Everyday People Matter
The Social Security Administration recently announced the expansion of services available to applicants who have a my Social Security account. This is a personalized account that persons can use to log in online, and track their activity right from the time that they began working, to the time that they received Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration estimates that…
Persons who suffer from mental disabilities and are eligible for Social Security benefits could find the agency using a different name for these conditions. The agency has indicated that it intends to change its use of the term “mental retardation,” and switch to “intellectual disability.” That proposal comes more than 2 years after a federal rule requiring a change in…
A number of psychological factors can affect the magnitude of upper extremity disability. According to new research that was published recently in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, factors like catastrophic thinking and kinesiophobia (irrational fear of pain as a result of movement) are critical elements in determining the magnitude of such disability. The researchers analyzed a total of…
Thousands of Social Security applicants, who had their disability claims denied, may have their claims re-heard. That will likely happen under the terms of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit that accused several administrative law judges of bias. The lawsuit alleged that at least 5 administrative law judges in the Queens Social Security office in New York City had presided…
Beneficiaries of Social Security who are currently receiving payments are likely to see a small increase in monthly benefits. There was a cost of living adjustment beginning in in January 2013. Social Security instituted a 1.7% increase in the annual cost-of-living adjustment, and this will result lead in a slight increase in monthly benefits for Social Security beneficiaries. The increase…
The number of American workers collecting Social Security Disability benefits hit record highs in December, even as the Social Security Disability program ran a deficit of close to $40 billion in 2012. According to statistics published by the Social Security Administration, the Social Security Program ran a $47.8 billion deficit in 2012. The program brought in about $725.42 billion in…
According to a new international study that was published in The Lancet Journal, across the globe, musculoskeletal disease is the number one cause of disability. The biggest cause of disability across the world was back pain, while osteoarthritis was the fastest growing cause of disability. Georgia Social Security disability lawyers find that conditions like arthritis and back pain dramatically reduce…
The number of disabled Americans who applied for Social Security disability insurance during the 3rd quarter of 2012 remained the same compared to last year, even as data from insurer Allsup revealed that the unemployment rate for disabled Americans increased. During the 3rd quarter of 2012, the rate of unemployment for Americans with disabilities increased to 13.7% from 12.9% during…
Disabled veterans groups are throwing their support behind a bill that would ease the process of Social Security Disability Insurance payments for injured veterans returning from combat duty. The bill called the Recovering Service Members Disabilities Benefits Act would exempt veterans, including Reserve and National Guard service members who have suffered injury during combat from the 5-month waiting period that…
Fiscal cliff budget negotiations are ongoing through the end of this year. Republican House Speaker John Boehner put forth his proposal this week: cutting 600 billion from federal healthcare programs over the next ten years via raising the Medicare eligibility age and moving to a chained CPI (Consumer Price Index)for Social Security. Meanwhile the White House has asked for some…