Not everyone who applies for Social Security wants to be on disability for the rest of their lives. Many just want temporary help while recovering from an injury and figuring out what they can do next.

There are also some cases that keep getting denied.

Whether by choice or necessity, retraining may be something you eventually consider.

Recently, I was talking with a client about the options if Social Security denies her case. She would like to go back to school but has no idea what to study or how to pay for it. It occurs to me that this is a discussion a lot of people would like to be in on.

Here are the retraining options we discussed:

Social Security does not provide retraining

This comes as a surprise to many people. However, Social Security does not provide any retraining services. For right or wrong, it is just not part of Social Security’s charter. Of course the monthly benefits and health insurance Social Security provides may go a long way to help you while going back to school.

The Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

If you are looking for retraining in a new field, your local Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) is the agency to contact. DVR offers a variety of services including diagnosing impairments, retraining, and job placement services.

Here is a list of services from the Colorado DVR website:

• Evaluation and diagnostic services provided to determine eligibility and the services needed for the individual to become employed;
• Vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance provided directly by a vocational rehabilitation counselor during the individual’s plan of services;
• Physical and mental restoration services which may be provided to correct or substantially modify an individual’s physical or mental condition;
• Training services, when necessary to become employed, including vocational training, academic training, personal and vocational adjustment training, job coaching, on-the-job training, job-seeking skills training, and books, tools, and other training materials;
• Specialized services for individuals who are blind, deaf, and deaf-blind, including interpreter services, note-taking services, and reader services;
• Rehabilitation technology services, including assistive technology devices, assistive technology services, and rehabilitation engineering services to address barriers encountered by an individual in attaining or retaining employment;
• Placement services provided to assist an individual with a disability to find adequate and suitable employment in his/her chosen career;
• Supportive services, such as maintenance, transportation, personal assistance services and services to family members may also be provided if necessary for the individual to utilize the services identified above.

Want to contact a DVR office in your part of Colorado? Follow this link.

School Disability Services Office

If you are considering going back to school, it’s not unusual to be worried about the rigors of classes, notes, and tests. Maybe you have a learning impairment such as dyslexia, ADD or ADHD. Maybe social anxiety disorder makes it difficult to attend classes. Maybe you just barely made it through school the first time.

If you are worried about making it in school, contact the Disability Services office of the school you are thinking of attending.

The Disability Services office can help you succeed by providing various accommodations such as the following:

• Online classes
• Note takers
• Assistive technology
• Alternate testing
• Additional time on tests or assignments
• Readers
• Books on tape
• Tutoring

By contacting the Disability Services office, you can find out what services may be available to you.

Here is a list of Disability Services offices for local colleges:

• Pueblo Community College (PCC)
• University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS)
• Colorado College
• Colorado State College Resources for Disabled Students
• Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC)
• Otero Junior College
• Adams State College

If you have a link to another Colorado college Disability Services office, let me know in the comments.

Working with a Vocational Specialist

This is the one tip you will ignore.  You may consider it, keep it in the back of your mind, but ultimately you will decide that you really can’t afford to do this and you will forget it.

That is a shame, because this is the one retraining tip that can make the most difference.

Vocational specialists work with individuals to help identify their strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. They can also help identify jobs through their specialized resources and on-site job surveys.

I know you may be saying:

So, it’s like career day in high school where I took a test and it told me I would probably make a good pastry chef, even though I don’t want to be a pastry chef.

Well, it is something like that, but a whole lot better. A good vocational specialist is worth the money. A vocational specialist can help you figure out:

1. What kind of a job you would be good at?
2. What kind of job will accommodate your limitations?
3. Whether you are actually likely to find a job based on the number of jobs in the state, whether the industry is growing or shrinking? Whether schools are going to be flooding the market with job applicants, and so on?

How much will a vocational specialist cost? I would budget between $300 to $700 depending on your region and what you want the vocational specialist to do. If you think that is a lot, consider how much you will pay for just one class in college.

