Social Security Disability: Knowledge to Win

I was once asked in an e-mail why it is that a person who is truly disabled for SSDI or SSI and whose doctors believe this person is disabled, still has to lose twice and then is forced to get a lawyer before they win their case. The e-mail was implying that there's some sort of conspiracy to force people to get lawyers before they can win their claims. I can assure you nobody from Social Security wants to make sure lawyers get clients. I think the problem is not that one is forced into getting a Social Security Disability lawyer to win their case at a later stage in the process to win, or that they win just by having a lawyer. I think one of the major problems and I have been writing about this for sometime, and it was the inspiration for me starting my website, is that people in general do not have access to the knowledge required to know what they have to show to win their claim. I believe lawyers are partly to blame for this, because most lawyers will not take cases at application because the fee they receive is based on past due benefits and they feel the work that is required to make sure the application is done correctly with all the evidence needed to win is not worth the fee they would get if they win at this stage. Many lawyers tell people to apply and call back when you are denied. You add this response, to the general belief that no one wins at application (which is not true 30 to 40% of cases at application win), and what you get is many people applying with no help and no knowledge of how to win. I personally handle cases at application for a few reasons. First, I believe if I help with the application I know the client will not only have a better chance at winning at application, but even if we do not win at application I know the application was done in a way that won't hurt but will help the case throughout each stage of the process going forward. Another reason to take cases at application is, because if we win I might only get a small fee if any, but I will have a very happy client who will refer me to other people. If you think about it if you get a lawyer at application and you win you may have no fee at all. Since SS will not pay a claimant for the first 5 months they are disabled there is a good chance there will be no past due benefits or very little therefore no fee at all or a small fee. One of the biggest problems is that people wait until they have been denied one or two times before they get a lawyer to help them. I can assure you there is not a conspiracy which forces people to get lawyers. Lawyers in particular lawyers who exclusively do disability claims know exactly what needs to be proved for any given case, and they know what evidence they need to prove the disability. A lawyer not only goes to law school to learn how to understand law and present evidence, but if they are experienced in a particular field like SSDI they have handled hundreds if not thousands of Social Security Disability claims. Can someone applying and pursuing SSDI on their own ever hope to be able to know as much or be able to handle a disability claim as well as a lawyer like this. I am a lawyer who has been practicing SSDI law for 15 years but when I bought and sold my last house I used a real estate lawyer. Could I have researched and done it on my own? Yes, but would I do as good a job as a lawyer who only does real estate law? Probably not. Ok, so I explained why experienced SSDI lawyers are helpful in getting SSDI benefits. That all being said, there is always going to be people who want to do it on their own, or who have a really strong case and do not need a lawyer. They will need the knowledge of what they have to prove to win and need to know what evidence is needed to prove they are disabled. Again, I have to say that lawyers are partly to blame here as well. When I looked up SSDI law on google about 4 or 5 years ago all I found was websites for lawyers with little or no good information on how to win a claim on your own. All I found was websites created by website companies looking to sell leads to lawyers that knew nothing about SSDI law but know how search engines work. The other type of websites I found were law firm and non-lawyer companies websites created by website people with no helpful information except reasons why you need their particular company or lawyer to win. This is when I started my Ultimate Social Security Disability website. I decided I was going to tell the world exactly what you have to do to win your claim for benefits in as easy to understand language as possible. I think if you spent any time reading my website, you will see that is exactly what I have done. Yes, I still get clients from the website, but I also get so many e-mails from people who were able to win their cases with the help of following the advice on my website, and from my e-mail responses to their questions. If you know someone who has a really strong case then tell them to read my website before just jumping in. In an e-mail to me it was asked how someone at SS can ignore all the doctors and conclude on their own that a person is not disabled despite what the doctors say. This can be an example of how knowledge of SSDI and what you need to win can be explained. One thing is that there are not just the claimant’s doctors but several SS doctors are involved as well. Some examine the claimant and give opinions and others look at the evidence and give opinions of what the client can do and not do in a work setting. If the claimant's doctors just write "it is my opinion the claimant cannot work" it is not worth the paper it is written on. If the claimant's doctor on the other hand fills out an RFC form which explains exactly what the claimant can and cannot due and why, then the claimant will have a much better chance of winning. This comes from understanding that you have to assume SS doctors will almost always have these forms filled out showing limitations that would allow the claimant to work. If the claimant has their doctors do the same thing but show the claimant cannot work then SS, by their own rules, must find in favor of the client because the treating doctor's opinion holds more weight than a SS doctor if the treating doctor’s opinions are consistent with the medical evidence. If a person knew this from the beginning, they would have made sure to have their doctors fill out these forms and could quite possibly win their Social Security Disability case much sooner. If a claimant on their own with this knowledge or if they had a lawyer they would have done this. This is just one small example of how knowledge of what you have to prove and how you do it for your particular claim can make the difference between winning at application with or without a lawyer and waiting 2 years with no money until you win. Just my view and I hope you can see a different side of the situation. I too believe the system can be unfair and takes too long and I also believe SSDI lawyers can take allot of the blame for not taking cases at application and Social Security and disability lawyers not taking time or effort to educate the public on how to win a claim on their own if they want to.

How Long It Takes To Get A Social Security Disability Hearing Is Getting Shorter

It looks like Social Security is making progress in how long it takes at the Social Security Disability Hearing level. I recently added the national ranking report as of February 2011 to my Social Security Disability website. There were several things that really stood out and quite frankly shocked me. Not only have the national averages in days for how long it takes from the time you request a hearing until you get a decision gone down, but they went down very significantly. What really amazed me was how much Atlanta and Atlanta North had improved their hearing wait times and rankings. In the national ranking report from May of 2008 the average wait time was 900 days in Atlanta North and 973 days in Atlanta downtown. These were the two worst-ranked hearing offices in terms of how long it took to get a hearing decision. They were ranked 141 and 142 from a total of 142 hearing offices. This meant claimants in Atlanta were waiting almost 3 years from the time they requested their hearing until they got a decision. This was clearly embarrassing for the hearing offices in Atlanta, and for the Social Security Administration. To their credit, they did something about it, and it is quite amazing at what they were able to accomplish. In the national ranking report from November 2009 Atlanta downtown's average waiting period went down to 468 days and North Atlanta went down to 475 days. North Atlanta was then ranked 98 out of 143 and Atlanta downtown was ranked 92 out of 143. The national ranking report from February 2011 showed an even more remarkable improvement. The average wait time at hearing in Atlanta downtown is now down to 302 days with Atlanta North down to 278 days. This means in just four years claimants in Atlanta now have one third the average wait time to get a decision at hearing then claimants did in Atlanta in May of 2008. Atlanta North is now ranked 16th in the 157 present hearing offices and Atlanta downtown is ranked 30th. There was clearly a focus on hearing offices that were ranking extremely poorly, but in the process it also brought down the national average overall. In the May 2008 national report, the national average from the time one requested a hearing until they got a decision was 523 days. In the November 2009 national report, the national average was 446 days. Presently, in the February 2011 national report, the processing time is down to 365 days. So how did they do it? Over the last several years SSA's budget allowed them to open 15 new hearing offices and about five of these were new National Hearing Centers that held video hearings in places with the biggest backlog of cases. The Social Security Administration also hired many new ALJ's and support staffs. There is also very few if any paper files left and the Social Security Administration is now essentially fully electronic. Is the overall wait time for disabled individuals to get through the Social Security disability and SSI process still too long? I think most of us would answer that it surely is, but you have to give the Social Security Administration, the individual hearing offices, and most of all its employees credit for taking great strides in the right direction. For many people with claims for SSDI or SSI these statistics are of little comfort to their financial hardships and probably the most difficult times of their lives, but it is important for people to know that a strong effort is being made to reduce the time they have to wait as much as possible. I will be watching the national ranking report closely to see if the trend continues despite the economy, increasing number of claims, and budget cuts. To see the full ranking reports I am referring to in this post visit my page on the Ultimate Social Security Disability Guide called "how long does it take".

