If you receive Social Security disability benefits you might be wondering whether or not the income is taxable. As we head into tax season it’s important you have all the facts. The short answer is, it depends. For a good majority of people, it is not taxable. However, for those who receive income from another … Continue reading
SSI is a Social Security program designed to help disabled children, adults and the aged (65 and older) who meet strict financial criteria. For people ages 18 to 64, you can start the disability application process for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) online. However, don’t rush to start your application until you go through the checklist to … Continue reading
Social Security needs to collect a significant amount of information from you to begin the process of determining your eligibility for disability. If you file an online application, most of this information will be provided in writing. If you are unable to file an online application or prefer not to do so, Social Security should collect the … Continue reading
You have a condition or illness that prevents you from earning a full-time income and you’ve been told by friends, family and maybe even a doctor or caseworker, that you should apply for Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI and/or SSI). However, you’ve heard that it can be an arduous process and that it’s not easy … Continue reading
Since the COVID-19 pandemic remains a threat to our clients and staff, in-person meetings continue to be on hold. Roose & Ressler continues to conduct our work by telephone, e-mail, mail, and by videoconferencing. We are maintaining sanitized space, and require face coverings when in-person contacts are needed. Even though some staff are working in … Continue reading
The Washington Examiner recently published an article with the headline, “Hurrah, There are fewer disabled and fewer cheats.” It offered an explanation for the sustained drop in applicants for Social Security disability and SSI benefits and a decline in the total number of people receiving disability benefits (www.nytimes.com/2018/06/19/business/economy/social-security-applications.html). According to the author, this welcome news … Continue reading
By Jon Ressler, Attorney, Roose & Ressler I wrote last December about the Social Security disability backlog, highlighting the fact that the average wait for a hearing had grown to over 600 days and that a primary driver of the increasing backlog was insufficient funding. Another recent article at investmentnews.com/article/201803… describes the impact of insufficient funding on other … Continue reading
By Jon Ressler, Attorney, Roose & Ressler For well over 20 years, Social Security acknowledged that your treating doctor has unique insight in assessing your medically-caused functional limitations. Not anymore. If you filed a Social Security disability application since March 27, 2017, the voice of your treating doctor is now just one among many. Social … Continue reading
People who apply for Social Security disability have severely disabling conditions, which, unfortunately, do not automatically qualify them for benefits under the Social Security Disability rules. Social Security Administration lists a number of impairments that automatically qualify an applicant for disability benefits. Most of these require very specific medical or laboratory findings. If your medical … Continue reading
What happens in the hearing room? Most judges commence Social Security disability hearings by recounting the “case history” of the disability claim and reciting the issues to be decided. Although judges often recite what a claimant needs to prove in order to prove the case, they rarely give a well-defined and simple explanation. Rather, they … Continue reading