Is There a Time Limit on How Long You Can Receive Social Security Benefits?

Those receiving, and those applying to receive, Social Security Disability benefits might wonder if there is a time limit to the length of time they are eligible to receive benefits. The easiest way to look at the question and subsequently answer it is to begin by saying that there are not two cases that are exactly the same, so—the same outcome is not necessarily standard across the board. When it comes to continued payments, however,  if your medical condition does not improve, your disability payments do not stop, regardless of the type of impairment.

The Social Security Administration reviews cases at intervals to assure that the individuals receiving disability are still disabled. If an individual’s disability improves, and they are able to return to substantial gainful employment, there would no longer be a need for disability payments. Additionally, those who are still receiving disability payments when they reach full retirement age will have their benefits converted automatically from disability benefits to retirement benefits.

All of that being said, there might be some confusion as to why the Social Security Administration reviews cases to guarantee that those receiving disability benefits are, indeed, still disabled. As mentioned above, disability claims may be similar, but never identical. As a result, how often a case is reviewed depends on the severity of the case. An individual’s Notice of Award (which is normally received after the Notice of Decision has been sent), not only offers an explanation of one’s benefits and payments, it also indicates when an individual would be able to expect a first review. The less likely your disability was expected to improve, the longer an individual would wait for a review, perhaps five to seven years or longer. Conversely, if one’s disability was expected to improve or noted possible improvement, a first review could land anywhere between six months...to three years after the decision has been made.

If you have any specific questions about the process, we’d be happy to answer them for you; just let us know!

Speaking of Payments...

We are usually able to anticipate the first question from our clients following a fully-favorable decision: When will I begin to receive my payments?

It’s quite possibly one of the most important questions we get to answer; after all, this is what we’ve been fighting for since the Initial Application was filed. Understanding the payment process is quite easy—once you get past the slightly confusing part, that is.

For an individual who has applied for Social Security Disability benefits, as many of you may know, it’s required to identify the onset date of disability. If benefits are granted, an individual  is declared disabled as of the date they originally alleged their disability began (unless otherwise noted in the decision). More often than not, the alleged onset date is over a year past the current date. Not only will the individual begin to receive monthly payments based on their past earnings record, but they may also receive back payments for the months they were disable and not receiving payments. But, there’s a little bit of a catch.

Let’s say, for instance, Mr. K. applied for Social Security Disability benefits, alleging an onset date of January 1, 2010. If Mr. K’s benefits were to be granted, he would be entitled to back payments to the aforementioned date. However, the Social Security Administration cannot begin payments for 5 months after the established onset. As such, Mr. K. would not begin receiving his back payments until the 6^th full month after the disability began.

There are exceptions to this rule, however. The 5-month waiting period for Social Security Disability benefits does not apply to those applying as children of workers. Additionally, the regulations for receiving payments for a Supplemental Security Income claim are slightly different. Rather than a 5-month wait, individuals may begin receiving payments as early as 1 month after their application date or 1 month after they became eligible.

Electronic Social Security Checks Only?

The end of an era is coming soon. In less than two years, paper checks will cease to exist for those receiving any form of Social Security, including Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefit checks.

Currently, nearly 11 million people receive Social Security payments by check. And, it may come as a surprise, but it costs nearly $1 dollar more to issue a paper check than it does to electronically deposit money. Assuming each individual gets a check every month…well, it’s clear to see that the price to send said checks might add up really quick.

So, what does this mean for those who are collecting Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income benefits? It means that anyone applying for such benefits must plan on receiving them through direct electronic payment—such as direct deposit. Like we mentioned last week in our In The News post, the Social Security Administration is taking big steps to cut costs. Switching over to electronic Social Security checks will help save nearly $1 billion dollars over a span of ten years. The Treasury Department has indicated, for instance, that approximately $6.9 million dollars would be saved in just one year, if everyone receiving payments in the state of Texas signed up to receive their payments electronically.

Aside from the government saving some much-needed money, this change will also benefit those receiving payments. The number of paper checks that are reported missing or stolen even year totals over half a million. Electronic payments will almost guarantee that one’s payment cannot be misplaced, sent to the wrong address, ruined in the rain, or eaten by the dog. 

If you’re a current or former client of Binder and Binder® receiving paper checks and would like to switch over to electronic checks, just let us know! We’d be happy to help you with the transition.

