Daniel's blog

If you become so severely disabled that you can no longer work and if you are granted Social Security disability benefits, you may wonder if you have to do anything to keep those benefits. The general rule of thumb is that if you remain disabled to the point you cannot work, you are entitled to disability benefits until you reach retirement age. Your benefits will not stop coming at retirement age. Instead, you will no longer receive “disability” benefits but rather “retirement” benefits. The name changes, but the benefits do not.

While those who lead the charge in advocating cuts to Social Security’s benefits programs, including Social Security disability benefits, insist that cutting these programs will help balance the budget, others disagree. Intent on preserving the system, Social Security advocates say that proposed cuts to the system will have little or no effect on the budget or the deficit.

The Department of Labor issued two reports this year indicating that the Department’s One-Stop Career Centers are being used by many disabled people who are receiving benefits from Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The One-Stop Career Centers were established by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and are intended to help job seekers of all types, not just the those receiving SSDI and SSI disability benefits.

People with disabled children need extra income. Although they may be receiving aid from Social Security Disability (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), there’s never enough to go around. With some medications costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month, and with Social Security’s benefits being based on income, the idea of helping your disabled teen achieve a work or education goal may seem impossible.

One of the decisions you must make when you apply for Social Security disability benefits is whether or not to be represented by a qualified Social Security disability attorney or other professional, or whether to file for disability benefits on your own. Although the official Social Security Administration (SSA) publication 05-10029 attempts to explain the process of applying for disability benefits in a straightforward manner, it is immediately apparent from reading this publication that the amount of information needed to present a case can seem overwhelming.

More and more voices are calling for an overhaul of the Social Security system, and many are targeting Social Security disability benefits for scrutiny. Citing the need to “cut waste” in SSDI, representatives like Republican Mike Rogers of Alabama stress that the staggering size of the nation’s deficit demands stricter measures in distributing the nation’s tax dollars.

In order to prepare as efficiently as possible for making a Social Security disability claim, it is good practice to be fully aware of the trends currently emerging in Social Security cases and rulings as they will likely have an effect on your own disability case hearing/application.

Building on the positive momentum generated by SSA commissioner Michael Astrue's September announcement of the first decrease in pending Social Security Disability hearings in over a decade, the Federal government now seems to be making a big push towards a new method of increasing efficiency in healthcare: the implementation of electronic record keeping.