
representative medical records or a written opinion about the claimant’s
medical condition, the representative cannot withhold those records or that
opinion based on the work product doctrine adopted under these rules.” Therefore, these questionnaires have to be turned over to the SSA even when they are not favorable to a claimant's case.
The guidelines used by the Social Security Administration to determine when an existing beneficiary's eligibility will be reviewed are fairly subjective. However, when a claimant receives a fully favorable decision from an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), the decision usually states a specific time period when the case will be reviewed again by the SSA.
Lately, ALJs have been setting very short periods for disability reviews. This all seems to be part of a trend at the national level, to make Social Security Disability guidelines stricter than ever before. (Don't be fooled by the ramblings of those who are maliciously leading everyone to believe that obtaining SSD is easy.)
For example, just a few days ago I got a fully favorable decision that stated that the claimant's case had to be reviewed again in 12 months. This is an extremely short period. In reality, most cases that are granted are reviewed between 18 to 36 months.
When a case is granted prior to a hearing with an ALJ, the SSA uses certain specific guidelines for determining when a case will be reviewed. However, the exact interpretation of these rules can be a bit subjective. Here is the terminology used by Social Security used to determine when a case will be reviewed. At what point in time your case will be reviewed, depends of where your expected medical improvement falls in relation to the following terms:
If "medical improvement" is "expected", your condition will be reviewed within 18 months.
If "medical improvement" in your case is "possible", your case will be reviewed in approximately 3 years.
If "medical improvement" is "not expected", your case will be reviewed in 5 to 7 years.
I would like to extend my warm holiday wishes to all the faithful readers of the Connecticut Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog.
First and foremost, let me point out that I have not missed a single blog this year! This blog has been updated every Monday --with the exception of one week when it was updated on Tuesday because I was on vacation in Portland, Oregon.
As I reflect on this past year, I realize that my practice has grown and that there are many changes coming to my office in 2014. Here is a modest wish list of some of the things that I would like Santa to bring me, in my capacity as a Connecticut SSDI Lawyer.
Next year Santa will be bringing me a brand new office space in Hartford! I expect to move to a place just two buildings down from where I am now. I am really excited about this new development. The new space will be bigger and much more comfortable.
Santa is also bringing us lots of new gadgets. We are in the process of acquiring a mega scanner. This will help us continue with our shift to an office that is almost entirely electronic. I love the fact that my office is paperless and that I can work and connect with clients from practically any location. All this state of the art technology enables us to represent clients in practically any corner of Connecticut or Massachusetts.
I would also like to install video conference equipment in our new conference room. This way we can conduct meetings via Skype and, also develop educational materials in video format that we can then distribute to our clients via You Tube.
And... last but not least, Santa will bring a fancy espresso machine for Jessica: our wonderful para-legal.
Over the past few weeks, I have been asked --on several occasions--, to comment on the implications of the use of medical marijuana in the Social Security Disability process. This is definitely a hot new issue. I'm sure that there is going to be a lot of debate on Medical Marijuana (MMJ) and SSDI in the upcoming months. I'm particularly curious as to what other Social Security lawyers are telling their clients and whether disability claimants are fully aware of the possible implications of MMJ in their cases.
I must confess that I am not particularly thrilled about the use of marijuana by some of my clients, regardless of whether the use is medical or recreational. Its not that I'm old fashioned or uncool. (Am I?) It's that I'm a pragmatic kind of guy. My role as a Social Security Disability lawyer is to obtain for my clients the maximum amount of benefits allowed by law, not to make political statements or to advocate in favor of alternative medical treatments.
Due to these concerns brought recently to my attention, I would like to use this week's blog to discuss some of the pros and cons of medical marijuana in the context of SSDI or SSI cases.
Some of the Cons...
Bear in mind that Social Security is a federal program and that federal law does not recognize the use of medical marijuana. Understand that under federal law the use of marijuana is still illegal. Social Security judges (ALJ's) are required to abide by federal law. Potentially, an ALJ could find that a claimant and/or a doctor who repeatedly breaks federal law is not totally credible.
I usually like to argue that medication side effects are contributing to my client's disability. Given the fact that marijuana is not a legal medication under federal law, I don't think I'm going to be able to argue that being constantly "high on pot" is a symptom that contributes to my client's disability.