Lawyers and Social Security Disability Claims for Mental Conditions

Many claimants with mental disabilities do not have lawyers for their Social Security disability claim. In my opinion, if you are applying for SSDI or SSI benefits for a mental condition it is important to have a lawyer to help you with your claim. Whether you suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, anxiety, mental retardation, schizophrenia or any other of the many mental disabilities. You should know that Social Security disability claims are extremely complex and require not only that you know what you have to prove, but also have the ability to do what must be done to win. If you are claiming you are disabled primarily because of your mental condition then you are essentially saying your mental limitations are so severe that they prevent you from performing work. Handling your own SSD claim for a mental condition creates a Catch-22. If you are able to fill out all the paperwork, get the evidence that is needed, and argue a good case on your behalf, the Social Security decision-maker may make the assumption that if you can do all this why would you not be able to work. The second scenario, is if you are not able to fill out all the paperwork properly, get the evidence needed, and be able to explain why you are disabled under Social Security's rules then you will not only have a difficult time winning but could substantially slowdown your case. If you hire a lawyer to help you with your claim it eliminates both these potential problems. The lawyer will help you fill your paperwork, will get your evidence that is needed and will argue on your behalf as to why are you disabled from your mental condition. Many people feel they cannot afford an attorney. However, the Social Security disability lawyer only gets paid if he or she wins your claim. The amount of the fee is 25% of past due benefits or $6000 whichever is less. The idea that one cannot afford an attorney is really not true in almost all cases considering there is no money up front and the money will be taken by Social Security directly from your past due benefits. Because of the reasons I mentioned above, it is important to have a SSDI lawyer when you apply. The other advantage, besides giving yourself a better chance to win at application, is that if you win at this stage your fee will almost always be less than if you hire a lawyer later in the process and win your SSDI or SSI claim for your mental condition at a later stage. This is why it can sometimes be difficult to find a lawyer willing to take your case at application. There are plenty of attorneys that do, so if you are told to call back when you're denied simply call another lawyer. You may be wondering why you can't just have a friend or family member help you with the process instead of getting a lawyer. You could do this, and it would potentially eliminate the Catch-22 problem I mentioned earlier, but will a family member or friend have the knowledge and ability to navigate the Social Security disability process as well as an SSDI lawyer who is experienced in disability law would. If you are familiar with my writings on the Internet you know that I rarely say you need a lawyer, and most of my articles and web pages are about how to give yourself the best chance to win with or without a lawyer. However, I do feel that if you are trying to get Social Security disability benefits for a mental condition that a lawyer would be particularly beneficial in a claim of this sort. If you have any questions about getting SSDI or SSI benefits for mental conditions or need help with your claim call me at 1-877-527-5529.

Social Security Disability Press Releases

A new page can be found at my Ultimate Social Security Disability website. I was looking for topics to cover on my SSDI and SSI website, so I was reviewing the Social Security Administration's press releases. It then occurred to me that most people don't even know that SSA releases news fairly regularly on their website. As I started to review them I noticed that many of these press releases would be of interest to the readers of my website. So I decided to start a page on my disability website devoted to press releases from SSA that are about Social Security disability and SSI. To give you an idea of the type of information that SSA releases to the public, you can find news releases about the 2012 budget, the cost of the Social Security system on our nations GDP, strategic plans for improving the process over several years, new rules as they are published, requests for comments from the public on its rules and regulations, and I even found that there was a very significant theft of personal information in upstate New York. Although many of my readers, are rightfully more concerned about information that is going to help them win their Social Security disability and SSI claims, but I am also sure there are plenty of you out there that would find this information interesting and potentially helpful. The focus of my website always has been and still is about getting the information you can't find anywhere else that will help you win your SSD or SSI benefits. However, I think one page that will be updated frequently with new press releases that are relevant to Social Security disability and SSI from the Social Security Administration is a nice addition to my website and will make these press releases easy to find.

Another topic I would like to discuss in this post, is that I frequently get questions in my e-mails about filling out the great deal of paperwork that Social Security sends you when you are at the application level. I will be adding pages that explain these forms and hopefully give you some insight into what certain questions mean, what sort of answers Social Security is looking for, and how these forms are used in helping Social Security determine if you are disabled. The first of these pages will be about the function report SSA 3373. Of all the paperwork you sent back to Social Security, this is probably the most used by SSA decision-makers and therefore, probably the most important. I should have the page up by this weekend and will link it from this post when it is available and you will also be able to find it linked from my page on how to apply for Social Security Disability. I think you will find this page to be very helpful in filling out this form and give you a better understanding of how it is used in your Social Security disability or SSI claim.

How to Find a Good Social Security Disability Lawyer

This post on how to find yourself a good Social Security disability lawyer will talk mostly about searching on the Internet for an SSD or SSI lawyer. I am going to talk about how to determine if the person or company you are considering is a lawyer or non lawyer advocate. I will also discuss the right questions to ask, as well as some frequently asked questions that are not particularly helpful in picking a disability lawyer. I will also discuss how to determine if a particular website is a lawyer, a non-lawyer advocate, or a website that is going to sell your information to random attorneys or non attorney advocates. In this article, I am assuming that you are looking for lawyer and not a non lawyer representative. I think there are some good non-lawyer advocates out there but there are so many big non-attorney companies that are not bound by lawyer ethics rules so it makes it difficult to give advice on how to find a good non-lawyer representative. I also believe that most people would prefer to have a lawyer to represent them in their Social Security Disability case. But if you find a non-lawyer representative you like you can ask similar questions you would ask a lawyer.

