Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog

Since the surprise election of president-elect Donald Trump, many are not sure what it will mean for millions of Americans and how the U.S. will interact with the rest of the world moving forward.  Another uncertainty stems from the fact the president-elect has not said much about what he intends to do with the Social Security Old Age and Retirement program and the Social Security disability programs.

All programs are administered by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), and there are actually two disability programs: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.  The SSDI program is for people who worked and paid federal taxes and are said to have paid into the system, so they can apply for benefits when they become disabled.  The SSI program is for disabled children in low-income households and disabled and blind adults and the elderly who were never able to work due to their respective disabilities. Continue reading

There are millions of Americans who rely on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits each month to make ends meet, since their respective disabilities prevent them for working, according to an adjudication from the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).  There are an estimated 11 million Americans currently receiving these benefits from SSA.

While there is no question that these two Social Security disability programs are very important, and millions of people would be impoverished without them, there are those who believe that the disability programs are nothing more than entitlements for people to sit at home and collect a benefits check because they don’t want to work. Continue reading

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for running the Old Age and Retirement benefits program, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.  The Old Age and Retirement program is the benefits program that every working American will qualify for when they reach a certain age, so as long as they have worked enough years and paid enough taxes to have become eligible for benefits.  However, it should be noted that in an effort to stretch the budget and save money, Congress routinely increases the age at which someone will become eligible to receive these benefits.

The Social Security Disability Insurance benefits program is for working Americans who have become disabled and can no longer work.  If they have worked enough years and have earned enough quarterly credits, they are said to have paid to into the system and can qualify for SSDI benefits. Continue reading

Over the past few months, the Wisconsin Watchdog has been publishing a series on the many alleged problems at the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) and its Offices of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR).  These problems came to light as a result of several whistleblower employees at SSA. The allegations mostly focus on the alleged misconduct of administrative law judges (ALJs) and the process by which SSA handles applications.

There have been allegations that one ALJ was acting in a discriminatory manner towards disabled claimants who were applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, and also harassing co-workers.  This particular judge has been relieved of all of his case responsibilities, but he is still at the agency and is getting paid his normal salary, according to reports.  However, at least one of the whistleblowers who reported this alleged misconduct has been disciplined. Continue reading

After a series of public missteps, the U.S. Social Security Administration is seeking to promote a more positive culture within – and undoubtedly a better public image. These offices, which are formally part of the agency’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), are located throughout the county to handle appeals of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits claims that are denied.

When you first file a claim for Social Security disability benefits, whether we are talking about SSI or SSDI benefits, you will file that application with you local SSA claims office.  Once your application has been received, a claims handler who will most likely reject the application will evaluate it. Continue reading

Until the end of last year, we were seeing constant articles about how the Social Security disability program would run out of money and nearly 11 million Americans would lose around 20 percent of their total monthly benefits across the board.

Many argued that the program needed major overhauls, and they would not spend another dollar to help fix the cash flow shortage unless and until the overhaul occurred.  This commentary was mainly from Republicans who were running against Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination.   For a variety of reasons, including that it would look very bad in an election year if nearly 11 million Americans were thrown into poverty, they agreed to take one year of funding from the Social Security Old Age and Retirement Fund and apply it to the Social Security disability fund. Continue reading

Over the past few months, there have been a lot of stories of misconduct by administrative law judges (ALJ) and the agency in general with respect to wait time and claims handling procedures.   We have also seen the chief judge who is charge of the ALJ has resigned and will be stepping down before the end of this year, according to a statement she has released. However, it should be noted that there has been no official link between her resignation and the complaints facing the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), though based upon the timing alone, many are speculating that the two are related.

As if this was not bad enough for the agency, an ALJ in Georgia has now been accused of bullying disabled workers at the agency, according to a recent news report from NBC News 11.  If true, this is particularly disturbing because it is ALJ’s job to hear from disabled claimant and decide whether they are entitled to benefits. Continue reading

The Global War on Terror, including the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resulted in a greater number of disabled veterans than we have seen in many decades.  Even the Vietnam War, which was one of the deadliest conflicts in our nation’s history, did not have as many disabled veterans returning home.  However, this was not because fewer injuries were occurring. Rather, it was because in the 1960s, the military did not have the ability to save many of these brave men and women and bring them home.

Regardless of the cause of the disability, there are a lot of disabled veterans in the nation and many are in desperate need of a financial safety net. Many will turn to the Veterans Administration (VA), since it is the obvious first step in obtaining disability benefits for a wounded warrior. While there were many problems that have been well documented at the VA, things have gotten better, but there is still not enough funding to fully provide for the wounded vets.  For this and other reasons, many disabled veterans are turning to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits as administered by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA). Continue reading