What Does It Mean When My Social Security Account Tells Me That They're 70% Finished Reviewing My Disability Claim?

That's bull!

    It means essentially nothing when your account at Social Security tells you that they're 30% or 70% or whatever finished reviewing your case. When I first heard they were doing this, I couldn't believe it. I figured the client who told me about it must have been confused. It's completely off the wall. It turned out to be true. I've mentioned this to Social Security employees and they have also been astounded. That's just not the way things work. You can't predict things with anywhere near that degree of precision and a computer certainly can't.

    My guess is that they're taking an average time span for the review of a Social Security disability claim and comparing the length of time that a case has been pending to that but things are on no timetable. One case may take four times as long as another case. Even their averages are misleading. There are some disability claims filed by people with terminal cancer. The agency races to approve those cases immediately because they're highly sympathetic cases but also because getting them out the door quickly makes their averages look better.

    No, I'm sorry but you can't rely upon what you see on your Social Security account about how far along your disability claim is.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Liver Disease

     It's hard to be approved for Social Security disability benefits based upon liver problems. It seems like they don't want to approve until the person with liver disease is in terminal decline. However, patients can have a lot of symptoms and limitations long without being in the end phase of liver disease.

    Some of the problems getting approval for liver disease have to do with the fact that some liver disease is related to alcoholism. However, there are plenty of liver disease patients who have never drunk. Even for those who have had drinking problems, the question isn't whether you got to the point that liver disease is disabling you because of your drinking. The question is whether the symptoms of liver disease could be reduced or eliminated by stopping drinking. By the time liver disease has become disabling, many people with alcoholic liver disease will have already stopped drinking. Even if they are still drinking, the drinking may be hastening their demise but stopping it won't make the problem go away.

    In the end, don't worry about the stigma that can be associated with liver disease. If you're disabled by liver disease, file a claim for Social Security disability claim.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

10 Things A Disability Lawyer Can Do For You

Did you talk to Social Security and hear “You don’t need a lawyer”? These are the people who will deny your claim. No lawyer means less hassle for their denials. Different law firms may give different experiences. Here, at Hall & Rouse, our attorneys and legal assistants are ready to fight for you and advocate for your rights, to help you win your benefits.

Our disability attorneys are able to log in to Social Security’s electronic case system and look through your file to see what is happening in real-time. The sooner, the better, for developing a legal strategy for the win.

Our legal assistants spend the vast majority of their days on the telephone, calling Social Security, asking what is going on, what they need to make a decision, how we can help to possibly speed things along, and when you win, following up on the money until it is released.

We make sure your application is not gathering dust on someone’s desk in the county office.

We call Social Security Disability (Disability Determination Services) to make sure your case has been assigned and that someone is actually working on it. When that is not happening, we make sure it is escalated to the right people's attention, so you do not suffer more undue delays.

Our team reaches out to you to stay up-to-date about your medical care, or to suggest charity care networks if you have not received the treatment needed to prove your case.

Our legal team coordinates with your doctors or nurse practitioners to get medical records and medical opinions.

We file the appeals for you.

If you need to talk to an administrative law judge, we prepare you for what to expect.

We show up to court with you.

We keep you informed and do the work for you, so that you can focus on your health.

There is no upfront fee. There is no out of pocket fee. There is only payment if the attorney helps you win, and that win results in back pay. At that point, the fee is regulated by the government on a standard fee schedule that never exceeds 25% of back pay.

Whether you need a lawyer is an individual choice. If your feeling is that, yes, you want an experienced lawyer to handle things, we are here to help: www.hall-rouse.com, or give us a call at 1-866-425-5347. 

Are You Ashamed To Be Disabled?

     There are many who think that everyone who files for Social Security disability benefits could really work if they wanted unless they were "truly disabled" by which they sort of mean "in a comma." This leads to many disabled people feeling ashamed themselves at being disabled. They think others will look down on them if they know about the disability. It feels to them like their disability is a personal failure.

    This shame at being disabled has several bad effects. Disabled individuals suffer from inappropriate guilt and depression. They con themselves into believing that recovery from disability is right around the corner. They delay filing a claim for Social Security disability benefits because they believe that would be the admission of a personal failing. Often they fail to act until they're literally homeless.

    Please accept that disability is a real thing. Your disability probably isn't going away. If you think that others will judge you harshly because you apply for Social Security disability, they're not going to know unless you tell them. Social Security isn't going to tell them. In the end, what do you care what other people think? Get over it! Do what you need to do! How is being homeless less shameful than filing a claim for Social Security disability benefits?

    On a selfish basis, it's stressful dealing with desperate clients. They wait until they're about to be homeless before they file for Social Security disability benefits. They can't believe how long it takes to get a favorable decision from Social Security. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see you if you've waited this long but be realistic. If you've been out of work due to illness or injury for more than about six months, you're not likely to be able to get back to doing enough work to support yourself. Do what you have to do.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Diabetes

     Diabetes is a common health problem and a common reason why Social Security disability claims get filed and approved.

    As with most conditions, age makes a huge difference with Social Security disability claims based upon diabetes. It become less difficult to be approved after age 50 and a good deal less difficult after age 55.

    Another factors that make a difference with Social Security disability claims is the extent of damage that the diabetes has done to a person's body. I don't know that there can be a comprehensive list of all the things that diabetes can do to a body. Here are some of the more common:

• Eye damage
• Kidney damage
• Peripheral neuropathy --numbness, burning, tingling in the feet and lower legs
• Heart problems
• Blood circulation problems
• Stomach problems
• Liver damage

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Are Social Security Disability Benefits Taxable?