So, how do you know if the company or person you think you want to represent you is a lawyer or a non lawyer representatives? If you call the company you are thinking of using asked them if they are a law firm. If they tell you they have lawyers in their company, but avoid the question then you know they are not a law firm and a non-lawyer representative may show up at your hearing. Every big company has lawyers, but if you want make sure a lawyer is going to represent you in court then you will want a law firm. If it is not a big company, but rather a single representative you can simply ask them if they are a lawyer. Many of the larger companies will use many tricks to infer that they are a law firm. So even if you have questioned them thoroughly on the phone you will want to make sure you read the paperwork they send to you and read all the fine print. If you have reason to suspect that they are not a law firm then visit their website and if it does not say specifically that they are lawyer, attorney or law firm but instead use the term advocate or representative then chances are they are not a law firm or lawyer.

Now that you have separated the lawyers from non-lawyer representatives the best you can, you will now want to ask the right questions to determine what attorney is right for you. One question that is frequently asked which I believe is the wrong question to ask of a lawyer is what their winning percentage is. This is a question that many nonlawyer companies tell you to ask on their websites. One thing they don't tell you is that lawyers and law firms have to follow the ethics rules on advertising for attorneys. A lawyer or law firm may be violating the ethics rules if they disclose winning percentages to potential clients. These ethics rules do not apply to non-attorneys. When you see a website that boasts about their winning percentage chances are they are not a law firm and you must always read the fine print. Many non-attorney companies will claim to win 90 to 95% of their cases. Let me point out a few things about claims such as these. If you read the fine print on some of these sites it will say in cases that we represent the client through the entire administrative process. What they don't tell you is that they frequently drop cases that they don't feel they can win (unfortunately many lawyers do this as well). I have received many e-mails from people who have been dropped weeks and sometimes days before their hearing. Another thing to consider is that many non-attorneys or non lawyer companies are not willing and possibly not able to take on the more difficult cases. Also, most lawyers are required to do a certain amount of pro bono cases, which many times are not great cases, because they are the cases where the claimant has not been able to find someone to represent them, or they were cases referred to them through legal aid to help with their case load. So, what questions should you ask of a SSDI or SSI lawyer. You can ask them what percentage of their cases are disability cases. You can also ask them how long have they been handling Social Security Disability claims. You can also ask them if they are in NOSSCR. This is The National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives. This organization is for lawyers and non-lawyers and they have two conferences a year and send a newsletter every month to their members to keep them up-to-date on the latest Social Security disability news and cases. Not all Social Security disability lawyers are in this organization and should not be the deciding factor in whether you hire a particular lawyer but if they are a member it shows a certain commitment to this area of law. You can also ask the lawyer if he or she has been certified as a Social Security Disability Specialists by any organization or by their State Bar. One thing I should note here, is that some states do not recognize specialization by lawyers, so again this should not be the deciding factor but rather another thing to consider. If it is a large or medium sized law firm you may want to ask the experience of the other Social Security disability lawyers in the firm since you will probably not know which particular lawyer will be representing you if you have a hearing. If you want a lawyer from the start you will also want to ask if they take cases at application. Probably the most important thing when choosing a lawyer is not so much how they answer all your questions, but how did you feel after talking to the attorney. In other words, did you feel rushed, did the lawyer seem interested, did the attorney ask you questions about your claim, did he or she appear honest, was the attorney willing to answer questions about Social Security disability in general and most importantly where you comfortable speaking to the lawyer. To find a good and experienced Social Security Disability lawyer it should not take you having to call more than a few lawyers to decide. If the lawyer has been handling Social Security disability claims for a long time and you are comfortable speaking with that lawyer then you have probably found the good fit for you. Most experienced SSDI and SSI lawyers will handle your claim in a similar way as other experienced disability lawyers so if you find one you are comfortable with it should be easy to make a choice.

In the last part of this article I want you to be aware that you should not fill out every form you come across on every disability website. There is a very big business of website companies that make very nice and high ranking websites and the goal of these websites is to get you to fill out a form so they can sell your information to lawyer and non lawyer representatives. I personally answer all my e-mails and do not sell any of my e-mails I receive. However, there are many websites that do. It can sometimes be difficult to tell whether the website you are reading, and that you want to send information about your case to, is a lead generating website to sell your information, or a website that is willing to answer your questions and keep your information confidential. If you are filling out the form on a law firm website then it is fairly safe to assume the law firm would have an interest in answering your questions or representing you. If the website does not disclose what firm or company is running that website then it may be a lead generating website. If the company that owns the firm sounds more like an Internet company than a disability firm then this could be a red flag as well. Most websites that offer to answer questions or give free evaluations that only intend to answer your question or evaluation and not sell your information will have the name of the law firm or disability company somewhere on the site. It is also a good sign if the author of the website clearly states who he or she is and what his or her disability lawyer credentials are to answer your questions. You should also always read the footnotes at the bottom of the website which will some times tell you that your information is sent to third parties. The good thing is that even if you do send your information to a lead selling company chances are the third party will be an attorney or non-attorney representative who most likely only want to represent you and have no interest in passing your information beyond themselves. The one thing you should never do is send your SS number to anyone on the web. I hope you found my article to be helpful but sometimes the best way to find your SSDI or SSI lawyer is to use a disability lawyer a friend or family member used and liked. Good luck.

Social Security Disability Versus VA Compensation. Who is Slower?

Comparing Social Security disability to VA compensation, in terms of how long the claim takes and how these administrative agencies handle cases, is like comparing the computers in the 80s to the present day computers. Although the Social Security Administration is far from perfect and the Social Security disability claims still take too long to process, the Veterans Administration is way behind in the processing of VA compensation claims. The biggest reason for this discrepancy is probably mostly funding, but regardless the cause, I think we owe it to our veterans to at least bring the Veterans Administration closer to the Social Security Administration in how it is run and processes claims. In this post, I will give you some examples of how far behind the VA is from SSA. All Social Security disability claims are now computer files. In contrast, the VA is still using paper files. In Social Security disability claims at the hearing level lawyers can now access the file of their claimants over the Internet. This also means that a paper file no longer has to be shuffled around at Social Security to different people for them to work on the file. At the VA, each time a new person needs to do something with the veterans file they must get the paper file and then pass it to the next person or in many cases mail it. If a lawyer wants to see his clients VA file, he or she has to send in a request and wait for someone at the VA to copy the file and send it to the lawyer. I know from experience this can take from months to a year. I am also sure, there is better things the VA employee who has to copy the file, could be doing than having to copy hundreds or thousands of pages. Another example is that it is much easier, although still not always easy, to get a hold of somebody at SSA. Trying to get someone on the phone at the VA who knows something about your client's case can be an utter nightmare most of the time. These are just a couple examples of how the Social Security Administration is much more efficient at handling Social Security Disability claims than the VA is with handling VA Compensation. The purpose of me writing this is not to bash the VA because I know from experience there are some very good employees who are doing their best with what they have. I am writing this post hoping to bring some attention to the fact that our veterans deserve better than this and it can only be fixed if the members of Congress take notice of this fact and steps to correct it. I know the VA is presently trying to become more digitized and to make their files electronic, and hopefully they will succeed as quickly as possible. I am aware of the enormity of this task, as I deal with veterans files all the time and they are generally much larger than Social Security files. However, if the VA succeeds in getting rid of most of their paper I believe it will save money in the long run. I also believe more importantly, that it will reduce the time it takes for disabled veteran to receive a decision and will eliminate the all too frequent lost records that oftentimes prevents a veteran from being able to prove his claim.

