Social Security benefits for dependent parents of a disabled or deceased child
A little known provision of the Social Security system allows parents to receive Social Security benefits if their child dies or becomes disabled. These are called Parent’s Benefits, which can easily be confused with Mother’s and Father’s Benefits (which are paid when one parent dies leaving the other to care for a child under 16 years of age).
Social Security Parent’s Benefits are not available every time a child dies or becomes disabled. The critical elements are that the parent is at least 62 years old and dependent on the disabled or deceased child.
How do I check that status of my Social Security disability case?
Social Security takes a long time to process disability benefit cases. Here is how to check the status of your claim.
Initial applications for disability benefits:
Social Security has a webpage at http://ssa.gov/claimstatus/ which lets you check your status. Unfortunately, you will probably receive this message:
The following statements are informational only. They are current as of today. You will receive the official notice of any decision made on your claim by U.S. mail. As of today’s date, a decision has not been made on your application. If you need more information, you may call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). SSA representatives are available Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Other than confirming that there is a claim pending, this doesn’t tell you very much. Fortunately, you can get more information by calling Social Security directly.
Social Security increase coming in 2012!
Good news. Individuals on Social Security will be getting a cost of living increase in 2012. And it won’t be a meager .7 % as initially thought:
Social Security recipients will get a raise in January — their first increase in benefits since 2009.
…
Based on consumer prices in July and August, the COLA for 2012 would be about 3.5 percent. Vlasenko estimates the COLA will be from 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent.
Via Washington Post.
UPDATE: The number is out, and it’s 3.6%.
UPDATE: SSI benefits are going up in 2012 from a maximum of $674 per month for individuals (and $1011 per …
Winning Social Security disability benefits after age 50
If you are 50 years old or older, Social Security makes it easier to prove your disability case. Individuals between 18 and 49 meet a tougher standard discussed in this article.
Starting at age 50, and then again at age 55 and 60, Social Security lowers the requirements for proving disability. The rationale is that the older you are, the harder it is to work in a job that you have never done before.
After age 50, Social Security can approve you for disability benefits even though you are able to do some type of work.
The older you are, the more physically demanding the work can be and still allow you qualify for disability benefits.
However, this is not a free pass and do not leave this article before you read the “gotchas” at the bottom.
Social Security told to slow down decisions?
Do you think Social Security is working too fast processing Social Security disability claims. Someone apparently thinks so. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Damian Paletta reports:
Social Security judges and employees in Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio and Arizona were among those instructed to set aside disability cases this week, with the slowdown allowing managers to boost their performance numbers for the coming fiscal year, which starts Monday.
Top officials, in a bid to meet goals to win promotions or thousands of dollars in bonuses, directed many employees to refrain from issuing decisions on cases until next week, according to judges and union officials.
How did Social Security judges respond?
Are earnings in WTU considered SGA for Social Security disability benefits?
The touchstone in disability cases is the ability to work. More specifically, the test is whether an individual can perform a Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). One of the first tests of whether work is SGA is earnings.
In 2011, earnings of $1,000 per month (before taxes) suggests the work is SGA. However there are exceptions to this. One of these is for sheltered work as defined in 20 CRF404.1574(a)(3).
If you are working in a sheltered workshop, you may or may not be earning the amounts you are being paid. The fact that the sheltered workshop or similar facility is operating at a loss or is receiving some charitable contributions or governmental aid does not establish that you are not earning all you are being paid. Since persons in military service being treated for severe impairments usually continue to receive full pay, we evaluate work activity in a therapy program or while on limited duty by comparing it with similar work in the civilian work force or on the basis of reasonable worth of the work, rather than on the actual amount of the earnings.
The idea behind sheltered work is that an individual may not be earning all of what they are being paid. The value of the individual’s work may be half (or a different percentage) of the amount actually paid. The amount paid over the value of the work is a subsidy. Social Security only counts the value of the work and not the subsidy in determining if the work is SGA.
For may injured soldiers, before discharge from their branch of service, they may be placed into a Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) or similar program. While the soldier’s salary stays the same, the duties are greatly reduced.
Can I get Social Security disability without losing income?
I was recently asked the following question:
I need my job to survive. I can’t quit. I have some vacation days and sick time, but it is not enough to go without pay until they tell me I qualified.
How do I still work and file for SS Disability without loosing any income?
I have previously discussed working while applying for disability benefits. However, this question presents some new issues. Generally, I consider transferring from work to Social Security disability with no loss of income as an unrealistic goal. Here is why:
The processing time on an initial claim is about 4-6 months (in Colorado).
The test of disability under Social Security is an inability to perform work (at a substantial gainful activity level). So, working at SGA, after considering the exceptions) is a problem. Note: if an individual works below SGA level, it would not be a bar to receiving disability benefits. However, any work is still be an issue.
Social Security requires that a disability be expected to last 12 months or longer. This is the “durational requirement.” While Social Security does not require that a person is out of work (or working below the SGA level) for 12 months, Social Security can deny cases if it feels that while a person is currently disabled, but is unlikely to remain disabled for 12 months.
There is also the 5 month waiting period (on SSDI claims), during which SSA withholds the first 5 months of benefits. If the alleged onset date is the last date an individual worked, Social Security would still keep the first 5 months of benefits. So, even if an individual is approved within 30 days of applying, there may still be a waiting period in which no benefits are paid. Note: this only applies in SSDI case (there is no waiting period in SSI cases). However, SSI cases do not pay benefits before the filing date.
If you have read all that and digested the information in the links, you have a pretty good idea of what you are up against.
