Can You Receive Disability And Welfare

Persons With Disabilities Designation Application

Contact us to request an application. It has three sections:

• You fill out the applicant portion
• Your doctor or nurse practitioner fills out the medical report portion
• A prescribed professional fills out the assessor report portion. For example, this could be a doctor, registered nurse or social worker

After you submit your application, well review it. Well let you know if you meet the eligibility criteria for the PWD designation.

Be Careful About Making False Or Incomplete Declarations

False declarations can have serious consequences. If you dont tell the truth or if you withhold information on your application form because you want to appear eligible or receive higher benefits, you could have to pay back any overpayment at a rate of $112 a month. You would also have to pay a $100 fine for making a false declaration.

If you disagree with a decision cancelling or reducing your benefits, you can contest the decision. See our article Contesting a Decision Regarding Social Assistance .

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Having A Spouse Can Affect Your Eligibility Or Your Benefits

Having a spouse could have an impact on your eligibility for social assistance or the amount of benefits you may be granted.

It is therefore important to be honest about your living situation. If you have a spouse, you must declare this situation, and your spouse must complete the application form with you.

For social assistance, spouses are:

• couples who are or in a civil union and who live together
• two people of the same or opposite sex who live together and who have a child together
• common-law partners of the same or opposite sex who live together now and who have at any one time lived together for at least one year

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Connections Between Tanf And Ssi

The changes in welfare policy in 1996 also changed the policy environment of the Supplemental Security Income program. From the beginning of the SSI program in 1972, SSI and Aid to Families with Dependent Children were linked by an overlap in the populations served and by the consequences of SSI receipt for AFDC eligibility and for state AFDC costs. With the SSI program, the federal government assumed financial responsibility for the needs of low-income disabled children. At the time of transfer, many of these children were already in families receiving support through AFDC. Simultaneously, some parents in AFDC families became themselves eligible for SSI benefits.

Similarly, recipients had a fiscal incentive to transfer from AFDC to SSI as well. The change could substantially increase benefits for the families involved. In general, SSI benefits exceeded amounts paid under AFDC. Between 1996 and 2003 , 7 states reduced the maximum nominal cash benefit available to families, 25 held cash benefits constant, and 19 increased benefits. In none of the 19 states did the increase in benefits match inflation. At the same time, the federal benefit rate for a single adult increased from $470 to $552, an increase of 17 percent. In Table 2, the change in the gain in constant dollars for a family of three by moving a child from AFDCTANF to SSI is illustrated for the period of 1996 to 2002. Obviously, the incentives for making the transfer have grown.

Disabilities In The Tanf Population

There is no national standard or requirement for administrative tabulation of disabilities among TANF recipients. As a result, the available information on disability prevalence is mostly derived from national household surveys. When possible, general survey information may be supplemented with information collected idiosyncratically for particular jurisdictions. The accumulation of evidence suggests that by the late 1990s between 35 percent and 44 percent of TANF families had disabilities or health-related limitations, even though most may not meet the SSI program definition of disability. These reports and others also find that, while both physical and mental impairments have been found prevalent in the TANF caseloads, mental impairments are more common . Lennon, Blome, and English have summarized many such studies.

Additionally, it is important to note that these studies report disability prevalence at different times. Because of the substantial turnover in TANF recipients and the dramatic decline in the caseload from 1994 through 2001, studies at different times cover different populations.

Also Check: How To Calculate Disability Retirement Pay

How Do Ssdi And Social Security Retirement Work Together

SSDI pays out your full retirement benefits until you qualify to draw them under the traditional Social Security retirement scheme. Once you reach full retirement age based on the year you were born, the SSA will automatically start your retirement benefits and cease your SSDI payments.

The SSA allows you to file for retirement benefits as early as age 62, or wait and receive your full benefit amount when you reach full retirement age. Depending on what year you were born, this may vary from 65 to 67 years old. For most people, it does not make sense to file for early retirement benefits at age 62 if you are already receiving SSDI because of a disability. Your disability payments equal your full retirement amount, and those who opt for early retirement receive reduced benefits.

Imagine that, at age 60, you suffer a back injury leading to a disability. You are approved for SSDI benefits and you begin drawing an amount equal to your full retirement amount. When you reach age 62, nothing changes you continue to draw your full SSDI amount. Once you reach your full retirement age, the SSA swaps you from SSDI to traditional retirement benefits. However, this occurs automatically so you will not see a break in your benefits and do not need to do anything to ensure this happens.

