Tuesday, April 23, 2024

How To Reinstate Suspended Social Security Disability Benefits

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What Is A Prevalence Trend

Social Security Administration to restore disability benefits for hundreds of people

When we talk about how many people in the population have an illness, we often use the term prevalence. By prevalence we usually mean point prevalence: the proportion of a population that has a given illness or condition at a certain point in time. Other measures of prevalence are period prevalence, the proportion of the population who have been cases within a given period of time, such as the past year, and, in particular, lifetime prevalence, the proportion of the population who have been cases over their lifetime. As described below, data from the SSI program mainly allow statements about point prevalencethe proportion of children who are SSI recipients in December of each calendar year.

Administrative Data

Examples Individuals with Disabilities Education Act data on learning disabilities

IDEA mandates that schools should identify, serve, and report children with specific learning disabilities. The number of children served varies widely between states, depending upon the stringency of the methods used to determine eligibility. Individual state data are reported to the federal government who then track the estimated prevalence of learning disabilities based upon this information.

Advantages

Challenges in Comparing SSI Prevalence Trends with Prevalence Trends in the General Population.

The Ssdi Elimination Period Is A 5

The elimination period for any insurance policy is nothing more than a waiting period that must pass before the claimant begins to have benefits begin.

Elimination periods are not waiting periods in the sense that you are merely waiting for your payment to arrive or to be processed. Instead, the elimination period is a series of months during which you as a claimant are not earning any benefits and for which no payments will be made. The end of the elimination period marks the time when your entitlement to benefit payments begins. The first SSD benefit payment will cover the first full month following the end of the five-month waiting period.

NOTE: There is no elimination period for any disabled SSD claimant suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis if their SSD benefits were approved on or after July 23, 2020.

Only professional disability advocates and qualified disability lawyers can navigate the maze of federal regulations relating to SSD and SSI disability benefits. You deserve to know your SSD disability rights.

Reach out to us at London Disability for help with any issue you are facing with your SSD or SSI claim.

Reinstating Ssdi After Incarceration Ends

SSDI benefit payments are suspended when a benefits recipient is incarcerated for more than 30 consecutive days. To reinstate SSDI benefits when the incarcerated person is released, the recipient must convey their prison release documents to the SSA. During the Coronavirus Pandemic, the documents may be left in a designated drop-box or transmitted to SSA in another way. Your SSDI lawyer or advocate will be able to direct you.

Once a formerly incarcerated person provides proof of their release to the SSA, benefit payments will resume for the month following the month in which the claimant regained eligibility.

If an SSDI recipient is incarcerated for more than 12 months, they will need to reapply for benefits because their benefits will have been terminated, not just suspended.

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Reinstating Ssdi Benefits After Death Of Representative Payee Or Lost Address

Social Security Disability Back Pay

When a representative payee passes away or there is an address change that results in the SSDI losing touch with the claimant, the SSA has no option other than suspending payments until it resolves these issues. The government wont continue to make benefit payments if it has no reliable information about whom to pay and where to send payment, even with direct deposit.

To reinstate the benefit payments in these cases, the claimant or an authorized agent must contact the SSA and notify them of the new address of the recipient or that of the newly identified representative payee.

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Expedited Reinstatement For Ssdi Recipients Who Returned To Work

Expedited Reinstatement is available to those whose benefits were suspended because they returned to work earning more than the SGA. These former SSDI recipients have up to 60 months from the date of their last SSDI benefits payment to file for Expedited Reinstatement which provides immediate provisional SSDI benefit payments for up to 6 months while the SSA considers the new information you submit with your request for reinstatement.

If your request to reinstate your SSDI benefits is ultimately denied, you may keep the provisional benefits money you received during the 6-month Expedited Reinstatement period.

Can You Appeal An Expedited Reinstatement Denial

Yes, you can appeal an EXR but the appeal must be filed within 60 days of receiving your denial letter. The document you need to send to the SSA is called a Request for Reconsideration. Your local disability determination agency will review your application to determine if an error was made in denying your request.

Denials of Requests for Reconsideration can be appealed within 60 days of receiving a denial letter. This appeal will be held in a courtroom where an administrative law judge will preside over the case. The appeals process at this point resembles the appeals process in other types of disability appeals.

If an ALJ denies your second Request for Consideration, you have another chance to appeal the denial by taking it to the Social Security Appeals Council. The Appeals Council reviews why the ALJ decided to deny your request. Sometimes, an ALJ may make a procedural or legal error that the Appeal Council will catch and overturn. They will also examine all documents included in your case. You are allowed to provide the Appeals Council additional information pertinent to your medical disability.

