- SOCIAL SECURITY BOOKLETS ONLINE LINKS
- SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS SIMPLE EXPLANATION
SOCIAL SECURITY BOOKLETS - ONLINE LINKS
Social Security Online Services
- Why use Social Security's online services?
- How secure is my personal information?
- What can I do online?
- How do I begin?
- Social Security: a simple concept
- What you need to know about SS while you're working
- What you need to know about benefits
- Benefits for your family
- When you're ready to apply for benefits
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program
- Right to appeal
- Online "my social Security" account
- Medicare
- Some facts about Social Security
- Medicare
- What is Medicare?
- Who can get Medicare?
- Help for some low-income people
- Signing up for Medicare
- Options for receiving health services
- If you have other health insurance
- What Social Security means to you
- Your Social Security record and number
- If you change your name
- If you are a victim of family violence
- Social Security numbers for children
- What your Social Security taxes pay for
- Wome special employment situations
- Before you retire
- When you retire
- If you become disabled
- When you are ready to apply
- Benefits for your family
- When you die
- If you have income from a government pension
- If you have not worked or do not have enought Social Security credits
- If you become a widow
- If you are divorced
- If you have limited income
- If you are a caregiver
- Protection of personal information
- More information
- Introduction
- SSI payments for childrenw ith disabilities
- SSDI benefits for adults disabled since childhood
- Applying for SSI payments or SSDI benefits and how you can help
- Employment support programs for young people with disabilities
- Medicaid and Medicare
- Children's Health Insurance Program
- Other health care services
- Introduction
- About your benefits
- Other benefits you may be able to get
- What you must report to us
- Benefits for children
- Reviewing your medical condition
- Helping you return to work
- Protection of your personal information
Getting disability benefits? We can help you while you work.
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY RULES
- Social Security work incentives at a glance
- How your earnings affect your Social Security benefits
- What to report if you work and receive Social Security disability
- If you lose your job
- Special rules for workers who are blind
- SSI work incentives at a glance
- Plan to achieve self-support (PASS)
- How your earnings affect your SSI payments
- What to report if you work and receive SSI
- How long your Medicaid will continue
- What is SSI?
- How much can you get?
- How do you qualify for SSI?
- How do you apply for SSI?
- Introduction
- About your payments
- What you must report to us
- Things you should know if you get SSI because you are disabled
- How and when to report changes
- Other things you should know
SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS SIMPLE EXPLANATION
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is in charge of two completely different programs:
1. The Insurance Programs: (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance or OASDI) Based on social insurance principles, the program provides monthly benefits designed to replace, in part, the loss of income due to retirement, disability, or death. The program is funded by social security payments deducted from workers paychecks and the amounts received are based on how much you have paid into the program. The plan provides:
- Retirement for workers
- Survivors benefits for young children and their mothers or fathers should a working parent die.
- SSDI - Social Security Disability Insurance to workers who become disabled. There are also disability benefits for widows or widowers who become disabled within 7 years of the spouse's death and for adult children of retired, disabled, or deceased worker if the child become disabled before age 22. Social Security Disability Insurance pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you are "insured," meaning that you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes.
- SSDI for adults disabled since childhood: Adults who have a disability began before they became 22 years old receive a "child's" benefit because it is paid on a prent's SS earnings record.
- SSI or Supplemental Security Income provides monthly cash payments to people who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled persons who are low income. The program pays benefits based on financial need. SSI is funded by general funds - not social security funds.
- SSI for children: Children younger than age 18 can qualify if he/she meets SSA definition of disability for children and if they meet the income requirements (family income considered). Dependent children, parents, spouse) and Medicare
SSD - Social Security Disability (often called SSDI Social Security Disability Insurance)
It usually takes 3-4 months to be accepted for disability. Having an attorney does not speed up this process. There are 200+ conditions under which a person can receive disability much faster; such as Hodgkin's lymphoma stage 4 or total disability from the VA.
After two years of SSD, Medicare begins. Retroactive years count toward this 2 year period so in effect it is 2 years from the time you were eligible.
If you are refused and want to dispute the refusal, it is a lengthy process. You have the option of agreeing to a Video Conference Hearing which can expedite the process. It is offered in many cases. This means that a judge somewhere has some open time and is willing to take a case from a different area. An attorney may help with the video conference hearing. Some attorneys don't like to do them. Attorneys also make more money if time passes from the date of your eligibility until the date you are awarded your money because they get paid 25% of your retroactive benefits up to $6000. So be aware if your attorney is not working as fast as you wish.
Only 38% of initial claims for SSD are approved the first time.
SSI - Supplemental Security Income.
SSI is not an actual program of Social Security but rather a government program that they have asked SSA to administer. SSI is a cash payment for low income individuals. You MUST be low income to get it. You must also be disabled. Assets can only be up to $2000 for an single person $3000 if married, your home is exempt as is your car. If you qualify for SSI you also qualify for Medicaid.
$733 is the maximum SSI payments for 2015. Living arrangements affect the $ amount. This is reviewed often because it is flexible. and changes with housing changes, income changes, etc.
