When you apply for Social Security Disability, one of the many pieces of information the Social Security Administration will ask you about your past work history. This is a form where you’ll be asked about the titles of jobs you’ve had in the last 15 years, your...
W. Christopher Freiberg
Disability Recipients To See Massive Benefit Increase In 2023
Disabled Americans can expect to see their largest increase in their monthly benefits in more than four decades next year. In October, the Social Security Administration announced that individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security...
How Long Does It Take To Get Paid Disability Benefits?
So, you’ve waited more than a year for a hearing in front of an administrative law judge, waited a few more weeks for a decision, and have finally been approved for benefits. All that backpay should be in your account any day now, right? Well, maybe, but as with many...
How Difficult is it to Obtain Medical Records for Disability?
When you first file for disability benefits, the Social Security Administration will use the information you provide them to order recent medical records and make a determination in your claim. If you’re denied in the first two stages of the process and your case goes...
What is a Vocational Expert?
Of the many confusing aspects of the disability process, one thing that continually mystifies many claimants is the role of vocational experts at a disability hearing. Vocational experts are called to testify at nearly every single adult disability hearing. They...
What is SGA?
One issue that some claimants have trouble understanding is how much they can earn and still be eligible for disability benefits. Under Social Security’s rules, you have to earn less than what SSA calls “substantial gainful activity” (SGA) to receive disability...
In-person Disability Hearings Have Resumed
After closing hearing offices to the public in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Social Security finally began offering limited in-person hearings this summer. I’ve since attended two of these hearings at different offices in Illinois and can report that they...
What is a Closed Period of Disability?
Most people think of Social Security disability as an ongoing program where claimants receive benefits until death or retirement, but that isn’t always the case. In order to qualify for disability benefits, the Social Security Administration requires an individual to...
Why You Should Take Your Disability Claim to Hearing
Before you a claim for Social Security disability benefits is taken to the hearing level, claimants receive two denials from the Social Security Administration. Assuming there is sufficient evidence in the file (and in most cases there is), Disability Determination...
How Many Hearings Will My Disability Claim Have?
Most disability claimants understand that after receiving two denials from the Social Security Administration, they’re entitled to a hearing before an administrative law judge. The good news is that in most cases, only one hearing is required to receive a decision...
Is There Any Way to Move Up a Disability Hearing?
In recent years, the Social Security Administration has gotten better about reviewing cases that meet its criteria for dire need. These are typically cases where a claimant has been diagnosed with a terminal illness or is facing homelessness. In these situations,...
Should You Go Back to Work After a Disability Hearing?
A question many clients have been asking me lately after their hearings is whether they should return to work. There are several reasons for this. One, is that the disability hearing itself really isn’t the end of the road. In most cases, it still takes 30-60 days for...
Disability Benefits Could be in for Record Increase Next Year
If you’re feeling the pinch of inflation right now (and who isn’t?), there could be good news in store later this year when Social Security announces its annual cost of living increase. The Senior Citizens League, a nonprofit advocacy group, is currently estimating...
What to Know Before Your In-Person Disability Hearing
After closing field officers for more than two years, Social Security has started to hold limited in-person hearings for certain cases, but the process now looks very different from what it did two years ago before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. While I have yet...
Should You Call a Witness at Your Disability Hearing?
As a disability hearing approaches, many clients will tell me that they have friends or family that they want to speak on their behalf at the hearing. While Social Security’s rules do allow you to call witnesses, this is generally not something that I recommend. It’s...
Injured At Work?
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