Chronic Pain

Have you ever heard of an individual who suffered an injury or illness resulting in an amputated limb, be it an arm or a leg, but was still able to feel pain in that area? Have you ever witnessed an individual discuss pain that existed without a known cause? Chances are you’ve seen some mention of it on TV, or read a report in a newspaper at sometime. Perhaps you even know the feeling yourself. There’s a big issue that’s affecting millions of people…and that issue is chronic pain.

Those who don’t suffer from chronic pain may not understand, and may not believe in those who report complaints. Unfortunately, up until recently, chronic pain was a syndrome that consisted mainly of subjective complaints—meaning, the complaints of pain could not be proven by an objective test, such as an obvious broken bone seen on an x-ray, or degenerative disc disease indicated by an MRI. Did that make it any less real? Certainly not to those who suffered.

Times, however, are changing, and views towards chronic pain are beginning to take on a different light. Doctors have started acknowledging the existence of the often disabling pain as they look for new ways to treat it. They are beginning to acknowledge and accept that pain might not always be traceable to a broken bone that is easily proven with x-rays. In fact, brain-imaging studies have suggested that the brain of an individual who suffers from chronic pain not only looks different, but also responds differently, than a normal brain. Such a suggestion indicates that there is, indeed, a process occurring in the body of an individual suffering from chronic pain as opposed to one who is not.

Perhaps the most important element here is that the new research regarding chronic pain has added a great deal of credibility to what was previously considered to be subjective complaints. With regards to receiving Social Security Disability and Supplement Security Income benefits, it’s no secret that individuals with an objective disorder, for example—clinical blindness in both eyes, have a much easier time proving their disability than those with chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia. The inability to identify the source of an individual’s complaints of pain has proven to be a major road block for the disability process; without a cause for the pain, individuals had a hard time proving it existed. It appears as if the road block may be beginning to break down.

Studies continue to be done, as doctors and researchers maintain their desire to locate a suitable treatment…and even a cure. We have clients that suffer from different forms of chronic pain. We believe in the severity and the realness of the syndrome, and will continue to follow the research as it unfolds.

Understanding the Process

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability programs are the largest of several Federal programs that provide assistance to people with disabilities. Social Security Disability pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you are "insured," meaning that you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes. Supplemental Security Income pays benefits based on financial need.  

While these two programs are different in many ways, both are administered by the SSA and only individuals who have a disability and meet medical criteria may qualify for benefits under either program. But, what is a disability? And who makes the final decision on someone’s disability claim? Decisions are made by the SSA and Administrative Law Judges, and must fall in line with their definition of “disability.” In order to be declared disabled by the government, claims will be examined with the following-five steps:

First and foremost, are you still working? Any earnings over $1000 a month for an extended period of time might constitute Substantial Gainful Employment (SGA). Essentially, this means, while you may suffer from an impairment, you are not considered disable because you are still able to work.

Secondly, is your condition severe? Often times the answer to this question is subjective. But, SSA relies upon the following: does your condition interfere with basic work related activities? If your condition does not interfere with your basic work activities, again, you would not be considered disabled because you would still be able to perform your job requirements.

Moving on to the third step—is your condition found on the list of medical conditions? SSA maintains a list of medical conditions for multiple impairments; if you meet the requirements of a certain listing, you can be found disabled. If you do not meet a listing, we must prove that your condition is equal to the severity of a listing in order for you to be found disabled.

And, the fourth: can you do the work you did previously? For instance, assume someone was previously employed as a truck driver and had been diagnosed with epilepsy. Chances are, seizures, or the threat thereof, would prohibit them from doing their past work. However, if you can continue your past work, you would not be found disabled.

Last, but not least, can you do any other type of work? This often proves to be a hard mark to get past. Using the same scenario of a previously employed truck driver who is no longer able to drive his truck, it must be determined whether the individual could be trained to perform another job, such as a greeter at a local grocery store. An individual’s past work, age, education, medical condition, and transferable skills will be taken into account.

Ask us Anything.

One of the best ways for us to help others gain an understanding for the Social Security process is to answer their questions. We can post about everything under the sun, but if you’re wondering about something and don’t see an answer to it, just ask. So, we’ll leave Fridays open for questions and answers---please feel free to send them our way at anytime!