Appeal Denied SSDI Claim at Application or Reconsideration

In almost all situations, if you want to win your Social Security disability claim you should request a hearing if you are denied at application in states that don't have reconsideration or if denied at reconsideration in states that do have it. This may seem obvious, but I have seen so many people come to me who did not appeal their denial at application or reconsideration in time and instead filed a new application either right after the denial or months or years later. This is a big mistake in most cases for several reasons. One reason, is that in an SSDI claim you can be paid benefits one year prior to your application and in SSI cases you can get paid benefits from the date of your application. Therefore, if you do not appeal you may be losing back due benefits that you would have been entitled to had you appealed instead of filing a new application. If you made this mistake, you may want to seek the help of a Social Security Disability lawyer, since depending on when you filed your new application it is often possible to reopen the prior claim and preserve the past due benefits that would be owed to you under the old claim. Another reason you should request a hearing, is that your chances of winning at the hearing stage is in most cases is better than your chance of winning on a new application. This was confirmed by a report done by the office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration (SSA). They found that certain medical conditions were approved at significantly higher rates at the hearing level then at application or reconsideration. The medical conditions that stood out the most were diabetes mellitus, back conditions, osteoarthrosis and similar disorders, and medical conditions of muscle, ligament and fascia. One of the reasons appears to be that more claimants were represented at the hearing level then at application or reconsideration. The OIG report mentions other conclusions as well such as the claimant's age impacted disability determinations at application, reconsideration and hearing levels. Cases were approved at hearing based on a different medical condition then the medical condition that the application and reconsideration decisions were based on. They also found that hearing offices and administrative law judges had significantly different allowance rates with wide variations. The OIG based on this report plans to further investigate the causes of these differences. In my opinion, the fact that more people were represented at hearing is probably the biggest reason for the higher allowance rates at hearing then at application reconsideration. To see the full report by OIG for SSA you can find it at http://www.ssa.gov/oig/ADOBEPDF/A-07-09-19083.pdf
I also want to note that just because the percentage of cases that win at hearing are higher than at application this does not mean that all cases are denied at application which is a widely held belief on the Internet. In fact, I believe if more people were represented at application this gap in approval rates between application and hearing would shrink significantly saving the claimant and Social Security a great deal of time and reduce overall processing times of claims in general.

How Does Social Security Determine if You Are Working?

The first thing Social Security decides in a Social Security disability or SSI claim is whether or not you are working. If you are working then Social Security will find you not disabled at the first step of the five step test that determines if you are disabled. To see the rest of the five step test for disability you can visit my page from one of my websites that explains it in detail. Not all work is considered work for Social Security purposes under the rules. For Social Security to determine you are performing work they must find you are performing Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). If you're an employee determining whether or not you are performing SGA is fairly simple. If you are not blind, then if you make over $1000 a month (year 2010) than you are working at Substantial Gainful Activity for each month you make over that amount. If you are not blind and you make less than $1000 a month (2010) then the work you are doing should not be considered SGA. If you are blind, it works the same as above except the amount is $1640 a month (2010). I will now discuss what determines SGA in a SSDI or SSI claim for someone who is self-employed. If you are self-employed and not blind then how Social Security will determine whether your work activity is SGA depends on whether you perform this work activity before or after you received SSDI benefits for 24 months. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will use a Three Step Test to evaluate your work activity when you first apply for Social Security disability and prior to receiving SSD benefits for 24 months. SSA will consider self-employment work activity as SGA if: you render significant services to the business, and you had over the SGA level ($1000 in 2010) average monthly income; or your work is comparable to work of persons without disability in your community engaged in the same or similar businesses; or your average monthly work is worth the SGA level earnings in terms of its effect on the business or when compared to what you would have to pay an employee to do the work. Social Security uses the Countable Income Test when a claimant has been entitled to and received SSDI benefits for at least 24 months. They only use this test to determine whether a claimant has engaged in SGA and if the claim is disability has ended as a result of that SGA. If the claimant's monthly countable earnings average more than $1000 (in 2010), SSA will decide that the claimant has engaged in SGA unless there is evidence that the claimant is not rendering significant services in the month. If we claimants monthly earnings average less than $1000 then Social Security will not consider the claimant to have engaged in SGA. If you are blind and self-employed SSA decides whether or not you are engaging in substantial gainful activity by looking to see if you have received substantial income from the business and rendered significant services to the business. SSA makes this determination using the claimant's countable earnings. SSA will also use the claimant's countable earnings to determine whether they have engaged in SGA and whether payments can be reinstated during the extended period of eligibility. There is yet another exception and that is if you are self-employed, blind, and you are age 55 or older. In this situation, if your earnings demonstrate SGA but you work requires a lower level of skill and ability than the work you did before age 55 or when you became blind whichever is later we will suspend not terminate your benefits. The claimant's eligibility for Social Security disability benefits continues indefinitely, and SSA will pay the claimant's benefits for any months where earnings fall below the substantial gainful activity amount. I know that much of this can be confusing and if you have any questions about this issue or any others feel free to contact me at 1-877-527-5529 or e-mail me from my Social Security Disability benefits website.

The terms Substantial Gainful Activity and SGA were used a lot in this post. Therefore, I decided to include Social Security's definition of Substantial Gainful Activity below.According to Social Security the terms substantial gainful activity is used to describe a level of work activity and earnings. Work is "substantial" if it involves doing significant physical or mental activities or combination of both. The work activity to be substantial, it does not need to be performed on a full-time basis. Work activity performed on a part-time basis may also be substantial gainful activity. "Gainful" work activity is work performed for pay or profit; or work of the nature generally performed for pay or profit, or work intended for profit, whether or not profit is realized.