So, here is your choice:

• You can either spend years of your life and thousands of dollars on training with no idea if you will be able to perform the duties of a in that industry? Whether there are jobs in your area? Or, your likelihood of being hired or running your own business? Or,
• You can spend a few hundred dollars up front to work with a vocational specialist to figure out the best jobs for you and your limitations, and the find the jobs that have the best income potential.

If this sounds good, please prove me wrong and consider using a vocational expert.

Have you gone back to school to get retraining after an injury? Got tips to share? Tell me in the comments!

This advertising tactic is a bit of a joke in legal circles. Yet it pops up surprisingly frequently. I am sure you have seen lawyers ads touting the “combined experience” of the lawyers in the firm:

18 years of combined legal experience

40 years of combined legal experience

90 [!] years of combined legal experience

Even a quick check of Google reveals a number of law firms using this language.

Well, I’m here to tell you – don’t buy it!

The main problem with this is that there is no such thing as “combined legal experience.” As much you may feel that lawyers are pod people, we really cannot connect our brains together!

Another problem is that if a lawyer advertises “18 years of combined legal experience” you may rightfully expect that you are getting 18 years of experience on your problem. But, are you really?

Consider what “18 years of combined years of experience” may actually mean:

• 18 lawyers with 1 year of experience.
• 1 lawyer with 17 years of experience and 1 junior associate with 1 year of experience. Psst: you are assigned to the junior associate.
• 1 lawyer with 18 years of experience (in a completely different practice area) who just started practicing law in your area this year.

Don’t be taken in by law firms advertising “combined years of experience.” Many times, it is just a way of making a law firm sound more experienced that it really is.

If you are like most people, you probably have never had to think about what you would do if you became disabled. What would you do if you suddenly could not work? How would you pay your rent or mortgage? How would you afford to see your doctor?

Social Security provides help if you ever find yourself in this situation.

Generally, Social Security disability benefits provide two things:

1. Monthly cash benefits – to help you pay for your expenses.
2. Health insurance (Medicare or Medicaid) – to help you pay for your medical expenses.

Social Security has two similar disability programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Even though only SSDI has the word, “disability” in its title, both programs provide benefits if you become disabled.

• Both SSDI and SSI provide monthly cash benefits. SSI benefits are limited to the Federal Benefit Rate ($674 per month for 2010), while SSDI can be higher and is based on the amount of your contribution to Social Security through payroll taxes. If you are curious about how much you might be entitled to if you became disabled, Social Security provides online calculators to help you estimate your benefits.
• Both SSDI and SSI provide health insurance. SSDI recipients are eligible to receive Medicare while SSI recipients can receive Medicaid.

Keep in mind that there are differences between SSI and SSDI, and we have not touched on SSI’s financial eligibility requirements, or how Social Security evaluates cases. However, if your are considering applying for benefits this is a very quick overview of what you can get from Social Security if you are disabled.

Thirty-eight additional medical conditions have been added to Social Security’s list of conditions which qualify for fast-track Compassionate Allowances in Social Security disabilty claims.

The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease … The expansion we are announcing today means tens of thousands of Americans with devastating disabilities will now get approved for benefits in a matter of days rather than months and years.

Here are the 38 new Compassionate Allowance conditions:

• Alstrom Syndrome
• Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
• Ataxia Spinocerebellar
• Ataxia Telangiectasia
• Batten Disease
• Bilateral Retinoblastoma
• Cri du Chat Syndrome
• Degos Disease
• Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
• Edwards Syndrome
• Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
• Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
• Glutaric Acidemia Type II
• Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), Familial Type
• Hurler Syndrome, Type IH
• Hunter Syndrome, Type II
• Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
• Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Lethal Type
• Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
• Leigh’s Disease
• Maple Syrup Urine Disease
• Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
• Mixed Dementia
• Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
• Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
• Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses, Infantile Type
• Niemann-Pick Type C
• Patau Syndrome
• Primary Progressive Aphasia
• Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
• Sanfilippo Syndrome
• Subacute Sclerosis Panencephalitis
• Tay Sachs Disease
• Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1
• Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
• Walker Warburg Syndrome
• Wolman Disease
• Zellweger Syndrome

Social Security will begin electronically identifying cases with these conditions starting March 1, 2010.

