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.

• You local Social Security office can tell you if any additional information is needed before your case is transferred to Disability Determination Services for a medical review.
• Once your case is moved to Disability Determination Services, you will receive forms to be completed about your disability. These are accompanied by a cover letter with the name of your case manager and usually their direct telephone number.

Cases pending a Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge:

After the “Request for Hearing” appeal is filed, the case is moved to a Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). The ODAR office sends out a notice, once the file arrives there, listing the mailing address, telephone and fax numbers. If you lose the notice, you can also contact the local Social Security office to obtain contact information for the hearing office.

You can call the ODAR office to check the status of your case. However, the clerk handling calls can provide limited information. They may be able to tell you the status of the case, what information it is currently waiting on, and the current wait times. However, Social Security will not be able to give you “hint” of what the outcome of the case will be.

Now this should go without saying, but don’t be a jerk when you call. The Social Security agent will provide all the information they can. Each moment on the phone takes time away from processing cases. So, be nice. They really are doing their best.

As of August 15, 2011, the Colorado Springs Social Security office will be open to the public from 9am to 3:30pm.

Social Security is encourage use of the Social Security website for most tasks. However, if you need to speak to a Social Security employee in person, get there early folks!

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette

I was recently asked how to take care of bad information in a Social Security file which was preventing the release of back Social Security disability benefits.

Of course the first issue is whether there is a deadline that may affect the individual’s rights. If there is, then the suggestions below may go out the window. You always have to first preserve your legal rights. There are often time limits and deadlines in Social Security cases. If you miss a deadline, your entire case may go away or at a minimun, you may lose some of your rights.

Put another way: these are tips on working with Social Security to get general problems solved:

1. Find out what the problem is. Just knowing that the benefits have not been released is not enough. You need to know what the hold up is. Is there an workers’ compensation issue? Incarceration? Prior overpayment?
2. Find out who is working on it. Get the name and direct extension of the person who is working on the file right now.
3. Follow up regularly. I do not recommend calling daily. Social Security is amazingly overworked and you have to give people time to work on things. When you speak to the case technician, ask when the current step should be resolved. Calendar that and call back to follow up.
4. Document your contact with SSA. Keep a notebook with your attempts to solve the problem, and with Social Security’s response.
5. Escalate if necessary. If the technician repeatedly fails to call you back when you leave messages, consider escalating the matter to the supervisor at that office. Be reasonable: don’t leave daily messages and expect a call back the same day. However, if you leave one message a week and after several weeks you still have not received a call back, escalate.
6. Congressional help. If all else fails and you have tried to leave messages, escalate, and you still cannot get a response out of Social Security, consider getting your Congress-person involved.

If you have suggestions on how to get problems solved at Social Security, be sure to share them in the comments. Thanks!

CC image credit: gruntzooki

I hear a lot of horror stories about going to the Social Security office.

If you need to go to the Social Security office to get a replacement card, change your name, or try to straighten something out with SSA, here are a few tips:

• Don’t go!  Before you put yourself through the misery, check the Social Security website to see if you can take care of the problem without going in.  Here is a list of things you can do online without going to a Social Security office!
• Call first! You may be able to resolve the problem with a phone call.  
  • Call the national toll free number at 1-800-772-1213.
  • If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call the toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. 
  • Click here for the phone number for your local office.

If you still need to go to your local office, here are some tips to help you survive:

• Get ready to wait. Depending on how busy it, you may be there a while. Seriously. You may be there the entire morning or afternoon. 
• Consider bringing the following:
  • Bring a book, newspaper or magazine.
  • Bring water (note some offices may not allow this).
  • Bring a snack.  Even if you are not allowed to eat at the office, you usually can eat just outside the office. This is especially important if you have diabetes or have problems with low blood sugar.  However, everyone should consider this as you may be there for more than 3 or 4 hours. 
  • Bring a cushion if you have trouble sitting for extended periods.
  • Bring a friend. It will help pass the time and you have someone to make sure you are not skipped while in the bathroom or on a cigarette break.
  • Bring a walkman, or mp3 player.
  • It can get noisy, so consider bringing earplugs.  BUT, don’t miss your name or number being called!!!
• Show up early.  Many offices open at 8:30 but some do not open until 9:00 AM.  Use the office locator to find out the opening and closing times for your office.
• Show up late. Many offices have a policy that if you are in the door before closing, you have to be seen. The flip-side of this is that if you have a difficult problem or you need someone at Social Security to be in a good mood and want to help you, showing up late may not help. 
• Ask the security officer for the best days or times to come back. If you cannot get your problem resolved, the security officer often knows the best times to return to minimize your wait.
• Do not bring a weapon (even if it is otherwise legal). This includes the pocket knife you bring everywhere or pepper spray. Going to the Social Security office is enough of a chore without getting arrested too.

Do you have any tips for surviving a trip to Social Security?  Tell us in the comments!

Fortunately, I do not see too many cases in Colorado that have been waiting more than two and half years for a hearing.  Unfortunately, I still see the average wait time for hearings hover at about 12-14 months (occasionally faster, occasionally slower).

That is, 12-14 months after the initial appeal is filed.  So, if you add the initial 4-6 months for the initial decision, 2-3 months for the hearing decision and another 2-3 months for processing of benefits, you are looking at about two year from beginning a Social Security case to payout of initial benefits.

While this may be less than 900 days, two years is still a long time to wait for help when you are disabled.

 photo credit: chelseagirl