    Your Social Security disability benefits may be partially taxable. Like everything about the tax laws, it's complicated. I'll try to hit a couple of the most important parts.

• One-half of Title II Social Security benefits is taxable to the extent that the Social Security benefits, when added to the taxpayer's gross income and some sorts of nontaxable income, such as tax-exempt municipal bond interest, exceeds $25,000, in the case of a single taxpayer or $32,000 in the case of a married taxpayer, filing jointly. The percentage that is taxed goes up to 85%% to the extent that the taxpayer's income goes over $34,000 if the taxpayer is filing as a single individual or $44,000 if filing jointly.
• Payments of back Social Security benefits typically are for periods of time that cover more than one calendar year. Back benefits covering two or more years might have not been taxable at all or only taxable in small part if they had been paid at the time they were due. The Internal Revenue Code makes a specific provision for this situation. If the taxpayer so elects, the amount included in gross income by reason of receiving these back Social Security benefits is only the sum of the increases in gross taxable income for the prior taxable years that would have resulted solely from taking into account the portion of the benefits paid for that prior taxable year. The election is made by writing in the letters "LSE" (for lump-sum election) to the left of line 21a on the form 1040. This does not mean that the Social Security claimant who receives a large amount of back benefits can or should file amended tax returns for prior years. The back Social Security benefits must be included in the tax return for the current year, but only to the extent that they would have been included if they had been paid when they were due.

    Things get really complicated if you've also received Long Term Disability benefits, usually from an employer sponsored plan. You really need to see a tax professional about that sort of thing.

Wow! Funny And Incisive View Of Social Security Disability!

LTD And Social Security Disability

    Spoiler alert: This is going to be complicated -- but important.

 

    LTD stands for Long Term Disability benefits. LTD is not paid by Social Security, but by private employers and insurance companies. Many larger employers  have pension plans that provide LTD to their disabled employees. Individuals can also purchase LTD insurance policies directly from insurance companies.

    LTD plans always contain an offset for Social Security disability benefits. This means that the LTD is offset or reduced, dollar for dollar, by the initial amount of Social Security disability benefits. For instance, if the LTD is $2,000 a month, the employer or insurance company will pay $2,000 a month as long as the disabled person receives no Social Security. However, if the disabled person starts receiving $1,500 per month from Social Security, the LTD goes down to $500 per month. 

    If the disabled person receives retroactive or back benefits from Social Security for months in which they also received LTD, the employer or insurance company that paid the LTD will want some of their money back. 

    Virtually always, the employer or insurance company gives a credit for the attorney fees the disabled person paid for representation on their Social Security disability claim. In a backhanded way the employer or insurance company pays the attorney fee.

     A person who is already receiving LTD may wonder why they need to bother with a Social Security disability claim, if anything they get from Social Security just reduces the amount they get from LTD. Actually, there are a number of good reasons for a disabled person receiving LTD to go ahead with the Social Security disability claim:

• The Social Security disability benefit may be more than the LTD benefit;
• Many LTD plans specifically require that a person receiving LTD pursue a Social Security disability claim through an ALJ hearing. If the disabled person refuses to do this, the LTD  is cut off.
• LTD benefits provided as an employee benefit are fully taxable. For most people, Social Security disability is not taxable at all. At worst, it is only partially taxable.
• Generally, LTD plans do not contain a cost of living adjustment. The benefits never go up even if the cost of living does go up. After ten or fifteen years, the LTD benefit is worn away by inflation and the LTD check that started out looking so good starts to look puny. Social Security disability benefits, however, are adjusted for inflation and keep a constant value. Since LTD plans generally offset only the initial amount of Social Security disability benefits and not cost of living adjustments, the disabled person on Social Security has protection against inflation that a disabled person only on LTD does not enjoy. Note that the LTD plan for N.C. state employees does provide cost of living adjustments, but also offsets Social Security's cost of living adjustments.
• Most LTD plans only pay benefits to age 65, leaving disabled persons to rely upon Social Security retirement benefits thereafter. Anyone on Social Security disability  based upon their earnings receives an earnings "freeze" so that their Social Security retirement benefits do not end up being reduced. If a person is out of work for many years without being on Social Security disability benefits, their Social Security retirement benefits will be lowered.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Cancer

  

   Social Security disability claims based upon cancer usually come in two types -- those approved quickly and those that don't get approved at all.

    Those approved quickly are those where the cancer has spread. Of course, if that has happened, the cancer is extremely dangerous. 

    Those where the cancer has not spread are seldom approved. The reason is that there is a 12 month duration requirement for Social Security disability benefits. Unless your condition is fatal, you have to have been or be predicted to be disabled at least a year. Cancer may be treated with surgery, chemo and radiation but generally all of that, as terrible as it is, is over in less than a year. After that, unless things go in a bad direction, the patient can expect at least a period of remission and can hope to be done with cancer forever. If a patient goes into remission in less than a year, they can generally re-start their life, including work. If it comes back, of course, then a new Social Security disability claim is likely to be successful.

    There are cases where the cancer has not spread but where the patient is still disabled for longer than a year. Sometimes, surgery or chemo or radiation leaves behind serious problems that prevent work. Sometimes the surgery, chemo and radiation takes longer than a year. Often, the cancer isn't the only health problem the patient has.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

It Takes An Immigrant To Point Out Just How Awful This Situation Is

    John Oliver may be an immigrant from Britain but he's one of the most interesting observers of the American scene. Take a look at this recent piece he did on Social Security disability.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347