800 Numbers for Social Security Disability and VA Compensation

I am writing this post today because of some recent events in my own practice that were caused by my client calling the toll-free 800 number for the VA. What I will explain in this article also applies to the national 800 number for Social Security disability and SSI. If you have a lawyer you should never call the VA or Social Security 800-number to check the status of your claim. The purpose of these national telephone numbers is for the most part good intentioned, but they frequently give out wrong information both about individual claims and the benefits in general. To be quite frank, the only time someone should call these numbers is to get the phone number and/or address of their local Social Security office or VA regional office. I cannot tell you how many times clients of mine have called these numbers to check the status of their claims and received the wrong information. I also get e-mails from people who have called these numbers and were told wrong information. If you have a lawyer and want to check the status of your claim you should call your lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer or your lawyer does not return your call you should then call the 800 numbers only to get the phone number of the local office where your claim is being handled. I felt the need to write this article today because I had a client who called the VA 800-number and they were told there was no claim pending for this individual. This individual who assumed they had received accurate information then called my office understandably extremely upset. I looked at this individual's file and everything was in order and a claim was pending and I was able to tell them exactly where they were in the process and who was processing their claim. I called the local regional office and explained the situation and they told me themselves that there was nothing wrong with the claim and that the 800-number employees do not have access to all the information and frequently give wrong information. This incident by itself would not have prompted me to write this article today but I had it happen again in the same day to another one of my clients who was told by the 800-number that my office had not been in contact with them for several months. Once again, the information provided was completely wrong as I knew I had been in frequent contact with the regional office supervisor. Many people who have Social Security disability and VA compensation claims resort to calling these phone numbers because these claims can take a long time. Other people call these phone numbers to get information about these benefits. If you want to make sure that the information you get is correct you should call your lawyer if you have one. If you do not have a lawyer then you should call your local regional office in a VA compensation claim or district office in a Social Security disability or SSI claim and set up an in person or telephone appointment with someone who actually has knowledge of your claim. If you do not have a claim and are just looking for information start by looking for your answers on the VA or Social Security website and if you can't find the answer there call your local office. I can't guarantee that the local office will even give you the right information or status of your claim 100% of the time, but I do know that your chances of getting a right answer are better if you ask your local office rather than the national 800 numbers. I mean no disrespect to the people who answer the phone at these 800-number's. Many I am sure are hard-working and do their best to give the information as they know it. The problem is frequently they do not have access to all the information on your particular claim and many may not be trained to the degree of the local office employees who are actually handling actual claims on a daily basis. I hope this article makes you think twice before relying solely on information you received from these national Social Security and VA 800 numbers. If you have VA questions you are welcome to visit my website on VA disability benefits or my website on Social Security disability benefits and e-mail me from those websites.

Social Security Disability and the Holidays

It has been my experience that Social Security Disability and SSI claims decisions appear to slow down during the holidays. I believe this is because many employees of Social Security and Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) like everyone else this time of year have many things to do during this season. I have no statistics to back up my claim that there are less SSDI and SSI hearings scheduled or decisions made, but I noticed it in my practice over the years. I also believe there is a slow down because many people take vacation time at this time of the year and take sick or vacation days to do some shopping. It makes sense, since if you consider how hectic this time of year is for you, it is no different for the people who work for SSA or the ALJs at the Social Security hearing offices. To see how long it takes to get a Social Security Disability decision visit my page on the topic which shows you the average wait time at the hearing level for each state and SSDI hearing office. This is not something I see as a huge problem, but if you do not get a decision around this time and you are at the time frame were you would think you might don't be too surprised if your decision or hearing date comes after the holiday season. I am only telling you this so you can be aware, so you can mentally prepare yourself for the possibility that your case could be slowed down a little. Just to be clear, it may not be the case and only a local thing I have noticed in the offices I deal with on the most frequent basis, but it also does make sense that there would be at least a little slow down in the processing of SSD and SSI claims at this time of the year. I hope that none of your cases are delayed by the holidays and that you get a favorable decision before the holidays, so you can enjoy them a little more without having to worry about you Social Security disability claim. Not much you can do about any possible slow down except do everything on your end to make sure Social Security has all the information they need to find you disabled. Take this time to research my free Social Security disability information at my website.

Why You Must Know as Much as You Can About Social Security Disability

Chances are if you are reading this you already realize the importance of learning as much as you can about Social Security disability, and how they will answer the question "are you disabled". Some of you may hire a lawyer so you do not have to try and learn something as complex as Social Security disability law. This is understandable for some of you who have disabilities that prevent them from being able to take on such a task. However, for those of you who are able even if you have a lawyer you should read and become as knowledgeable as you can on SSDI or SSI. How deep your research goes will depend on your ability to retain the information, and be able to apply that information to your particular case. You might be asking: isn't that why I hire a lawyer? Yes, but I will give you a couple of reasons why you should still do your best to know as much as you can about Social Security disability law. First, many Social Security disability lawyers are extremely good at what they do, but even the best lawyers can not know exactly what you are going through and how your particular medical condition is affecting you as an individual. Lawyers know how certain medical conditions affect people and they know how to use that information to present your case. However, just because two people suffer from the same medical diagnosis does not mean they have the same limitations and symptoms as each other. In other words, no one knows your condition as well as you do. If you know even the basics of how your claim will be handled by your lawyer you will be able to help the attorney present your case in a way that gives you the best chance to win. I will give you an example from my case I had not too long ago in front of a particularly difficult judge. My claimant had a rare visual medical condition that did not fit neatly into the Social Security disability guidelines to be found disabled. The claimant did not meet or equal the listing from any of her visual tests, so we had to show that this person could not even perform the simplest of work. The claimant had read a piece I had written on the Internet about keeping a diary and the importance of being able to explain exactly how your medical condition limits you in day to day activities. After going through all of my clients medical records and speaking to my client for over an hour the claimant handed me a notebook where my client would write down a sentence or two each day about the difficulties of my client's vision from day-to-day. I noticed almost every day it was noted this person had double vision lasting hours. I confirmed with the treating doctor that this was one of the side effects of her condition. The doctor then wrote up a report explaining it was his opinion that the patient experienced double vision at least six hours a day and that this was very common for people with this medical condition. On the day of the hearing, the ALJ asked the typical questions about visual acuity and peripheral vision. The ALJ then presented a hypothetical to the vocational expert with the limitations that the eye test showed. As I expected, the vocational expert came up with quite a few jobs my claimant could do. It was now my turn to present my hypothetical to the vocational expert. I asked the vocational expert and the judge to cross their eyes. I then asked the vocational expert if this was an individuals vision for six hours a day would there be any work this person could do. The answer was no and the ALJ, with the treating doctors report as part of the file, had no choice but to find the claimant disabled. As you can see in this example, because the claimant read my article on the Internet that told people to keep a diary and the claimant did it, I had the information I needed to come up with a creative way to present my claimant's case to the ALJ which in turn led to a favorable decision. Another reason it is important to be as knowledgeable about SSD and SSI as you can is so that you will know whether the lawyer you are considering hiring is the one that gives you the best chance to win. You will have the confidence to ask questions and ask how he or she plans to pursue your case. Lastly, if you know what you have to prove, and what evidence you need to do so, you can get that information if you don't have a lawyer or help the lawyer get the information that is needed to win your claim, without having to wait for instructions from the attorney who probably has many clients. It is important to remember that if you have a lawyer never send anything into Social Security without your lawyer seeing it first, because no matter how much you have researched if you have an experienced Social Security disability lawyer they will still know the law better than you. I hope all of you who have claims pending have a favorable outcome in the near future.