Once the Appeals Council is finished reviewing your Request for Consideration, they will take one of three possible actions:

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When Does The 5

It is important to understand that the 5-month SSD elimination or waiting period is not started on the date you applied for benefit payments. Many disabled SSD claimants actually meet all the conditions to qualify for disability benefits long before they file an application to receive SSD payments.

For example, a person who had to stop working on December 31 because they became too ill from a clearly diagnosed disease could be at home for many months without applying for SSD benefits. Then, in October, ten months after their disability began, they finally file an application for SSD payments. The 5-month elimination period would be calculated from the date they became eligible for SSD benefits, in January. In this example, the claimants 5-month elimination period would include January, February, March, April, and May. Even though they did not apply for benefits until October, their benefit payments would cover each month they qualified beginning in June, the sixth month after the disability began.

Medically Determinable Impairment Severity And Duration

Social Security Work Incentives Q& A: Expedited Reinstatement (EXR)

In the second step, the DDS evaluates whether an applicant has a severe medically determinable impairment as required by the Social Security Act, and the claim will be denied if the child does not have a severe medically determinable impairment as defined by statute and in the Code of Federal Regulations .

The SSA defines a medically determinable physical or mental impairment as an impairment that results from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities which can be shown by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques . A medically determinable impairment must be established by medical evidence that includes symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings . Furthermore, the medical evidence used to support a medically determinable impairment must come from an SSA-approved list of medical sources, which includes licensed physicians and psychologists . If there is not sufficient medical evidence to support a finding of a medically determinable impairment, the claim will be denied.

Applicants will also be denied if the impairment is not considered severe. The SSA defines a nonsevere impairment as an impairment or combination of impairments that does not cause more than a minimal limitation in the individual’s ability to function in an age-appropriate manner .

If the DDS finds that the claimant has a severe, medically determinable impairment, the claim will proceed to step 3.

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Social Security Disability Eligibility When Sentenced To Jail Time

A jail or prison sentence affects disability benefits in different ways, based on the crime for which youre convicted and the length of your sentence. Criminal offenses affect disability benefits, but non-criminal offenses do not.

If you are convicted of a criminal offense, then the SSA will suspend your benefits if your sentence is 30-consecutive days or longer. If your jail time is shorter, then your benefits remain in effect, even while you serve your sentence. If convicted of a non-criminal offense, your disability is unaffected, even if you serve a 30-day or longer sentence.

What Is An Expedited Reinstatement For Ssdi

An EXR avoids filling out an entire disability application while shortening the time it takes to start getting monthly benefits. In addition, when you apply for expedited reinstatement, the SSA may approve you for provisional benefits for as long as six months.

Qualifying for SSDI initially meant you had to prove to SSA disability evaluators that you could not maintain substantial gainful activity that gave you income of no more than $1260 per month. If you return to work and start earning over that amount, you no long qualify for SSDI. You must always notify the SSA whenever you obtain employment while getting SSDI payments.

You are eligible for EXR if your income earnings fall below the substantial gainful activity amount set for 2020 and you applied and were approved for SSDI within the last five years. For example, someone who was approved for SSDI in 2013, reentered the work force in 2017 but became disabled again in 2020, they would not be eligible for expedited reinstatement of their SSDI benefits. Instead, they would have to file a new application complete with new medical documentation and updated information about their condition. Also, if the SSA approves an EXR request, the claimant may be entitled for up to a year of retroactive payments from the date the EXR request was filed. Eligibility for retroactive benefits varies from case to case and does not apply to everyone filing an EXR request.

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Criminal Convictions And Benefit Type

Benefits come in multiple forms, including Social Security Disability Insurance , Supplemental Security Income , and auxiliary or dependent benefits, which can be paid through SSI or SSDI. A jail or prison sentence for a criminal offense that exceeds 30 days affects each type of benefit differently.

With SSI, you will not receive payments during your prison sentence of 30-days or longer. However, your benefits can be reinstated in the same month in which you are released from jail, as long as your sentence wasnt 12-months or longer. If your sentence was a year or longer, then you will need to reapply for SSI after you serve your time.

With SSDI, your benefits are suspended during your 30-day or longer jail sentence, but reinstatement is available in the month following your release. The SSA may need to verify you are still disabled and still eligible for benefits upon your release though, especially if your prison sentence was lengthy.

Dependents that receive auxiliary SSDI and/or SSI continue to get benefits as usual, even if your benefits are suspended. In other words, if your spouse or minor children get dependent benefits because youre disabled, their benefits are unaffected by your jail sentence as long as you and they remain eligible.

