SSDI

The Ongoing Struggle Over Concurrent Benefits

For some time, there has been debate in Congress over the issue of concurrent receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. Many in Congress have sought to reduce SSDI benefits for someone if that person has also received UI benefits during the same time period, claiming that receipt of both types of benefits is contradictory since SSDI beneficiaries must prove their inability to work, while UI beneficiaries must prove both their ability and availability to work. The Social Security Administration (SSA) allows concurrent receipt of benefits and notes that differences between the SSDI and UI… Learn More

Does Student Loan Debt Affect Social Security Benefits?

Yes, it can. According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), there was a five-fold increase between 2002 and 2013 in the number of Social Security beneficiaries whose benefits were offset to help pay down their student loan debt. But there’s hope for some of those beneficiaries whose benefits have been garnished for that reason. If a debtor is found to be Totally and Permanently Disabled (TPD), he or she may be eligible for debt forgiveness. While a TPD determination is different than a Social Security Administration (SSA) disability finding, the Department of Education will accept a… Learn More

Some Updates from the Social Security Administration (SSA)

Here are a few updates from the SSA: *The SSA has announced that it will extend its prototype testing of (1) elimination of reconsideration and (2) the single decisionmaker (the circumstance in which a disability examiner makes an initial disability determination without getting a medical or psychological consultant to sign off on it) until September 25, 2015. Prototype testing has been ongoing since 1999. *The SSA has extended the pilot program allowing the SSA itself rather than the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to set the time and place of a hearing until August 10, 2015. The original motivation behind the… Learn More

Recent Congressional Hearings

This past June and July, Congress held a number of hearings related to the Social Security Administration (SSA). What follows is a brief rundown of each hearing: *On June 18, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on SSA field office (FO) closures and service cuts. Since 2010, the SSA has closed 64 FOs and 533 mobile offices due to budget shortages. The shortages have also resulted in a loss of 11,000 SSA employees. Committee Chairman Bill Nelson of Florida and ranking Minority Member Sen. Susan Collins of Maine were upset that the SSA took these measures with… Learn More

Seventy-five Arrested and Charged in Puerto Rican Social Security Fraud

In August of 2013, 3 doctors, one former Social Security Administration (SSA) claims representative acting as a non-attorney claimant representative, and 71 Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries were indicted on charges of Social Security fraud in Puerto Rico. According to the indictment, the doctors, the claimant representative, and the beneficiaries worked together to falsify and submit claims for SSDI benefits. Allegedly, the doctors were paid per case, and the claimant representative received a percentage of past due benefits awarded to the beneficiaries. In September of 2013, the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee held a hearing on the… Learn More

State Unemployment Rates and Disability Insurance (DI)

The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) studied the relationship between state unemployment rates and the SSA’s disability programs during a 4-year period (2007-2011) and reported its findings. The OIG’s study found that the 27% increase in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications during the 4-year period studied corresponded to a 1% decrease in allowance rates in 8 of the 10 states with the highest unemployment rates. Moreover, allowance rates declined (by 6%) at the hearing level as well. The OIG’s study also found that in the 4-year period studied, there… Learn More

A Few Notes on Rates of Return

Several economists at the Social Security Administration (SSA) conducted a study on how likely various types of Social Security beneficiaries (Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Disability Insurance (DI), and concurrent beneficiaries) are to return to the program after their benefits have been terminated due to medical improvement. Here’s what they found: -About 30% of SSI recipients whose benefits are terminated due to medical improvement return to the SSI program within about 8 years. -Approximately 22% of concurrent recipients (those who received both SSI and SSDI simultaneously) return to the SSI program within 8 years of benefit… Learn More

Some New Bills of Interest

(1) The Social Security Disability Insurance and Unemployment Benefits Double Dip Elimination Act This is a House bill that would prevent the receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for any month during which someone was also eligible for unemployment benefits. It does so by characterizing someone receiving unemployment benefits as being engaged in substantial gainful activity (SGA) and as having provided trial work period “services” during that month, therefore rendering that individual ineligible for SSDI benefits. A somewhat similar bill has been introduced in the Senate. (2) The Disabled Military Child Protection Act This is a combination of… Learn More

Benefit Overlap

As it’s written, the law allows those eligible to collect both Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits at the same time. However, a bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill that could change this by decreasing the SSDI benefits for each month an individual receives UI benefits. It is the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) policy to factor the receipt of UI benefits into making disability determinations. However, it is just one of many factors that the SSA considers in making these decisions and does not render a claimant ineligible for disability benefits. In 2012, Congress… Learn More

The House Weighs In On Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Reform

On June 27th, 2013, the House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Healthcare, and Entitlements held a hearing to explore the reasons behind rising Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims and how Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) figure into that increase. The House hearing came nearly a year after a similarly-focused 2012 hearing in the Senate, and demonstrates considerably expanded Congressional interest in the future of the SSDI program. Among those who testified at the House’s June 27th hearing were four ALJs, a representative from the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), and a representative from the National Organization of Social Security… Learn More

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