I believe that, in many instances, medical marijuana can be very detrimental to a claimant who is seeking to obtain benefits based on a mental disability. I often argue that my client's unusual behavior is evidence that he or she suffers from mental illness. Unfortunately, if a person is under the influence of MMJ, it might be harder to asses the real reason why the person is acting strangely. Keep in mind that there is a the popular belief that people act "weird" when they smoke marijuana if even when that is not the case in most circumstances.
Some of the Pros
I am convinced that, in some instances, pot is the only medication that really works. Under these circumstances, the claimant must be prepared to tell the judge that he or she tried all other traditional medications available and that none of them offered any relief of the symptoms. This scenario could ultimately bolster a Social Security Disability claim. However, it is important to point out that under these circumstances, the claimant must have sufficient medical records to be able to make this argument.
Finally, under the latest Social Security ruling on drug addiction and alcoholism (SSR 13-2p), marijuana use is not material to a Social Security Disability case unless its use is considered an addiction and is "a contributing factor material to the claimant's disability". (See my blog from Feb. 25, 2013) I would argue that under this ruling, a judge cannot consider medical marijuana at all when making a decision, unless there is evidence that the marijuana use raises to the level of an addiction and that marijuana is contributing to the claimant's limitations.
June is Scleroderma Awareness Month!
A diagnosis of scleroderma does not automatically entitle a person to disability
benefits. The Social Security Administration recognizes scleroderma as a potentially disabling illness and includes scleroderma in their
listing of impairments. Nonetheless, if you have been diagnosed with scleroderma and
the disease is affecting your activities of daily living, it is a good idea to
be proactive and schedule a consultation with a Social Security Disability
Lawyer. We are always available for free consultations and don’t mind learning
about a person’s case well in advance of the actual date of the “onset of
disability” (the date when you can no longer work). We believe that a
conscientious disability attorney should be willing provide you with a free
consultation, particularly when you suffer from a serious condition such as
scleroderma.
One of the reasons why we like to
talk to clients well in advance of filing for Social Security Disability Benefits
is that, in order to successfully obtain social security benefits, an applicant
must have the support of his or her doctor(s). Consequently, we urge our
clients to ask their doctors if they are willing to fill up social security
questionnaires and provide letters in support of their patient’s applications
for social security benefits. Unfortunately, many doctors don’t cooperate with
their clients and refuse to fill up these forms regardless of the severity of
their patient’s condition.
There are two basic ways that a
person can qualify for Social Security benefits due to scleroderma. An individual can meet the
requirements of a listing set out in Social Security's list of qualifying
impairments or show that he or she is unable to work. The list of impairments is essentially a "blue book"
used by the Social Security Administration to determine whether an individual
meets the Social Security definition of disability. If a person’s condition
“meets or equals” the listing, then that person is automatically deemed to be
disabled. The listing for scleroderma (systemnic sclerosis) is contained in Section 14.04 of the listing: 14.04 Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma).As described in 14.00D3. With: A. Involvement of two or more organs/body systems, with:
1. One of the organs/body systems involved to at least a moderate level of severity; and
2. At least two of the constitutional symptoms or signs (severe fatigue, fever, malaise, or involuntary weight loss).
OR B. With one of the following:
1. Toe contractures or fixed deformity of one or both feet, resulting in the inability to ambulate effectively as defined in 14.00C6; or
2. Finger contractures or fixed deformity in both hands, resulting in the inability to perform fine and gross movements effectively as defined in 14.00C7; or
3. Atrophy with irreversible damage in one of both lower extremities, resulting in the inability to ambulate effectively as defined in 14.00C6; or
4. Atrophy with irreversible damage in both upper extremities, resulting in the inability to perform fine and gross movements effectively as defined in 14.00C7.
OR C. Raynaud’s phenomenon, characterized by:
1. Gangrene involving at least two extremities; or
2. Ischemia with ulcerations of toes or fingers, resulting in the inability to ambulate effectively or to perform fine and gross movements effectively as defined in 14.00C6 and 14.00C7.