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Changed Environment Of Welfare

When compared with the operation of AFDC, the 1996 welfare legislation altered the terms of the federal and state fiscal relationship, expanded the range of discretion in program design, and imposed new requirements for program operation. Each of these changes potentially affected families with disabilities, either directly or indirectly, by influencing the way states treat such cases. This section examines how the structure of welfare changed in ways that have potential consequences for people with disabilities and discusses changes that specifically affect people with disabilities.

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Assistance For Children With Severe Disabilities

If you are a parent caring for a child with a severe disability, you may be able to receive financial support through the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities Program.

This program provides financial support for low-income to moderate-income families to cover some of the extra costs of caring for a child who has a severe disability.

You can apply for ACSD:

• by contacting your local office

Disability Benefits For Veterans

You may be eligible for disability benefits if you’re on disability from your service in the Canadian Armed Forces or Merchant Navy.

You may get social assistance payments from:

• your province or territory
• your First Nation

These payments will depend on your household income, savings and investments.

You may also be eligible for health-related benefits from your province or territory. These benefits may include benefits that help cover the cost of:

• medications
• medical aids or devices

Also Check: How Much Does Disability Pay In California

If You Inherit Property Or Possessions

We will treat property or other possessions you inherit as assets. Asset rules may apply which could affect your eligibility for Income Support.

There are some situations when the property or possessions you inherit may be considered exempt. Here are some examples:

• you inherit a house and live in it
• you inherit a car and use it as your primary vehicle.

More On Receiving Gifts:

Previously, a PWD recipient could only receive a one-time cash gift without penalty as long as they did not exceed their cash asset limit. Gifts could not be periodic or ongoing and could not exceed the persons cash asset limit. Now people on PWD will be able to receive multiple cash gifts with no effect on their eligibility for assistance. For example, if a family member wishes to help a child who is on PWD by giving them $200 per month for groceries, it will not affect that persons eligibility for assistance, or reduce the amount they receive. In addition, inheritances, education and training allowances, bursaries and scholarships will not be counted as income and will not affect eligibility previously such income would have been deducted dollar for dollar.

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Disability Income From Other Sources

If you are receiving disability income from other sources, such as a private insurer or a provincial/territorial program, you may still be able to receive the CPP disability benefit. However, these other sources may change their payments if you are approved for the disability benefit through the Canada Pension Plan.

Contact your insurance company or social assistance program for details about your case.

We’re Just Hiding You Guys

There’s a story we hear all the time these days that doesn’t, on its face, seem to have anything to do with disability: Local Mill Shuts Down. Or, maybe: Factory To Close.

Four years ago, when I was working as a reporter in Seattle, I did that story. I stood with workers in a dead mill in Aberdeen, Washington and memorialized the era when you could graduate from high school and get a job at a mill and live a good life. That was the end of the story.

But after I got interested in disability, I followed up with some of the guys to see what happened to them after the mill closed. One of them, Scott Birdsall, went to lots of meetings where he learned about retraining programs and educational opportunities. At one meeting, he says, a staff member pulled him aside.

“Scotty, I’m gonna be honest with you,” the guy told him. “There’s nobody gonna hire you ââ¬Â¦ We’re just hiding you guys.” The staff member’s advice to Scott was blunt: “Just suck all the benefits you can out of the system until everything is gone, and then you’re on your own.”

Scott, who was 56 years old at the time, says it was the most real thing anyone had said to him in a while.

There used to be a lot of jobs that you could do with just a high school degree, and that paid enough to be considered middle class. I knew, of course, that those have been disappearing for decades. What surprised me was what has been happening to many of the people who lost those jobs: They’ve been going on disability.

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When Can Someone With An Open Disability Claim Also Qualify For The Cerb

I will begin by saying that the vast majority of people who have an open disability claim will not qualify for the CERB. By open disability claim, I mean that you stopped work because of disability and have filed a disability claim. This includes those who have applied and are waiting on a decision who are approved and receiving payments and who are appealing a denial of disability benefits.

Following are the scenarios when a person on a disability claim can qualify for the CERB:

How Long Will It Take For Ssa To Pay Me

As a rule, it takes one to two months for back benefits to be paid and monthly benefits to begin in a Social Security disability case in which no SSI application was ever filed.