Click for more information about Compassionate Allowances from Social Security, click here.

I have worked with a number of people who have gone back to school while applying for Social Security disability benefits. This may be going to (or back to) college, trade school, or just getting more training. Generally, Social Security wants to see people getting on with their lives and trying to find a way to make a living. Going back to school is a common part of this.

However, it can sometimes cause problems in a disability case. Social Security cases can be summed up as, “do your conditions keep you from being able to do some kind of work?” That is a bit of a simplification since the standard is whether an individual can engage is a “substantial gainful activity,” but it is a good question to start with.

I’m not trying to work, I’m just going to school. Is this going to be a problem?

That depends on several factors:

Is going to school consistent with your disability?

If you have PTSD, social anxiety disorder, or another condition, how are you managing with the social requirements of going to school?

This is not an insurmountable question, but Social Security will consider it, and you need to have an answer.

I have known people who go back to school, but they take night or online classes to minimize social interaction. I have had other clients with anxiety disorders who have permission from the school and the instructors allowing them to leave the classroom without any penalty if they feel an anxiety attack coming on.

Social Security often looks to the specific accommodations provided by the school to decide this is consistent with the disability.

Is the school activity comparable to work?

If classes, labs, homework and studying take up around 30 to 40 hours per week going to school may be viewed by Social Security as close enough to what is required in the workplace to suggest that the individual is capable to engaging in a substantial gainful activity (aka working).  Put another way, if you can put in 40 hours a week at something which is as hard as work, Social Security may think you can work. And, if you can work, your case may be denied.

So is your going to school similar to going to work? It all depends on the circumstances.

• How many classes are you taking? Are you going full time, half time, quarter time?
• How are you scheduling your classes? Some people with chronic fatigue disorder have gone to college half time or less, and set up their schedules to limit time in school to only a few hours a day. Or, have several hours between classes for rest periods.
• How many hours are you devoting to school? This is the big question. When you add up all the time between classes, studying, homework, labs, etc, how many hours are you devoting to being in school? Is it close to a 40 hour work-week?

Is the degree inconsistent with the disability?

Ask yourself, “what jobs can I do with my degree?” If the jobs are inconsistent with your current disability, how are you going to explain to Social Security why you are pursuing training in that area?

For example, if you have a seizure disorder and are training to be an electrician, Social Security may wonder how you are planning to deal with the possibility of losing consciousness while working around live wires? The result may be that Social Security may infer that the seizure disorder may not be disabling considering your educational goals, and deny your case.

Of course, not every degree program or retraining is inconsistent with a disability claim. For example, I have had several clients go back to school to become therapists and counselors with the goal of working on their own, in an environment where they can set their own schedules, thereby allowing them to manage their disabilities.

Going to school while pursing a Social Security disability case brings a unique set of potential pitfalls for the unwary. Whether this keeps you from winning your case often depends on how well you understand the potential risks and the documentation you have prepared to resolve potential problems.

Sadly, Social Security is not increasing SSI benefits for 2010. SSI benefits are staying at $674 for individuals and $1,011 for couples.

This is the first year in a decade that SSI benefits have stayed the same for two years in a row!

We increased the Substantial Gainful Activity SGA amount for individuals with disabilities, other than blindness, from $980 to $1000 for 2010.

The SGA amount for individuals who are blind is $1,640 for 2010. The amount is unchanged from 2009.

We increased the monthly earnings amount that we use to determine if a month counts for the Trial Work Period TWP from$700 to $720 for 2010.

For 2010, the Supplemental Security Income SSI Federal Benefit Rates FBR is $674 for an eligible individual and $1,011 for an eligible couple. The amounts are unchanged from 2009.

For 2010, the income amounts that will have no effect on eligibility or benefits for SSI beneficiaries who are students is unchanged from 2009.

For 2010, the monthly amount is $1,640 and the yearly maximum is $6,600.