OR D. Repeated manifestations of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), with at least two of the constitutional symptoms or signs (severe fatigue, fever, malaise, or involuntary weight loss) and one of the following at the marked level:
1. Limitation of activities of daily living.
2. Limitation in maintaining social functioning.
3. Limitation in completing tasks in a timely manner due to deficiencies in concentration, persistence, or pace.If your condition is severe but not at the same or equal
level of severity as a medical condition on the list, then the Social Security
Administration must determine if it interferes with your ability to do the work
you did previously (during the last 15 years). If you cannot do the work you did in the past 15 years,
the Social Security Administration will see if you are able to adjust to other
work. The Social Security Administration will consider your medical conditions
and your age, education, past work experience and any transferable skills you
may have. If you cannot adjust to other work, your claim will be approved. If
you can adjust to other work, your claim will be denied.
Earnings for active duty military service or active duty training have been covered under Social Security since 1957. Social Security has covered inactive duty service in the armed forces reserves (such as weekend drills) since 1988.
If you served in the military before 1957, you did not pay Social Security taxes, but we gave you special credit for some of your service.
You can get both Social Security benefits and military retirement. Generally, there is no reduction of Social Security benefits because of your military retirement benefits. You’ll get your full Social Security benefit based on your earnings.
Social Security and Medicare taxes
While you are in military service, you pay Social Security taxes just as civilian employees do. In 2012, the tax rate is 5.65 percent, up to a maximum of $110,100. If you earn more, you continue to pay the Medicare portion of the tax (1.45 percent) on the rest of your earnings.
How your work qualifies you for Social Security To qualify for benefits, you must have worked and paid Social Security taxes for a certain length of time. In 2012, you will receive four credits if you earn at least $4,520. The amount needed to get credit for your work goes up each year. The number of credits you need to qualify for Social Security benefits depends on your age and the type of benefit for which you are eligible. No one needs more than 10 years of work.
Extra earnings Your Social Security benefit depends on your earnings, averaged over your working lifetime. Generally, the higher your earnings, the higher your Social Security benefit. Under certain circumstances, special earnings can be credited to your military pay record for Social Security purposes. The extra earnings are for periods of active duty or active duty for training. These extra earnings may help you qualify for Social Security or increase the amount of your Social Security benefit.
If you became disabled while on active military service on or after October 1, 2001 you can receive expedited processing of your Social Security disability claim. When you apply for Social Security benefits, you will be asked for proof of your military service (DD Form 214) or information about your reserve or National Guard service.
The Holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on the the things that we have accomplished during the year and to take a moment to thank those who were there for us when we needed a helping hand.
Obtaining Social Security disability benefits for those who suffer from chronic conditions or physical ailments is not an easy task. Fortunately, I am very proud to say that during 2012 I was able to count on an outstanding network of medical and social service providers who were always there for my clients. I would like to mention just a few of them in this post. In the next few days, I will attempt to look back at my office records in order to find those that I have missed. Hopefully, I will have sometime to call these great friends or to send them a note expressing my gratitude.
Since the list of people that I have to thank is very long, I most instances, I am just mentioning the particular organization or group that they belong to.
Community Health Services (CHS)- with special thanks to Soraya Maldonado
Latino Community Services
Institute for the Hispanic Family
Catholic Charities
Charter Oak Clinic
The Village for Families and Children
Hartford Behavioral Health
The Malta House
The Institute of Living
The Lupus Foundation of America, Connecticut Chapter
Magda Quinones from St. Francis Hospital
Dr. Miguel Colan
Dr. Keshav Rao
Dr. Gary Belt
Finally, I would like to add that words cannot describe the emotions felt by my clients when they are able to get Social Security Disability Benefits after a prolonged struggle. Most of them wait well over a year and endure enormous hardships before they are able to receive benefits. As their lawyer, I know very well that each and everyone of my clients are also very grateful for the assistance provided by their medical and social service providers in the process of obtaining social security disability benefits.
Having a doctor on a claimant's side makes a world of difference in a Social Security Disability case. Unfortunately, many of the persons who are considering filing for disability seem to be unaware of this important fact. The opinion of the doctor or doctors who treat a claimant can make or break a disability claim. For this reason, I would like to provide some helpful hints on how to enlist your doctor's help in your SSDI or SSI case and how to make the best use of his or her medical opinion regarding your physical or mental limitations. In addition, I would like to provide some suggestions on what to do in circumstances when a doctor refuses to cooperate with the case.