But these are only general rules. In some cases, it takes as long as 3 months for back benefits to be paid. When it takes more than 90 days for back benefits to be paid in a Social Security disability case, it may mean that there has been a bureaucratic mix-up somewhere in the system. In that case it will be necessary to take some sort of action to deal with the delayed benefits.

If 90 days pass from the date of the decision and I am still not paid my back benefits, is there anything that can be done to speed up payment?

It is possible that your attorney may be able to do something if you are not paid after 90 days. Be sure to telephone your attorney to explain that you havent gotten paid after about three months. It may be necessary at that point to contact the payment center.

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Claims Investigation And Decision Procedures

Claims

Under the legislation the onus is on a person to apply if s/he believes that s/he may have an entitlement to payment. The Disability Allowance claim form DA1 should be completed in full and signed by the claimant. The person should state his/her Personal Public Service Number . If s/he has no PPS no. he/she should apply to their local INTREO Centre and a new PPS no. will be allocated and should be quoted in all future correspondence.

The claimant should forward all relevant documentation as requested. However this may be submitted after the initial claim is made rather than delaying the claim in order to obtain it.

An acknowledgement of each claim is issued via SMS upon receipt of the claim where claimants have provided their mobile number.

Late Claims

The claim should be made within 7 days of the start of entitlement. However, the claim may be backdated for up to 6 months where the person can prove to the satisfaction of the Deciding Officer or Appeals Officer that s/he satisfied the qualifying conditions during that period and that throughout the period of delay there was good cause for delay in making the claim.

Further back-dating may also be possible in certain circumstances:

• where the failure to claim within the prescribed time period arose as a result of false and misleading information being provided by staff of this department to the person or their agent

See separate guidelines on ‘Claims and Late Claims’.

Documentation

Investigation of Claim

Appeals

Is There Anything I Can Do To Make Dealing With The Social Security Administration Easier

You shouldnt expect as many problems dealing with the Social Security Administration while receiving benefits as you had trying to get benefits in the first place. Sometimes, though, some people have problems. Here are some things you can do to try to minimize the hassle:

• Keep all decisions, letters, and notices you receive from SSA in a safe place.
• Read everything you get from the Social Security Administration. The booklets that come with award letters and notices are well written and informative.
• When reading the booklets you receive from the Social Security Administration, pay special attention to the kind of information you are required to report to the Social Security Administration. Report promptly and in writing and keep a copy with your Social Security papers.
• Dont necessarily believe everything they tell you at the Social Security Administration 800 number. If you have an important issue to take up with the Social Security Administration, sometimes it is better to go to your local Social Security Office.

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Employment And Disability Payments

Social assistance payments: DisabilityAllowance and Blind Pensionare means-tested disability payments. If you start work, you must notify theDSP and provide proof of your earnings . You do not need to have been getting yourpayment for a minimum period of time before you can take up work. You may keepyour Disability Allowance or Blind Pension if your income is below a certainlevel.

If you leave your new job, you should contact the DSP and your DisabilityAllowance will be quickly re-instated at the appropriate rate.

Some People Who Qualify For Ssi Receive A Small Amount Of Social Security Disability Benefits Applying For Both Benefits Is Called A Concurrent Claim

Updated By Bethany K. Laurence, Attorney

In certain circumstances, you can collect SSI and SSDI at the same time . This happens when a disability applicant is approved for Social Security disability insurance benefits but receives only a low monthly payment. Someone usually gets a low SSDI payment if they made low wages or they did not work much in recent years.

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Can I Get Disability Benefits

Question & Answer

Long delays for appeal hearings

If you’re appealing a decision made by OW or ODSP in 2020, your appeal hearing may not happen for a long time. People report that they’re getting hearing dates from the Social Benefits Tribunal that are between 9 and 16 months in the future. We’ll update this information as things change.

If your income is low and you live in Ontario, you may be able to get financial help from the Ontario Disability Support Program . This kind of help is called income support.

Income support from ODSP is for people with serious health problems. There are rules about who can get income support and what you must do to keep getting it.

How much you get from ODSP depends on a number of things.

You have to qualify both:

You must be 18 or older to get income support on your own from ODSP. But you can apply if you will turn 18 within the next 6 months.