The day you have been waiting for a long time has finally arrived, it is the day of your Social Security disability hearing. Finally, it gives a claimant a chance to have their “day in court” to prove they deserve either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Sometimes that relief… Read more »
Blog
Social Security By The Numbers In 2014
Social Security takes a lambasting from the right wing ideologues on a daily basis, especially when it comes to the agency’s disability programs. These ideologues will suggest that Social Security’s disability programs are rampant with fraud and that too many people who are capable of working don’t want to because they are lazy and can… Read more »
What I can do to improve the chances of winning my disability claim?
Many of our clients are curious as to what they can do to positively impact on their Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income claims. While our office can never guarantee you will be awarded benefits, there are several things that a claimant could do to help improve their chances. The Social Security Administration (SSA)… Read more »
Cutting Social Security Benefits will not help the national debt
In the wake of the recent election, Social Security benefits have come under fire. While this has increased the discourse regarding Social Security Disability policy itself, which is a good thing, it has also put a target sign on the backs of people collecting disability. Most of this has been in the name of decreasing… Read more »
Requirements of Disabled Adult Child Claims
In order to qualify for a Disabled Adult Child (DAC) claim, you must to have had your disability onset prior to the age of 22 and you must have a parent who is either: deceased and had worked long enough under SSA’s rules, collecting Social Security Retirement, or Disability benefits. SSA will use the same… Read more »
Vocational Experts, the DOT and the SCO
As you prepare for your hearing, you may be told that a vocational expert will be in the room with you. A vocational expert is a consultant hired by the Social Security Administration to give their opinion on whether or not jobs exist in the national economy for an individual with specific limitations. Questions to… Read more »
The Technical Rules of Social Security Disability
It is unfortunate, but a common scenario with many Social Security disability applicants is that they find out that they are ineligible to receive Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) before a claim really gets going, no matter why types of potential disabilities an applicant has. Before an applicant can even get the Social Security Administration to… Read more »
Disabled Adult Child Benefits
One of the lesser known Social Security disability benefit programs is the Disabled Adult Child benefits (DAC) program. There are special rules to be eligible for DAC benefits, mainly that you must prove to Social Security that you became disabled prior to age 22 and have a parent who is collecting Social Security disability or… Read more »
Administrative Law Judge Qualifications
The majority of applicants who apply for Social Security disability benefits and who continue to appeal decisions by the agency to deny claims will eventually end up at a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Most everyone knows what a judge is and what their functions are, but typically when we think of a… Read more »
Surviving Financially Until the ALJ Hearing
Among the questions asked to Greeman Toomey attorneys and staff, the most frequent one is “how am I supposed to survive until my hearing?” Unfortunately the average wait time for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge is 12-15 months from the date of your appeal. If a claimant receives unfavorable decisions at the Initial… Read more »
