Down slightly from this past summer’s projection of a 2.2 percent increase, the official word came down that the increase for Social Security recipients in 2018 will be a 2 percent increase. This increase will impact everyone who receives retirement, disability, and survivor’s benefits, as well as anyone who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The… Read more »
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Evidence Of Common-Law Marriage
Social Security estimates that it provides monthly benefits to about 5 million widows and widowers, who are collecting the benefits based on their deceased spouse’s earnings record. Spouses can also be eligible for past-due benefits owed to a deceased wife or husband if it was established the deceased was disabled prior to passing away and… Read more »
President’s Assault On Obamacare Continues
President Donald Trump announced that the federal government would no longer provide funds to medical insurers to help lower costs of premiums as has been the case since the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, was passed into legislation. The reimbursements from the government were a major reason many people could afford healthcare coverage… Read more »
Social Security’s Determinations Are Independent From Other Sources
Many times Social Security claimants will also have a claim for different types of benefits from other government agencies. One agency in particular this commonly occurs is the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. At the VA, if a member of the armed forces is found disabled, they will be given a disability rates from 0 percent… Read more »
Various Types Of Wages Treated Differently By Social Security
There are many different types of wages. There is your standard wage you receive from work-related activities, but there can also be wages paid for illness, vacation, and of course income related to pensions and retirement pay. Social Security considers all of these types of income and has specific rules how this income qualifies for… Read more »
Open Enrollment Approaching For Obamacare
The Republicans in Congress have made several attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, but all attempts have failed after a few Republicans defected in approving repeal efforts after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that repeal of the law would result in tens of millions of Americans losing healthcare coverage…. Read more »
The Earnings Test Under Social Security Rules
Workers who pay into Social Security earn credits quarterly that qualify them for certain types of Social Security payments, whether they be disability or retirement benefits, but few people understand what sorts of income actually earn them credits. Here is some information about what types of income qualify under the earnings test. What types of… Read more »
New Conditions Added To Compassionate Allowance Program
Social Security has added three new conditions to its Compassionate Allowance list, which are impairments the “clearly” meet Social Security’s standard for disability under the law. These new conditions are: CACH – Vanishing White Matter Disease-Infantile and Childhood Onset forms; Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy; Kleefstra Syndrom. According to Social Security, Compassionate Allowances are a way 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 »
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 »