YOUR DOCTOR NEEDS TO KNOW YOU AS A PATIENT: In order to make the best use of the opinion of a doctor in a Social Security case, a lawyer needs to establish that the doctor has been treating the patient long enough to be able to form a credible opinion. Simply stated, the more the doctor knows you, the more weight Social Security is required to give to his or her opinion. Your doctor's opinion has to be given controlling weight, unless the judge can cite specific reasons why it should be disregarded. One of the reasons most commonly cited by judges for giving little weight to a medical opinion is that the doctor did not treat the claimant long enough to be able to form a credible opinion. Likewise, many doctors feel uncomfortable issuing opinions or helping patients that they have just begun to treat. For this reason, I often recommend to clients not to bring up the issue of disability with a doctor that they have just begun seeing. I believe that doctors are often irked when a patient brings up the issue of his or her social security disability case during their first or second visit. Therefore, whenever possible, a claimant must give his or her doctor reasonable time to form an opinion with respect to his or her limitations.
TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE FILING YOUR CASE: Before a Social Security disability claim is filed, it is a good idea to ask the treating physician whether he or she will support the claim. Moreover, the claimant should specifically ask whether the doctor would be willing to complete a questionnaire stating his patient's limitations. However, I think that before posing the question, the patient should engage in a dialogue with the doctor regarding problems performing specific work related tasks. Ideally, this dialogue should take place over the course of several office visits. I believe that a doctor is more likely to support a claim when he has had a chance to openly discuss the case with his patient beforehand. I believe that doctors are reluctant to help patients with their disability claims when they are unexpectedly asked to support a disability claim.
REMEMBER THAT YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR DOCTOR ARE OFTEN RECORDED IN THE MEDICAL RECORD: Many of my clients are unaware of the fact that doctors often transcribe in the medical record the content of their conversations with their patients. In fact, doctors are known to record specific statements made by their clients that pertain to their disability claim. Unfortunately, I have found several instances where my clients' statements have ruined their chances of getting their claim approved. Disability claimants should be very careful with what they tell their doctors when they ask for a medical opinion. Don't joke around with the doctor on how desperately you need the money from Social Security or how you have to look really bad in order to win disability. Keep in mind that your comments could be misconstrued very easily and remember, it is never a good idea to suggest to a doctor to exaggerate the severity of a condition or an illness, or to ask the doctor to be dishonest in any way.
GIVE YOUR DOCTOR A BRIEF QUESTIONNAIRE THAT GOES TO THE HEART OF YOUR CLAIM: Social Security Disability Lawyers often prepare questionnaires for their client's doctors. These questionnaires ask the treating physicians to state the extent and the nature of their patients physical and mental limitations. When preparing these questionnaires it is important to keep in mind that doctors don't have a lot of time in their hands and that they dislike having to spend time completing forms. For this reason, I like to keep my questionnaires brief and to the point. Moreover, the questionnaire should go right to the legal issues that are most relevant to the case. For example, the questionnaire should specifically ask questions that could help a judge decide whether the claimant's case falls within a specific Social Security rule or guideline. I believe that the best way to obtain a good opinion from a doctor is by giving him or her one of these questionnaires. (In my office we call these questionnaires: "medical source statements".) Instead of questionnaires, some doctors prefer to write a letter in support of their patient's disability claim. I often find that these letters are not very effective because, in many instances, they fail to address the specific legal issues being decided by the adjudicators in the case.
OFFER TO COMPENSATE YOUR DOCTOR FOR HIS OR HER TIME: Whenever possible, it is a good idea to offer to compensate the doctor for the time spent completing the questionnaire. Most of the time, the amount paid is just a nominal sum. However, I believe that doctors often appreciate the gesture and spend additional time and effort when their patient offers to remunerate them for their valuable time.
IF YOUR DOCTOR IS UNCOOPERATIVE, CONSIDER FINDING A NEW ONE: Let's face it. Some doctors don't want to help their disabled patients get benefits. Its probably not worth your time trying to convince them to complete a medical source statement for your case. Under those circumstances, its probably a good idea to consider changing doctors. I know that this type of decision can be very difficult. However, I have found that in many instances a claimant can get a new doctor that is more cooperative with their case without having to sacrifice the quality of their care. Naturally, claimants should not wait until the last minute to get a new doctor. The earlier they get on the right track, the better.