Things to Know When Trying to Get Social Security Disability Benefits

In this post, I will talk about some things you should keep in mind when you have a Social Security disability claim. First, sometimes good claims get denied and bad claims win. This is true at every stage of the process and the decisions made at each stage. We sometimes forget that the Social Security Administration is made up of people. Like in all walks of life and jobs there are hard-working employees, lazy employees, and everywhere in between. Your SSDI or SSI claim can be affected adversely and positively depending on the employees that are working on your particular case and their individual opinions of disability. This is one reason you can see differing approval and denial rates in different states and even different local offices or hearing offices in the same state. Believe it or not, besides making sure you have all your medical records and doctors opinions and even a lawyer the second most important thing for winning your Social Security disability claim is to not give up if you can't work. It is my experience, that if you have a good claim and you truly can't work because of your medical conditions, in most cases, you will ultimately win if you continue to appeal your denials. As time goes on, if you and your lawyer are working hard on your case then time is your friend, because it enables you to keep improving your claim. This is not the only reason, another reason is every time you appeal a denial a different decision-maker will make a decision on your claim. So looking at it mathematically with each new person that looks at your claim to make a decision, there is a chance that the next person who looks at your claim might be more sympathetic to your claim then the last. Of course, this is not always the case, but if you keep appealing and you have a good claim chances are you will eventually get a decision-maker at Social Security who will look favorably upon your case and find you disabled. You should also know despite what you may have heard that not every case loses the first decision. For most of you who cannot work because of you disabilities, but do not meet or equal listing, or have a clear-cut case under the rules your best chance of winning will probably be at the hearing stage when your case is heard by an Administrative Law Judge at a SSDI or SSI hearing. Second, as you go through the stages of the Social Security disability process you should always be trying to improve your claim. For some of you, this may mean getting additional evidence that was not in your claim first time you were denied. Another way to improve your case is to hire an experienced Social Security disability lawyer. Whether you decide to get a lawyer or not, it is extremely important that you continue to learn as much as you can about what you have to prove for your particular case to win under the Social Security rules. You should know the five step test Social Security uses to determine if someone is disabled. You should also know how Social Security will handle your particular medical condition or conditions. If you have multiple conditions you should know how Social Security evaluates you combining all of these conditions to determine if you can work. I do understand that if you're trying to get Social Security disability benefits and you can't work that the idea of learning all of this information can be a bit overwhelming. I don't want to sound like I am promoting lawyers but for some of you having an attorney who already knows exactly how to handle your particular type of case can be extremely helpful in making sure you are giving yourself the best chance to win. The last thing you should know is that getting SSDI and SSI benefits can be a long and drawn out process and you must be prepared financially and mentally for the time it takes until you ultimately are able to succeed at winning your disability case. There is no way around it unless you are one of the lucky ones who win at application you must prepare yourself for the stress and frustration of the Social Security disability process.

Don't Let the Government Cut Your Social Security Benefits.

I spoke a couple weeks ago on this blog about how Social Security Disability and SS Retirement was going to run out of money sooner than you thought, and how I expected the government to see reducing your benefits and raising the retirement age as the way to address this problem. Well, I was reading on the Internet today that part of the president's plan was to do just that. I wish I knew where I read it so I could point to the article, but I as many of us do, I was skipping around and lost the article. Anyway, keep your ears open for politicians to start touting this idea as something that needs to be done. I think it is time we remind the politicians, that if they have not been taking money from the Social Security fund the problem would not be nearly as serious. We pay a separate Social Security tax and this is not part of the general tax revenue of the United States. And yet many politicians see reducing these benefits and raising the retirement age as a way to reduce our deficit and supposedly save the Social Security system. The government has plenty of discretionary spending plans made in recent and past years that could be reduced or eliminated to help with this problem without having to affect the Social Security system. If we don't write our senators and congressmen this will happen. As the results of the last election show the majority of Americans believe we need to stop spending money and at the same time produce jobs for all Americans. However, don't let the politicians take an easy way out by limiting your safety net which is the Social Security system. I do not claim to have all the answers but we all know how much money the federal government has wasted over the last several years on less important things than the Social Security system. Let your voice be heard and tell your local Congressman and Senators to cut their pork barrel spending and not the Social Security system. If we do nothing I strongly believe those of you who are on Social Security disability or retirement benefits will see cuts of those benefits, and those of you who expected to retire will have to wait longer. I also would not be surprised to see an effort by the government to make it more difficult to win a Social Security disability claim. It is hard enough to win a Social Security disability claim with the rules as they are now. The disabled and retired cannot afford to have their benefits reduced because the government does not know how to control their spending. I hope I am wrong but when I read that article I saw the writing on the wall.

50 years old or older and Social Security Disability

Many of you have heard that it is difficult to get SSDI or SSI if you are young. This can be true for many cases, and it is also true that if you are 50 years or older you may have a better chance of winning your Social Security disability claim. However, the advantage of being 50 years or older really only comes in to play when the work you have performed in the past 15 years was light or heavier. It also for the most part only helps people in this category if your disabilities are mostly physical in nature. To understand when age is important and why you can visit my page on the grid rules. For those who have claims due to psychiatric conditions, age although it may be considered by some at Social Security, it does not play as much of a factor as it does for someone claiming mostly physical disabilities. Many people with psychiatric disabilities read the five step process for disability and don't really understand how their condition is evaluated at steps four and five since the grid rules only reference physical limitations. If you are trying to get disability based on psychiatric limitations it is important that you know that even if you don't meet or equal a listed impairments at step three of the process you can still be found disabled if you can show the limitations from your psychiatric condition would prevent first your past work then a significant number of any other work. I am writing this post because I received many e-mails from people who read the five step process and understandably don't understand how it applies to someone with a psychiatric condition. Steps four and five can also be confusing if you suffer from both physical and mental conditions, but again if you can show your limitations from these conditions prevent you from being able to perform your prior work or a significant number of any other work you can be found disabled at these steps. I hope this post clears up some questions many of you might have about how age is a much more significant factor for those with physical disabilities then it is for those with mental disabilities. To be very general, if you are under 50 years old, or over 50 years old but had work in the past 15 years that was sedentary, then if you do not meet or equal a listed impairment at step three you will then have to show that your limitations from your conditions would prevent you from even being able to do unskilled sedentary work. If you are 50 years old or older then chances are if your prior work was light or heavier than you would only have to show you are limited to sedentary work to be found disabled. If you have psychiatric medical conditions such as depression and you do not meet or equal the medical listings at step three you will then have to show that the limitations from your psychiatric conditions would prevent almost any type of work in significant numbers. If you suffer from physical and psychiatric impairments and you do not meet or equal listed impairment Social Security will look at all your limitations combined to determine if there is a significant number of jobs you could perform. I try to be very general and not get too technical so that you would have some idea of how an SSDI or SSI claim is decided and how age plays a factor for some in the decision. You should also follow the links in this article which will go into more detail on specific aspects of this article.