DHHS makes the determination of how much SSI is given in cases where individuals need full time care. The bottom line is that the government wants to make sure that basic housing is available for its citizens.
SSI is paid on the 1st of the month. There is a two month delay on SSI payments so that the money you receive this month is based on your living arrangements for the 2 months previous. If someone else helps you with your living expenses (utilities, rent, mortgage, and food), that money has to be reported. It will then affect the amount of money you receive.
When someone is on SSI and they get Medicaid and then become Medicare eligible, they lose their Medicaid. However if they keep their low income eligibility, the state then pays their Medicare fees and co-pays. However, if they go back to work and are earning money, the state will no longer pay the fees and copays.
A person who is on SSI and owns a home can sell that home and purchase a new one. There is a time period where the money from the sale of the home is exempt while they purchase a new one. However, if they bank the money longer than this time period, that money becomes assets and they could lose their SSI.
Work Program Incentives Guidebook
Explanation below but link above to the guidebook for those who are seeking to work while on Disabiliity.
SSD and SSI both have incentives for work.
SSD insurance - those getting SSD area allowed to supplement their income and are in fact encouraged to do so. SSD recipients have to be a minimum of age 18. Younger workers are on a sliding scale as to how much they can earn. SSD is based on current wages, past earnings, and employment history. Your personal assets are not considered.
If a recipient wants to go back to work they can apply for help through the Work Program Incentive. (Ticket to Work is one of many programs)
1. You decide to go back to work. At this point you are given "9 months" where you can earn as much money as you can. Any month where you earn over $780 counts toward these months. This is called the Trial Work Period. These months do not have to be consecutive.
2. When trial is up, it is time to review. If you are earning more than $1090, you lose their benefits.
3. There is a 3 year extended period of eligibility where you lose your SSD but you keep Medicare. This is the Protected Work Period. If you have a problem during this time and need to stop work, you will just continue their SSD.
4. After the 3 year period, if you stop work you would have to reapply for disability.
SSI - Supplement Security Income
1. If an SSI recipient wants to go back to work, then they have to be aware that their income will change their benefits.
2. The first $80 of earnings each month is exempt.
3. After that they will lose $1 of benefits for every $2 of earnings. This is off of their gross wages.
4. Example: So if someone was getting the maximum of $733 and they took a job that paid them $500 per month. The first $80 is exempt but for the $420 dollars of earning, half or $210 would be subtracted from their SSI. So they would then have $523 of SSI + their $500 of wages or $1023 total monthly income.
Children on SSI who attend school and also work may exclude $1850 of their monthly earnings with an annual limit of $7060. With a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) a child who is age 15 or older can save income and resources to pay for education and other things needed to be able to work. That saved income if not counted when the SSA figure the child's income for SSI purposes.
TIcket to Work
This program is offered to certain SSD clients. A letter is sent out with an invitation to use this program. The program is called Maximus. Maximus has a network of employers who are willing to work with people with disabilities. While using this program, the person's case is never reviewed. It is designed for people who will never be full time employees.
- Ticket to Work Help Line: 1-866-968-7842 (TTY: 1-866-833-2967) — Get answers to questions about going back to work while receiving Social Security disability benefits.
The SSA recognizes that some of their clients will never meet the same standard as regular employees of a business. Therefore each client is evaluated as to their productivity and a subsidy is given to the employer. The client is actually paid more than their value. Community Mental Health agencies know how to get the SS work subsidies.
Income Related Work Subsidies (IRWE)
The SSA will also help with income related work expenses. Someone with disabilities often has other expenses that will affect their employability. They can be supplied with anything they need to get or stay at work.
Definition of Disability
1. Condition keeps them from earning $1090 per month.
2. Condition will keep them from earning $1090 for at least 12 months.
3. Condition will end in death.
Every state insurance board sets up the pecking order of who pays first when there are multiple disability options involved. 66 2/3% of your prior earnings is the maximum disability payment.
Applying for Benefits
SSI and Survivor benefits are not available through an online application. Anything else SSA offers can be requested online, over the phone, or in a an office. There are now self help computers in all offices for those who do not have a computer or internet access from their homes.
Medical Reviews of Disability Cases
Medical reviews are as expensive as the original application so usually don't happen except in cases that have been earmarked up front as cases that will probably change within a year or so.
Deciding when to begin collecting Social Security:
At age 70 there is no monthly increase of benefits where from age 62 until 70 there is an additional monthly amount that would be paid if you wait to apply. However, after age 70 there is an annual benefit for having waited.
Once you retire and are getting a pension, then $15,720 is the max earnings until you reach full retirement age. If you go over that amount, then $1 for every $2 earned must be paid back.
Medicare
SSA does the enrollment, applications, and address changes for Medicare but they do none of the medical billing, etc. That is all done by the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS).
Identify Theft
SSA and Identify theft: SSA will become is they are involved in any way. Even if the case does not directly involve them, they will pass the information about the case on to the federal office. If a person's social security is involve, they do electronic reporting and the case is investigated and corrections can be made even before the case is resolved.
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