For 2010, the monthly Medicare Part A Hospital Insurance Base Premium is $461, and the 45 percent Reduced Premiums is $254. The Part B Supplementary Medical Insurance monthly Base Premium is $110.50.

via Social Security – The Red Book – What’s New In 2010?.

20 CFR 404.350 “Who is entitled to child’s benefits” states

(a) General. You are entitled to child’s benefits on the earnings record of an insured person who is entitled to old-age or disability benefits or who has died if-

(1) You are the insured person’s child, based upon a relationship described in §§404.355 through 404.359;
(2) You are dependent on the insured, as defined in §§404.360 through 404.365;
(3) You apply;
(4) You are unmarried; and
(5) You are under age 18; you are 18 years old or older and have a disability that began before you became 22 years old; or you are 18 years or older and qualify for benefits as a full-time student as described in §404.367.

Subsection 5 concerns continuing benefits for those 18 or over, who are still full time students. Under this section, it appears an individual has to be either:

1. Under 18; or
2. A Disabled Adult Child (DAC); or
3. 18 or older and a full time student under §404.367.

There is a “however.”

However, §404.367 only deals with primary and secondary school students. In fact part “e” specifically requires that “You are in grade 12 or below.”

As such, it appears that the child’s benefits are only paid to full time students over 18 while they are still in high school.

As always, I encourage contacting Social Security for answers on how the regulations apply to any individual’s specific circumstances.

What happens in cases of grandparents, step-parents, or parents who adopt children? Are their children entitled to Social Security child’s benefits?

Social Security has a number of regulations used to decide if a child in these circumstances qualify for auxiliary benefits.

• 20 CFR 404.335 deals with a natural child.
• 20 CFR 404.336 deals with a legally adopted child.
• 20 CFR 404.337 deals with step children.
• 20 CFR 404.338 deals with grandchildren or step-grandchildren.
• 20 CFR 404.339 deals with equitable adopted children.

Even if none of these regulations apply (for example: in cases of a guardianship), you may still want to talk to someone at Social Security to see if the children might qualify under this or another Social Security program.

When a disabled individual receives Social Security disability insurance benefits (also known as DIB, SSDI or Title 2 benefits), their spouse or minor children may also be eligible to receive Social Security benefits. These benefits paid to the spouse or minor child are called “auxiliary benefits.”

Wait a minute, I’m on SSI, but my kids didn’t get any Social Security benefits.

Whether a spouse or children receive Social Security benefits depends on which Social Security benefits the spouse or parent is receiving. There are two kinds of Social Security disability benefits: Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Note: Even though only “Social Security Disability Insurance” uses the word “disability,” both programs provide Social Security benefits for disabled individuals. However, only Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has auxiliary benefits.

This means you have to be receiving SSDI for your spouse or children to receive auxiliary benefits. If you are on SSI, you are the only person who can receive benefits because there are not auxiliary benefits for SSI.

See my other articles on auxiliary benefits are other types of Social Security benefits you may not be aware of.

Since attorneys fees are set (and have to be approved by) Social Security, the bigger question in a Social Security disability case is the amount of the expenses. Since expenses are different in each case, clients often wonder how much they will owe.

What do I have to pay for? Copying? Faxing? Phone calls? Travel expenses? Administrative fees?!?

Personally, I try to keep things simple. I have made it a policy not to nickel and dime my clients for photocopies, faxes, phone calls or the mysterious “administrative charges.” Except for truly unusual circumstances, my clients only pay of the cost of medical records to build their case.

So how much are the records going to cost?

On average, it costs between $100-200 to get the relevant medical records in a Social Security disability case. Sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. My most expensive case was around $600. The cheapest had no record costs because my client had all of heir records already. The record costs depends on two things:

1. The number of doctors we have to contact; and
2. How far back we have to go with the records.

The more doctos and the further back we go, the more expensive the case will be. Getting the last 5 years of records is more costly than just getting the last 18 months.

Another rule of thumb is hospital records are more expensive than doctor’s records. The simple reason for this is that hospitals generally generate more pages of records. Even though my office limits the medical requests to try to eliminate unnecessary records and minimize the cost to my clients, hospitals still generate more pages than doctors’ offices.