Your Social Security Disability Hearing

For many people, a Social Security disability hearing is the most stressful part of the SSDI or SSI process. I am here to tell you that this should not be the case, since if you have taken all the steps to make sure your case is ready for hearing this is possibly your best chance to win. If you are extremely nervous about your disability hearing and you have not hired a lawyer you should consider doing so, not just because they have experience with hearings, but also it will give you the confidence that you have someone on your side listening to what you have to say and following up with questions in case you say something that may have hurt your claim. A lawyer will also be able to lay out the reason you are disabled under Social Security disability rules so that you do not have to consider this and focus on answering the questions at the hearing. A good Social Security disability lawyer will also go over with you the types of questions that will be asked at the hearing so that you will not be surprised by the questions and wondering how to answer them. If you do not have a lawyer, and do not wish to have one I strongly suggest you read my page on Social Security disability hearings as it will explain the types of questions asked, who will be there, and what you can expect. One of the biggest mistakes people make at the hearing stage is that they tend to want to tell their whole story as soon as the first question is asked at the the hearing. Try and focus on the question that is asked of you by the administrative law judge (ALJ) or lawyer and only answer that question. It is also important that you do not try and give them the answer you think they want to hear since this will leed to your testimony appearing to be unnatural and possibly even worse it could be considered exaggerating. I don't want to seem like I am promoting the fact that you need to have a lawyer at your hearing, but you should consider it because they are trained to listen to what you have to say and follow up with questions to make sure you do not go off topic or let anything you say be misinterpreted in a way that could hurt your claim. The one thing you have no control over at your hearing is what ALJ is assigned to your case. Some have very high approval ratings and others have very low approval ratings. There are ways to find out your ALJ's approval ratings on the web, but I think this is a better tool for lawyers than it is for claimants going to a hearing on their own. I say this because if a claimant sees that there ALJ has a very low approval rating they may approach how the answer their questions differently than if they have an ALJ who has a higher approval rating. Most ALJs fall somewhere in the middle and approve about 60% of the cases. What these statistics will not show you is what a particular ALJ finds to be important to them when deciding if someone is disabled. One example, is that some Administrative Law Judges value a strong work record and will deny many SSI cases or SSDI cases where a claimant has a poor work record. If you have a strong work record and you happen to have this type of ALJ assigned to your case and you only look at his approval rating you may go into the hearing thinking you have no chance of winning. The fact is, his approval rating for your type of case may be quite high, but you will not be able to find any statistics on the types of cases they tend to approve. A good Social Security disability lawyer who sees that an ALJ has a low approval rating may know the judge or will research by asking other lawyers who have had the judge what types of cases that ALJ tends to approve, and what information that particular ALJ finds to be important when he makes his decision. The lawyer can then structure his questions and arguments based on his knowledge of what is important to that particular administrative law judge. I know it sounds like I am promoting lawyers for your hearing in this post, and I guess I am, but with good reason. You have already lost your case once or twice if you are at this level. Also experienced SSDI or SSI lawyers have handled hundreds if not thousands of disability hearings and this is probably your first experience with a disability hearing. Lastly, because of this experience a lawyer has presented cases before every type of ALJ imaginable and will know how to tailor your questioning and present your arguments as to why you are disabled at your Social Security disability hearing. If you have a hearing comming up I wish you luck and if you have any questions feel free to call me or e-mail me your questions.

Depression, Chronic Pain and Social Security Disability

In my practice over the years, there is a mistake made by people applying for Social Security disability benefits that I see over and over again. Many people attempting to get SSDI or SSI suffer from chronic pain due to many different medical conditions. It is extremely common for someone who is suffering from chronic pain whether it be from a back condition, fibromyalgia, RSD, or any other medical condition that involves pain to also suffer from some degree of depression as a result. Chronic pain by itself can cause depression, but many people also become depressed due to lifestyle changes caused by the severe pain. I can't tell you how many people have come to me with chronic pain conditions and were told by their doctors to seek help for depression and anxiety from a psychiatrist as part of their treatment. Many of these claimants do not follow their doctor's advice and seek treatment for depression for various reasons. I have been told things such as "I'm not crazy I'm just in pain". Many people also don't want to be labeled with a diagnosis of depression for different reasons. I am writing this post to tell you that it is very important to follow your doctor's advice and get treated for depression or anxiety if your doctor recommends it. It will not only help your Social Security disability or SSI claim, but hopefully help your overall well-being. Many people don't realize they are depressed, because they are so focused on their physical problems. Since this post is about Social Security disability and depression I will explain why it is important that you claim depression as a medical condition along with your physical problems to give yourself the best chance to win. Let me first say that everyone who has chronic pain does not also have depression but if your doctor tells you you do or advises you to be checked by a psychiatrist you should do so. In a Social Security disability claim for some of you your physical problems and pain can cause many limitations and be enough to prove to Social Security you are unable to work. For others, your physical problems and pain may severely limit you to the point where you would be unable to perform many jobs but Social Security may find there is light or sedentary work that you could perform. If you are getting treated for depression and you can show you have mental limitations from depression or anxiety these additional limitations may mean the difference between winning or losing your SSDI or SSI claim. For example, particularly if you are under 50 years old Social Security frequently will say that although you are limited from performing heavier work you can still perform sedentary work. If your psychiatrist or a Social Security psychiatrist finds you have mental limitations these mental work limitations must be considered by Social Security just as your physical limitations are. So if Social Security finds you are limited to be able to do sedentary work but you have additional mental limitations, then depending on how severe these mental limitations are they may prevent even a significant number of sedentary jobs and therefore you can be found disabled. Some mental limitations that would significantly impact your ability to perform work related activities would be your ability to interact with the public, ability to interact with supervisors and take direction, ability to complete tasks, difficulties with concentration, difficulties with memory, ability to handle stress, inability to deal with changes in work setting, inability to perform complex tasks, inability to form simple tasks, and many other possible limitations. Depending on how severe your depression is I hope you can see how getting treatment for depression and getting an opinion from your psychiatrist can greatly improve your chances of winning if you suffer from this condition and include it in your claim for disability. There is no shame in suffering from depression it is a medical condition just like your physical impairments are. I do want to caution you, that if you do not suffer from depression, do not claim that you do, for this will hurt your case. I am writing this post because of the great number of people trying to get disability benefits and their records clearly show they have depression and they do not included this condition in their claim or get treatment for it.