Changes To Operations And Policies

Tips On How To Reinstate A Canceled Insurance Policy ...

The SSA is extending deadlines for filing wherever possible. SSA employees are being told to apply the “good cause policy” whenever possible. This policy allows the SSA to extend the time limits for submitting appeals and taking other actions during emergencies like COVID-19.

If the SSA asked you to contact them by a certain date, . Some offices are allowing a limited number of in-person appointments. You can also mail your documents to them. The SSA will follow up with you once the COVID-19 emergency subsides.

The SSA is suspending all Continuing Disability Reviews until further notice. The SSA has stopped processing most new overpayment cases. However, the SSA will continue collecting repayments on existing overpayment cases.

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How Many Months Can Your Elimination Period Run Retroactively

As we explained in the previous section, your elimination period can not only begin long before you file your application, it can also be completed before you file an SSD application. If your claim is approved, you will receive benefit payments retroactive to the sixth month following your eligibility for benefits, even if those payments precede your formal application date.

The key date is the Disability Onset Date.

Reinstating Ssdi Benefits After Returning To Work

If your benefit payments were suspended because you returned to work and you continued working and earning wages above the SGA for longer than the nine-month Trial Work Period and you are still within the 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility , you can resume benefits immediately after your original disability again forces you to stop or reduce work, reducing your earnings below the SGA.

If your SSDI benefits were suspended because you returned to work, and no more than 60 months have elapsed since you last received SSDI benefits, the reoccurrence of your disabling condition entitles you to apply for Expedited Reinstatement .

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Medicaid And Medicare Eligibility And Jail Time

Disability recipients are often covered by Medicare and/or Medicaid. Your Medicare Part A coverage continues while you serve your sentence, regardless of sentence length. Medicare Part B continues too, as long as you pay your premiums. Medicaid coverage can continue during your sentence as well. If your eligibility for Medicaid ends during your jail time, you can reapply upon release from prison.

Dispelling Some Common Myths And Possibly Boosting Income By 24%

Can I Suspend My Social Security Benefits?

Youve probably heard about the common myth that everyone is required to claim Social Security at age 62. The reality: You can claim your inflation-adjusted Social Security income anytime between age 62 and 70. The longer you wait, the greater the monthly benefit.

35% Claim Too Early

So what if you are like the 35% of Americans who decided to claim earlyâat age 62? Are you stuck with that decision? Not necessarily. Social Security allows you to change your mind once during the first year of receiving benefitsOpens in a new window. Then you have to pay back everything youve already claimed that year. But what if you have second thoughts after the first year?

Good news: Theres a little-known strategy to readjust your Social Security claim and produce additional guaranteed lifetime income. Its called claim-suspend-restartâCSR.

Many people made a misguided decision and claimed Social Security early. In fact, some 65% of people claim before their full retirement age , says Can Lu, director of Fidelity Financial Solutions. However, CSR may be a good strategy if you can afford to forgo some payments for 1 to 3 years in exchange for a greater payout of guaranteed income in later years.

CSR Social Security Claiming Strategy: How It Works

Here are 8 key reasons:

3. You never established an adequate emergency fund.

8. COVID. Maybe you decided to take care of your grandkids full-time or ended your career early to take care of a loved one.

Summary

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Waiting For Ssd Claim Decision Is Different From The Ssd Elimination Period

Unfortunately, many disabled workers who file applications for Social Security Disability benefit payments wait up to six, nine, or even 18 months before they finally learn if their claim was denied or approved. These long months of waiting may run at the same time as your elimination period, but they are two distinct periods. Remember, the elimination period will start the month your condition qualified for SSD benefits, not when you applied.

How To Reinstate Suspended Social Security Disability Benefits

Social Security Disability benefits are approved when an applicant meets all the eligibility requirements. The eligibility requirements include both medical and financial criteria. If an SSDI recipient becomes ineligible for SSDI benefits because of a change in their circumstances, benefit payments can be suspended. Those benefits can be reinstated when the claimant returns to both medical and financial eligibility.

At London Disability, we have built years of expertise in getting suspended SSDI reinstated for claimants in circumstances where the original suspension was proper or where the suspension of benefits was unjustified. Our team of SSDI and SSI professional advocates and lawyers want you to have all the information you need to understand how SSDI benefit suspension and reinstatement works.

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What Benefits Will I Get

  • Benefits back to April 1, 2009
  • Going forward, Social Security must pay you the full amount of benefits you are due. They cannot claim they have overpaid you because of a warrant. They must stop collecting overpayments from the benefits they are paying you now. But they will not refund the money they already collected from you for overpayments.

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