Don’t lawyers pad their bills with “record costs”.

No, not in my experience. Any expense you have to pay for medical records go straight out the door to pay the doctor (or the doctors’s copying service). In fact, the law office often advances the cost for the records, so you are just reimbursing the law office for money spent.

To make sure you are only paying what the law office spent, you should always receive a copy of the invoice from the doctor or medical copier.

If you are worried Bout getting fleeced by a lawyer, see my artcle about lawyer’s secret gold mine.

Even though you live with your pain every day, the Social Security technician or the disability examiner doesn’t know what you are going through, and they won’t know, unless you can tell them. You may feel like yelling,

You don’t know what I go through every day!

And you would be right. No one really knows what it is like to be in another person’s skin. But, when you are applying for Social Security benefits, you have to do your best to communicate the quality of your pain.

Here are some areas to describe:

Nature of the Pain: What is the pain like? Is it sharp? Dull? Aching? Shooting? Throbbing? Electric? Burning? Is it a constant ache that turns into spams as it gets worse?

Location: Where is the pain located? In your neck? Temple? Shoulder? Low back? Wrists? Is it in your buttocks with shooting pains down your legs and into your toes? Social Security won’t know if you can’t describe it.

Frequency & Duration: Is it painful all the time or just some of the time? How long does the pain last? Do you feel better in the morning, and then get worse over the course of the day?  Or, does it start bad in the morning and keep getting worse until you go to bed?

Triggers: Some pain happens no matter what an individual does. Other pains can be related to certain causes. Do you have an electric pain that doubles you over, but goes away when you lie down? Does the pain only happen when you walk a block or climb stairs? Does it get worse if you stand for more than ten minutes.

Effects of Pain: Does the pain affect how much you can lift or carry? How long you can sit, stand or walk? Does the pain affect your ability to read a book, or follow a tv show?

Effect of Medications: Do your medicines help? How? Do the pills (or shots, or other treatment) relieve all of the pain or just some of the pain? What do the medications help with? What do the medications not relieve? For example, do the medications help your muscles relax and stop spasming, but have no impact on the continual dull ache? Do the medications last until the next dose or is the pain back up before you can take another dose?

If you think that you could write a page or two describing your pain, your on the right track! Whether you are getting ready to apply or preparing for your hearing, being able to discuss your pain is an important part of building your case.

If your spouse dies leaving you to take care of his or her children under the age of 16, you may be entitled to Mother’s and Father’s benefits (commonly called parent’s benefits) under Social Security.

These are separate from the benefits the children may be entitled to based on the death of their parent.

20 CFR 404.339 deals sets out the requirements for a parent to receive Mother’s or Father’s benefits:

You may be entitled as the widow or widower to mother’s or father’s benefits on the earnings record of someone who was fully or currently insured when he or she died. You are entitled to these benefits if—

(a) You are the widow or widower of the insured and meet the conditions described in §404.335(a);

(b) You apply for these benefits; or you were entitled to wife’s benefits for the month before the insured died;

(c) You are unmarried;

(d) You are not entitled to widow’s or widower’s benefits, or to an old-age benefit that is equal to or larger than the full mother’s or father’s benefit; and

(e) You have in your care the insured’s child who is entitled to child’s benefits and he or she is under 16 years old or is disabled. Sections 404.348 and 404.349 describe when a child is in your care.

You need to keep in mind that unlike benefits paid to children when a parent dies (which are often paid until age 18), mother’s and father’s benefits stop at age 16. There are also a number of other ways these benefits can stop.

Here are some things you should discuss:

• Let your doctor know that you are applying for Social Security disability benefits.
• Ask your doctor if he or she feels that you are disabled? Does your doctor think you would be able to do some type of full-time work?
• Is the doctor willing to write a statement to Social Security, or fill out a form from your lawyer, about your limitations?
• Even if not, ask your doctor would be willing to help out in some other way. The doctor may have a suggestion that might help your case.