DOCTORS WHO ARE NOT SPECIALISTS IN YOUR MEDICAL CONDITION CAN ALSO HELP YOUR CASE: An alternative to finding a new doctor is asking one of your treating physicians who is not a specialist in your particular condition to help with your case. I have found that primary care physicians can often issue very credible opinions which are well supported by the medical evidence in the record. In many circumstances these opinions can be extremely helpful. Don't be discouraged if your specialist does not help you. The Social Security Administration knows that highly paid specialists such as neurosurgeons often refuse to complete medical source statements. I believe that you can still win, even when your neurosurgeon refuses to complete a medical source statement. I recently won a case in which the neurosurgeon refused to help his client. Fortunately, prior to filing for disability, my client had seen a neurologist on several occasions for some problems related to his spinal cord condition. My client went back to the neurologist and was able to obtain a very well reasoned medical opinion. The opinion from the neurologist, combined with a questionnaire completed by his primary care doctor, was enough to win him disability benefits.
The Social Security Administration and the Department of Defense (DoD) are working together to improve access to disability benefits for the nation’s Wounded Warriors, service members, veterans, and their dependents. A new nationwide project enables Social Security disability case processing sites to receive military medical records from multiple DoD facilities with a single request to a centralized DoD site. As of today, this initiative is in its first phase of nationwide expansion.
“Receiving electronic medical records for our Wounded Warriors and other military personnel will significantly shorten the time it takes to make a disability decision,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “This new process will improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of the disability program.”
Originally a pilot, the program included five states (Colorado, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington) and more than 60 military treatment facilities. These states are now receiving electronic medical records within 72 hours, a remarkable improvement over the previous average response time of five weeks for paper records from individual military treatment facilities.
The new DoD-Social Security collaboration consolidates requests for medical records from Social Security to a single location that has access to DoD records in a central electronic repository. This central location receives and responds to requests for medical records based on Social Security’s Electronic Records Express (www.socialsecurity.gov/ere), another successful initiative that offers electronic options for submitting health records related to disability claims.
The benefits of the new process include:
faster delivery of DoD medical records to Social Security,
a more efficient system to obtain records,
a reduction in the time it takes to make a medical decision on a disability claim, and
a reduction in the number of consultative examinations (medical exams requested by Social Security when additional tests or medical records are needed.)
This is the first step towards the long-term goal of a fully automated solution of improving medical information sharing using health information technology and the Nationwide Health Information Network Exchange.
There are three ways that a person can apply for Social Security Disability Benefits: 1. in person at a local Social Security Field Office, 2. by phone or, 3. on line. Any of these three methods is perfectly fine. Here are some helpful hints and recommendations regarding the initial Social Security Application process, with particular emphasis on some of the issues faced by claimants who use the online system in the State of Connecticut.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) seems to have an ongoing media campaign encouraging applicants to use the online system. www.SSA.gov This electronic system seems to be working relatively well for most applicants. In addition, the SSA is constantly working on improving its online system and has been adding new features to its web page on a regular basis. I must confess that, at times, it is hard to keep up. One of the most common issues with respect to the online system, is that not all aspects of the Social Security process can be conducted in an electronic format. Despite these limitations, the SSA is working at a very fast pace towards a paperless electronic system and, pretty soon, practically every aspect of the process will be conducted in an electronic format. One example of this problem was the fact that applicants could do the entire initial application and adult disability report online but then, had to mail a separate form to the SSA giving the agency authorization to look at their medical information. However, just today, the SSA came up with a new electronic Authorization Form to Disclose Information to the SSA (Form SSA-827). Now applicants can provide an electronic signature to disclose their medical information, instead of using the traditional "wet ink" signature that our civilization has used for more than two millenniums.
Another difficulty with the current online system is that it can only be used for SSDI applications. Applicants for SSI still have to apply in person or by phone. This causes some confusion, since most Social Security Disability Lawyers advise their clients to simultaneously apply for SSI and SSDI. However, this apparent problem is easily solved by completing the SSDI form online and then calling the local office to do the SSI application by phone. Another easier way of resolving this issue is by stating in the SSDI online application that the claimant also wishes to apply for SSI. The online application specifically asks whether the applicant also wants to apply for SSI. If the online applicant clicks on the "yes" button, someone from the SSA will contact the claimant to complete the SSI application on the phone.