The question of the day is: ‘I was told that to go before an Administrative Judge it takes 12 to 18 months. Why does it take so long?”—Curtis

On the surface, this question seems like it could be pretty cut and dry in its response, “because the process itself is long, chances are it will take a long time.” But, that’s not what anyone wants to hear. The truth of the matter is, you’re not alone. You’re not alone in applying for Social Security Disability benefits. Therein, lies the problem. There are so many others, equally as disabled—and for different reasons, that the line figuratively grows before your very eyes. One amazing thing about Social Security is that they give everyone the chance to present their claim. The downside? Not everyone has a claim, or—at least, not everyone has a true disability, as defined under the law. But, much like those who are disabled, the ones who are not continue to fight for their rights also. The large amount of individuals applying for disability plays the largest role in a single person’s wait time.

Some disabilities are visible to the naked eye, and can be approved earlier in the application process. Others are not as easy to prove, such as Fibromyalgia.  Fibromyalgia can be a challenging case to prove before the Social Security Administration.  The disease is marked by long-term pain throughout the body, including the muscles, tender joints and soft tissue.  People with Fibromyalgia often feel extreme fatigue and pain - so much so that they cannot hold down a normal, competitive, five-day-a-week, eight-hour-a-day job. The causes of Fibromyalgia are not yet clearly understood, examiners are often times unable to classify these cases, and sometimes doubts are raised about its existence.  Therefore, we need time, as does the government, to build your case for you. The amount of time it takes to be scheduled for a hearing is often beneficial, as it allows us to continue to build your case while working with your doctors to obtain medical records and support of your disability.

We deal with the government aspect of your case, because we know how frustrating and long the process can be. If we could control the timeframe – we would. So, until then, we will do everything in our power to make sure your claim is moving along, as it should be. And when you do get scheduled for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, we will be ready. 

In The News

Budget issues are plaguing just about everyone these days, the government included. In an article recently posted on Kiplinger, a website geared towards finance advice, Mary Beth Franklin revealed that, as of April, most employees in the United State will no longer be receiving mailed statements of their Social Security benefit estimates. Why? Because of the national budget, or lack thereof.

These statements, which I actually just received by mail last week, contain a breakdown of past work history, earnings, and general information regarding retirement. Franklin indicated Social Security started mailing the informational statements in 1999—to the tune of about $70 million a year. Luckily, the majority of the information is still available through an online estimator at www.ssa.gov/estimator.

So, how does this affect you? Social Security benefit estimations also reveal an amount of money you, as an individual, could be expected to receive if you become disabled before retirement age. There is hope that the Social Security Administration will have the mailings back up and running next fall—but, only to those over the age of 60, which leaves out a lot of our clients. Unfortunately, the online estimator won’t include the information that could be considered most important to our clients. For instance, annual earning histories and disability payment estimations won’t be included, which would make it harder for disabled individuals under the age of 60 to figure out how much they might be entitled to if proven disabled.

Will this new plan of attack save the government money? Sure; it will probably help them save millions.  But it will undoubtedly leave a number of people in the dark when their statements stop arriving in the mail. Fear not—if you’re ever curious about your earnings history and estimated disability payments, you can request this information from the Social Security Administration.

Stepping Up Our Game

It’s been over a year since our first blog post. But, quite frankly, our opening words there still ring true. Things change fast in the legal world. In fact, things change daily. So, we’re going to step up our game, and bring you daily updates; we know how important it is to stay current with legal issues, especially those related to Social Security Disability. It’s our duty to our clients, and to our company, to follow the changing laws and regulations—what better a place to obtain updates than right here?

We will be keeping up with the latest Social Security News, answering the tough questions, and sharing stories that will warm your heart (even if you aren’t a client!). But, the only way to be a part of it is to check in. We’ll help make it easier on you by updating our Binder & Binder® Facebook and Twitter pages daily, as well. Feel free to head on over and check them out soon—they’ll be up and running before you know it!

The bottom line is, as the bottom line always has been and always will be, we’re here to do things better and nicer. We can only blog better if we do it frequently enough to keep you up to date. And we can only blog nicer by providing you, our readers, followers, and friends, with the information you need to succeed and stay informed. As we said nearly a year ago in our first blog post: we’ll keep you updated, so please return often. Your feedback is important to us, so let us know how we’re doing.