DISABILITY BENEFIT RECOVERY

A disabled veterans may qualify for Social Security disability even while receiving active duty military pay.  Here is Social Security's official policy on the matter of receiving active military pay while applying for Social Security disability benefits: Active duty status and receipt of military pay does not, in itself, necessarily prevent payment of Social Security disability benefits. Receipt of military payments should never stop you from applying for disability benefits from Social Security. If you are receiving treatment at a military medical facility and working in a designated therapy program or on limited duty, we will evaluate your work activity to determine your eligibility for benefits. You cannot receive Social Security disability benefits if you engage in substantial work for pay or profit. However, the actual work activity is the controlling factor and not the amount of pay you receive or your military duty status. Unfortunately, Social Security field offices so...

I am that little fly on the wall at a Social Security disability hearing.  I'd like to give you a few examples of the problems I observed in another hearing where the claimant was unrepresented. The judge asked, "Did you receive any unemployment benefits after your alleged onset date, which is March 13, 2011?"  The claimant says, "Yes, I drew unemployment for a while after I stopped working." The judge asks, "Were you able to work and looking for work during the time you drew unemployment benefits?"  The claimant says, "No, I wasn't able to work." The judge replies,"Then you lied to the state on your application for unemployment  benefits.  In order to receive unemployment benefits you have to state that you are able to work, you are looking for work and available for work--but now you tell me that was not true, that you were disabled.  Which story is right?"  The claimant doesn't seem to know what to say.  I think he ...

I am a fly on the wall at a Social Security disability hearing.  I see 4 persons in the room:  the claimant (unrepresented), a recording clerk, a vocational expert (VE) and a US adminstrative law judge (ALJ).   From my silent perch, I am going to explain some problems I see during disability hearings, where hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits depend on what happens during the 45 minute hearing. 1)  The ALJ asks the vocational expert to classify the claimant's past relevant work.  The VE replies that the claimant has had 3 jobs that qualify as past relevant work:  a cashier, an administrative assistant, and a rental clerk. The claimant does not object to any of these jobs, not knowing that they will be used at "Step 4" of the hearing to deny his claim.  He should object that the cashier job was more than 15 years ago, thus not past relevant work according to the regulations.  Also, he should object that the job as a rental c...

Social Security may pay you a benefit of up to $2,642 per month (2014) if you are unable to work for 1 year or more because of a physical or mental impairment.  You do not have to wait 1 year to file.  The requirement is that you must have an impairment that is expected to disable you for at least 12 consecutive months.  It is advisable to file right away because the process can take a long time. You may also be eligible for benefits for a period of time before you file your application.  For example, if you became disabled in May of 2013 but did not file your application for benefits until June of 2014, you may be eligible for several months of retroactive pay.  If you have to wait several months while Social Security decides whether you are disabled, you can also recover "back pay" for the months you had to wait.  Retroactive pay and back pay are usually paid in a lump sum, whereas, future payments are made monthly.  The exact amount of...