Another issue particular to Connecticut is that applicants from the Bristol area, who apply on line, receive a statement indicating their case is being handled by the Hartford Field Office instead of the Bristol Field Office. This can be a bit confusing but, I suspect, is no big deal. The Hartford Field Office seems to be handling cases from the Bristol area due to budget cuts. However, even though the Hartford Field Office is in charge of the case, claimants can still go to the Bristol Field Office to submit any necessary paperwork that cannot be delivered by mail or online. For example, this week, one of my clients from Bristol was told that she had to show proof of citizenship to the SSA in person. Since she is disabled, driving long distances is difficult. She thought that she had to appear in person in the Hartford filed office to show her passport. She was a bit overwhelmed and was making arrangements to have a friend drive her to downtown Hartford. Fortunately, I was able to talk to her before she got in the car with her friend and explained that she could present her passport to the Bristol Field Office (which happens to be very close to her house) even though the Hartford Field Office is the office which is formally in charge of her application.
Another important piece of information is that now, Social Security Field Offices close at 3:30 PM. The early closure of the Field Offices is also due to budgetary constraints. For your convenience here is a list of the Social Security Field Offices in Connecticut.
Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits - Connecticut Social Security Office Phone Numbers and Addresses:
In reality, Social Security Disability Benefits are governed by two separate programs: SSI and SSDI.What is the difference between the two?
The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program pays benefits to you and certain family members, if you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes.
The definition of “disability” is the same under both programs and is determined by the same process.
Who Qualifies for SSDI?
You must have worked long enough--and recently enough--under Social Security to qualify for SSDI.
Social Security work credits are based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income. You can earn up to four credits each year.
The amount needed for a credit changes from year to year. In 2012, for example, you earn one credit for each $1,130 of wages or self-employment income. When you've earned $4,520, you've earned your four credits for the year.
The number of work credits needed for disability benefits depends on your age when you become disabled. Generally you need 40 credits, 20 of which were earned in the last 10 years ending with the year you become disabled. However, younger workers may qualify with fewer credits. The rules are as follows:
Before age 24--You may qualify if you have 6 credits earned in the 3-year period ending when your disability starts.
Age 24 to 31--You may qualify if you have credit for working half the time between age 21 and the time you become disabled. For example, if you become disabled at age 27, you would need credit for 3 years of work (12 credits) out of the past 6 years (between ages 21 and 27).
Age 31 or older--In general, you need to have the number of work credits shown in the chart below. Unless you are blind, you must have earned at least 20 of the credits in the 10 years immediately before you became disabled.
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Born after 1929, Became Disabled At Age:
Number of Credits You Need:
31 through 42
20
44
22
46
24
48
26
50
28
52
30
54
32
56
34
58
36
60
38
62 or older
40
Who Qualifies for SSI?
Whether you can get SSI depends on your income and resources (the things you own).
Income Limits:
Income is money you receive such as wages, Social Security benefits and pensions. Income also includes such things as food and shelter.A person who is not blind and is just now applying for SSI disability benefits and earns more than $1,010 a month probably will not be able to get SSI benefits.
Social Security does not count all of your income when it decides whether you qualify for SSI. For example, the SSA does not count:
The first $20 a month of most income you receive;
The first $65 a month you earn from working and half the amount over $65;
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps;
Shelter you get from private nonprofit organizations; and
Most home energy assistance.
If you are married, the SSA also includes part of your spouse’s income and resources when deciding whether you qualify for SSI. If you are younger than age 18, the SSA includes part of your parents’ income and resources. And, if you are a sponsored noncitizen, the SSA may include your sponsor’s income and resources.
If you are a student, some of the wages or scholarships you receive may not count.
Limits on Resources:
Resources that the SSA counts in deciding whether you qualify for SSI include real estate, bank accounts, cash, stocks and bonds.
You may be able to get SSI if your resources are worth no more than $2,000. A couple may be able to get SSI if they have resources worth no more than $3,000. If you own property that you are trying to sell, you may be able to get SSI while trying to sell it.
Social Security does not count everything you own in deciding whether you have too many resources to qualify for SSI. For example, the SSA does not count:
The home you live in and the land it is on;
Life insurance policies with a face value of $1,500 or less;
Your car (only one car);
Burial plots for you and members of your immediate family; and
Up to $1,500 in burial funds for you and up to $1,500 in burial funds for your spouse.