Keep in mind that depending on your age you may not need to prove that you cannot perform any kind of work to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. That can definitely work to your advantage! Even if your doctor thinks you can still do some type of work, or part time work, it may be worthwhile to get a supporting statement from the doctor.

However, it all depends on which age group you fall into. Your lawyer can help you figure that out.

Sometimes however, your doctor may tell you:

I do not believe in Social Security disability.

I don’t think anyone is disabled.

You look fine to me.

Even if you don’t get the answer you want to hear when you talk to your doctor,  it is still valuable to know if your doctor does not believe in you or your disability. If you get one of these answers, it may be time to find a new doctor.

But, you will not know if your doctor will support you, or not, unless you  have this discussion. So, get to it and start talking!

Under Social Security regulations low birth weight babies may qualify for Social Security disability (Supplemental Security Income – SSI) benefits.

It is important to note that Social Security does not specifically consider whether the child is premature or not. Social Security considers the birth weight of the child:

“Low birth weight” is defined as a birth weight under 1,200 grams (2 pounds 10 ounces) or under 2,000 grams and small for gestational age.

Social Security does provide SSI disability benefits to certain low birth weight infants, whether or not they are premature. A child who weighs less than 1200 grams (about 2 pounds, 10 ounces) at birth can qualify for SSI on the basis of low birth weight, if otherwise eligible. A child who weighs between 1200 and 2000 grams at birth (about 4 pounds 6 ounces) AND who is considered small for his or her gestational age may also qualify. For this second category of low birth weight infants, the following chart shows the gestational age at birth and corresponding birth weight that satisfies our “small for gestational age” criterion.

However, even newborns over 1,200 grams may qualify for SSI depending on their gestational age. Listed below are the gestational ages and birth weights that may qualify a child for Supplemental Security Income benefits (re-formated from the Social Security website for easier viewing):

37-40 weeks — Less than 2000 grams (4 pounds, 6 ounces)

36 weeks — 1875 grams or less (4 pounds, 2 ounces)

35 weeks — 1700 grams or less (3 pounds, 12 ounces)

34 weeks — 1500 grams or less (3 pounds, 5 ounces)

33 weeks — 1325 grams or less (2 pounds, 15 ounces)

If the newborn weight is equal to, or less than, the specified amount, based on the newborn’s gestational age, the newborn may be able to qualify for SSI benefits. For more information, check out the Social Security FAQ.

Yes. Under some circumstances, Social Security can immediately start Social Security disability benefits, and continue to pay benefits for up to six months, while the state agency component of Social Security makes a formal decision of whether the child is disabled. These are called “Presumptive Disability” cases.

Basically, Social Security is saying that the child is probably disabled, and as such will pay benefits, while it reviews the case to confirm the presumed disability.

Here are the conditions that may qualify:

• HIV infection;
• Total blindness;
• Total deafness;
• Cerebral palsy;
• Down syndrome;
• Muscular dystrophy;
• Severe mental retardation (child age 7 or older); and
• Birth weight below 2 pounds, 10 ounces.

According to Social Security (POMS DI 11055.230):

The presumptive disability/blindness payments end the earliest of:

• The month in which the Disability Determination Services (DDS) makes a formal finding on whether the claimant is disabled or blind;
• The month for which the claimant is paid the sixth monthly payment based on PD or PB; or
• The month in which the claimant no longer meets one of the other eligibility requirements for SSI (e.g., excess income/resources).

If the Social Security state agency decides that the condition is not severe enough for SSI, you do not have to pay the money back. And that is very good news.

However, (you knew there had to be a however, didn’t you?) payments on presumptive disability cases CAN be considered overpayments (which a parent/guardian may have to pay back) if:

• The claim is disallowed due to ineligibility based on non-medical factors; or
• Social Security subsequently determine that it computed the amount of payment in error.

Or, put in English, if the child is later denied for non-medical reason (for example, if the household makes too much money or has too much in assets) or if Social Security got the benefit amount wrong.

See Social Security publication for a general overview. See  DI 11055.230 Presumptive Disability (PD) and Presumptive Blindness (PB) Provisions for more information about the overpayment issue.