New and Improved Ultimate Disability Guide

My Social Security Disability website the "Ultimate Disability Guide" now has a new look. It still contains the great content that it always has on SSDI, SSI and even has information on VA Compensation benefits. If you are familiar with my website, please let me know what you think of the new design and usability of the Ultimate Disability Guide. Although there is some information on VA compensation benefits on this website I have a website designated for VA Compensation and Pension benefits at my veterans disability website. I hope you all like the new look and find it easier to navigate to the information you are looking for about Social Security Disability. I will continue to update this information and it will continue to have the best and most informative free information on the web on disability topics. The Social Security Disability lawyers convention is coming up and I will report any information that I find out at the conference that I think may be of interest or help to you in getting your SSDI benefits. The new website does not look drastically different from the old website, because I did not want people who have visited me in the past to think it was a different website. It is basically a face lift for the old website to give it a more modern look and better usability. For those of you who follow my writings on the Internet you will also notice that my blog has some significant changes as well which I hope you like. I always welcome comments and suggestions on how I can improve this website including any topics you wish me to cover that you have not been able to find. Thank you to the loyal readers of my website and welcome to any new readers of the Ultimate Disability Guide and my other articles across the web.

Thank you to our military and veterans for all you have done and are doing to protect this great country.

On this day September 11, nine years ago we were attacked and I want to take this opportunity to thank all those past and present who have devoted all or part of their lives to defending the United States of America. I remember the day as if it was yesterday and unfortunately it feels like many Americans have forgotten that terrible day. This post is to ask anyone reading it to thank our Veterans, Military, FBI, CIA, law enforcement, firemen, and anyone else or organization that is now or ever did serve to protect the United States. Many Americans go about their daily lives and are able to because of the United States military that has protected us since we became a country. I lost one of my best friends in the twin towers. His name was Christopher Vialonga or Vio as we all called him. He was just 30 years old and in the prime of his life. There are thousands upon thousands of people who lost someone close to them that day or in the years after that day, fighting to protect us. This country has seen many wars over the years, and we have lost many great men and women as a result. So please if you are reading this today, take the time to thank all those who have served to protect us now and in past wars. Say a prayer for all those who are serving today, for all those who have physical or mental scars from their service, and most of all for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. Thank you US military and Veterans for all you have done and will do for your country and its citizens.

Difficulty Finding Good Information About Social Security Disability Law

I recently received an e-mail that best describes the problem with search engines and their ability to distinguish between cookie-cutter Social Security disability websites and real informative websites on SSDI and SSI. I received this e-mail today. "My name is N (name left out for privacy) and I would like to thank you very much for creating your web site. I am just finding your site tonight after years of trying to learn about the disability process and apply for benefits. I learned more from your site in the time I have spent reviewing it tonight than I learned from reading several other sites over years, four attempts at contacting disability lawyers, one in office consult in which the lawyer (though very kind) declined to represent me, and reading over and over again all the info I could find on social security. Thank you for listening to me. And once again, thank you for your site. I will immediately recommend it to everyone I come in contact with so they can be spared the experience I've had." It is frustrating for lawyers like myself to receive e-mails like this knowing if this person had received good free information earlier it could have possibly saved them allot of grief. I and other lawyers like myself spend years writing free information on disability law to make it available to the general public and our informative websites are pushed down in the search results by professional web designers working for a lawyer referral services and big law firms and non-lawyer representative companies. Some of the best information on Social Security disability may never be seen because Social Security Disability specialists like myself are not also Internet specialists. The Internet is becoming less and less about disseminating free information on topics to those who need it and more about which companies can afford the best search engine marketers or which company is willing to spend the most bidding for spots on paid advertising spots. This is a shame because the content of many of the top ranking websites for Social Security Disability information are not written to give you information but rather written in a way to make them rank higher in search engines. In an effort to make more money, the search engines also appear to be cluttering the true search results with paid advertising. I understand the need for search engines to make their money, but it is becoming more more difficult to distinguish between the paid spots and the actual search results. I have written for many years on Social Security Disability and VA disability law, and despite my lack of knowledge of how search engines work, I have been able to get out my free information to many people. However, this appears to be becoming more and more difficult to the point where to keep pace I to have to hire search engine specialist to help me reach more people. Hopefully, the search engines will get to a point where they can distinguish between fresh informative content from specialists in the areas you are looking for from companies that know little about the subject matter but know how to manipulate the results. The good news is that many of you take the time to look through the results you get back and you can tell the difference between good information and these cookie-cutter websites. I will continue to write all original content on my websites and always have the goal of providing the best free information on Social Security disability and VA compensation on the web. My hope is that if I get the help of a search engine marketer I can reach a larger audience with my quality content on disability law. My recommendation to all of you looking for good information on Social Security Disability law is that when you find a good website make sure to bookmark it so you can find it again and recommend it to others through e-mail, social networking websites and forums. I hope you all have an enjoyable long weekend and for all those who have Social Security Disability claims pending I hope that you get a favorable decisions soon.

Social Security Long-range Financial Outlook Bleak

What will it take to get Congress to address and fix the Social Security disability system. In a Social Security disability press release it was announced that the combined assets of the Old Age and Survivors Insurance, and Disability Insurance Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2037. This projection has not changed since last year. Everyone in the United States government has known for years that the Social Security trust fund was running out of money and could not be supported by the incoming Social Security taxes. My biggest fear is that the government will take the easy way out and reduce benefits or make it harder for the disabled to get their benefits. Hard-working Americans have been paying their Social Security taxes in the believe that they would have some security if they were to become disabled or for when they retire. I believe it is the responsibility of the federal government to sure up the trust fund and make sure not only that this generation be able to have the security of Social Security disability and Social Security retirement benefits, but also that our children and grandchildren will have that same security. I have no doubt that the Congress and Senate will attempt to do one or all of the following: increase Social Security tax, extend the age of retirement, make rules that will make it more difficult for the disabled to get their benefits and increase the general tax revenues. This seems quite unfair considering one reason, and I believe the biggest reason is our government's mismanagement of the Social Security trust fund. I think it is clear that we cannot wait any longer to address this issue. It is time to make the tough choices that need to be made to save Social Security. Just imagine if Social Security Disability Benefits were not available to those who became disabled. You must also think about the possibility that when you reach retirement age there will be no money to pay you even though you have paid your Social Security taxes your entire life. I am not going to claim that I have the answers, but I do believe Congress needs to figure out a way to sure up the trust fund with the least amount of burden being put on the American people. This is not a political piece as I believe both parties are responsible for the situation. I know in the next election the biggest issue will probably be the economy. However, I think we as American taxpayers should also insist all those who seek office in the next election tell us their plan on how to sure up the Social Security trust fund. We cannot wait until 2037 to deal with this issue if we expect to have any chance of saving Social Security Disability and Social Security Retirement Benefits. If you are reading my blog then chances are you or a loved one is either getting or attempting to get Social Security benefits. Write your congressman and Senators and any candidates running for these offices and ask them what they will do to make sure the Social Security trust fund will be there for you your children your grandchildren and beyond. Let us not let another year go by without anyone having to answer the tough questions about the Social Security trust fund. This is not a political party issue this is an American issue and we need to help get the conversation started even in these tough economic times. To see the full Social Security press release follow the link.