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After years of fighting the Global War On Terror, there are more disabled veterans living in America who can no longer work and are no longer in the armed forces. Many of these disabled veterans are receiving benefits from the United States Veterans Administration (VA), but these benefits are not enough to make ends meet. Many of these veterans are asking whether they can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits while also collecting VA benefits. A recent article from PBS deals with this issue.

peacekeeping-soldiers-1202476-mThe article focused on a question from a person currently collecting VA benefits. He said the VA awarded him benefits with a 100 percent disability rating in 1994. He went on to say that when he applied for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, he was told he didn’t qualify, because he was already collecting VA benefits. Veteran said he accepted what they told him and didn’t pursue his case any further. He did feel bad about that fact that he had even bothered them by asking about benefits. However, he also felt a little upset, because he had paid into the system since he was 16 years old. Continue reading

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In addition to the ridiculous claims that many people who are collecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are not really as disabled as they are claiming to be, there are some allegations that people are committing outright fraud to obtaining disability benefits under false pretenses. While we see these claims surface on the news from time to time, they really represent a very minor problem in light of the nearly 10 million Americans who are truly disabled and very much in need of their monthly benefits.

hand-cuffs-12754-mAccording to a recent news article from Star Telegram, a woman who is now 53 claimed she was suffering from severe hallucinations from the age of 15. She also claimed she had other family members with severe mental illness.   According to court records, she also told screeners at the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) that her entire family was stricken with mental illness. Prosecutors are claiming this was part of an elaborate ruse to fraudulently obtain more than $500,000 in public benefits to which she and her family was not entitled. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from the Los Angeles Times, there is not likely going to be a cost of living allowance (COLA) for beneficiaries of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and the Social Security Retirement and Old Age benefits system.

tightened100dollarrollWhile it may seem the reason there is no cost of living allowance for Social Security disability benefits recipients is because the money will run out in 2016, and there will be a 20 percent reduction in the budget, this is not the reason being suggested. It is now being suggested that gas prices are to blame. Continue reading

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Since there has been no movement toward fixing the impending budget shortfall facing the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, experts are still predicting funding for the program will run out in late 2016, and this will mean that the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) only has enough money to pay 80 percent of all disability benefits claims.

948188_learning_with_pencilBased upon the way in which the system works, there will be about nine million Social Security Disability Insurance benefits recipients who will be facing a 20 percent reduction in benefits late next year. In order to prevent this from happening, several think tanks and public policy organizations have been making suggestions as to how Congress can avert the budget shortfall and help make sure the this same thing does not happen again in the future. Continue reading

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There have been many speeches about how we can overhaul the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and how we must do so before the money runs out. It should be noted that there are currently around 11 million Americans collecting benefits, including nearly two million children.

question-mark-1323680-mChildren collect what is what is known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is available to disabled children living in low-income households. The difference between Supplemental Security Income benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits is that SSI benefits do not require claimant to have any work history. It makes sense that it is available to children and elderly or blind adults who have never worked a day in their lives. However, unlike with Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, the total household income is taken into account, and there are very rigid income guidelines. Continue reading

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As you have probably heard by now, we are left waiting to see if we see another government shutdown, as we saw in 2013. Many people do not realize the effect a government shutdown will actually have on the American people.

1078874_word_work_on_the_dicesFirst of all, it should be noted that the federal government is not legally allowed to spend any money that has not been appropriated by Congress. What this means is that employees will not be allowed to work during a shutdown, with hopes of being paid later under most situations. This means it is actually illegal for most employees to work during a government shutdown. Continue reading

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There have been many articles in the past year about how the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program will run out of money in late 2016. This does not mean the funding will run out entirely, but there will only be enough money to fund 80 percent of all benefits claims. In other words, if something isn’t done soon, anyone receiving a benefits award will have their check cut by around 20 percent. This is estimated to be around 10 million Americans who will be hurt if something isn’t done soon.

writing-a-check-2-701013-mIn the past, Congress would just allocate money from the Social Security old age and retirement fund and use it to fund the disability benefits fund. The reason this was possible is because the money withheld from your paycheck to pay for Social Security goes into two separate funds. While the United States Social Security Administration runs both funds, since they are designed for different purposes, the money must be used for its respective purpose. However, in the past, Congress could easily reallocate money.   Not only is this possible, it would be rather painless, since the retirement fund has full funding until the year 2034. If one year of funding was taken from the retirement fund, meaning it would only be funded until 2033, that would be enough money to fund the Social Security Disability Insurance program for the next dozen or so years. Continue reading

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More and more often we hear about how Social Security Disability Insurance fraud is running rampant. While there is some fraud that exists in any government benefits program, this allegation is far from the truth, and a recent article from the Huffington Post takes a look at some of the safeguards in place to prevent fraud from occurring.

to-sign-a-contract-3-1221952-mThe first safeguard against fraud is strict eligibility standards. There are many requirements to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. One of the first requirements is that claimant must have a substantial work history. Continue reading

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Senator Rand Paul has been vocal on the campaign trail about what he considers problems with the Social Security disability benefits program, and how, as he likes claim, the majority of Americans receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are not really disabled, but instead are somehow “gaming the system,” because they like sitting a home and getting a check.

money-choise-concept-1439274-mA recent article from Huffington Post takes a closer looks at Paul’s claims and determines them to be “falsehoods” which are also a “disservice” to our nation. With Paul falling farther behind in the polls to win the Republican Party nomination to run for president, Paul has attempted to reignite his campaign by attacking Senator Bernie Sanders and his ideas about the Social Security Disability Insurance program. He does this by attacking those receiving benefits. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from the Los Angeles Times, Social Security disability recipients have been a virtual “punching bag” for those who are opposed to funding the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).

1088940_2_annual_reports__3However, it seems like they do not have evidence to support their long-standing scapegoating practice. A blue-ribbon Technical Panel group recently performed a full analysis of the Social Security programs and released a report to the Social Security Board of Trustees. A lot of this report focused on the reasons for the somewhat recent increase in the number of Americans receiving disability benefits. Continue reading

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