People often ask, “Do I have to pay taxes on Social Security benefits?”

Here is the answer directly from Social Security:

Some people who get Social Security will have to pay taxes on their benefits. Less than one-third of our current beneficiaries pay taxes on their benefits.

You will have to pay federal taxes on your benefits if you file a federal tax return as an “individual” and your total income is more than $25,000. If you file a joint return, you will have to pay taxes if you and your spouse have a total income that is more than $32,000.

For more information, call the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) toll-free at 1-800-829-3676 and ask for IRS Publication Number 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the IRS toll-free number, 1-800-829-4059.

If you wish to have federal taxes withheld from your check, see  Can I have federal taxes withheld from my Social Security check?

The Social Security Administration has no authority to withhold state or local taxes from your benefit.  Many states and local authorities do not tax Social Security benefits.  You should contact your state or local taxing authority for more information.

Via Social Security’s FAQ page.

02/15/10 Update: Keep in mind that the law (including tax law) is subject to change. I encourage readers to check the Social Security site and discuss the taxability of benefits with their tax preparer.

02/26/10 Update:

• Gordon Gates has a great post on this topic here.
• The National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives has a quick information page about Social Security and taxes here.

If you are looking at your Social Security exhibit file and you notice that all the exhibits are numbered with a letter in front, such as “B1A, B2A, B1B, B2B,” etc, this means that you are looking at the “B” file — a file for the second application for Social Security disability benefits.

In other words, the first time you file for benefits, Social Security creates an “A” file. Since this may be the only file you ever have, it is not referred to as the “A” file.  However, if you file a second application, the second file becomes the “B” file. The third application becomes part of the “C” file, and so on.

These letters are just a way to distinguish the file and quickly tell whether a file is an earlier file or a later file.

Note: this system does not always work. I have had clients with 5 or more applications and their file had either no letter or it may have only been the “B” file. So, the absence of a letter does not mean there isn’t a prior file, but if there is a letter, then there definitely is a prior file.

So, do you want it and how do you get it?

If there is Social Security information out there, I generally want it. There are exceptions of course. I do not necessarily want a file from 10 years ago, but a file that is only 2 years old may have some valuable evidence in it. It all comes down to the specific circumstances of the case. Sometimes a client tells me that a prior Social Security examiner gave the client a favorable report, or a prior hearing denial said the client was limited to light work and since the client is now 55 year old, that by itself my let the client be approved. Then, absolutely, I want to get my hands on that file!

This usually just means asking for it. I do this by addressing a request, a letter really, to the judge or the judge’s office. I request that the prior file be made available, or requested (if it is in storage) and I state my reasons for why the file may be important in the current case. I have never seen a judge refuse this request.

Then, follow up to make sure the file has been received, and either request a copy of the file on CD or schedule time to make a copy of the file the ODAR (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review) office.

Did you know that Social Security has a special disability benefit rule just for individuals who did not complete high school and who have done hard physical work for most of their lives?

Maine and New Hampshire Social Security Attorney Gordon Gates lets you in on this little know exception:

There is an offbeat little provision in the Social Security regulations that grants benefits for a worker who fits a particular vocational profile. This is the “worn out worker” rule.

The rule has 3 requirements for claimants:

1) a marginal education,

2) 35 years or more of only arduous unskilled physical labor,

3) the claimant is unable to do this kind of work because of a severe impairment(s).

Click through to Gordon’s article for details on what consistutes a “marginal” education and more information on how Social Security applies the “Worn Out Worker Rule” to see if it can help you in your case!

via Social Security Disability Lawyer | Maine Social Security Attorney | New Hampshire ALJ Hearings: The Worn Out Worker Rule.

Well, it looks like there may be an extra stimulus payment to seniors to help offset the increase.

President Barack Obama called on Congress Wednesday to approve $250 payments to more than 50 million seniors to make up for no increase in Social Security next year.

Check out this article for more information: Obama calls for $250 payments to seniors – Yahoo! News.