Copyright 2015, Disability Solution House, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact | Free Membership | Bookmark | Advertising
|
^^^^^^^^^^^ To Navigate Transcript
|
Brian: Greetings, everybody! This is Brian Therrien, and here today with Barbara Mountain. How are you, Barb? Barbara: I'm doing great. Thank you. Brian: Thanks for coming out and spending some time with us. I'm glad that we're gonna be able to do this. The thing that really intrigues me, Barb, about your experience that will be of value to our members is that unlike anybody I know in the industry, you’ve worked in different aspects. That's been pretty cool. You’ve spend time working with the Social Security administration, then you've worked with Long Term Disability cares. And now, you're working with Doherty, Cella and Keane Barbara: Right. Brian: - as a Direct Consumer Social Security Disability Representation Group from the Boston area. So you – you’ve seen all different angles of disability applicants going through the approval process. You seen the mistakes; you seen what works and what doesn't work and - so we're gonna see if we can get you to spill your guts and tell us all today. Barbara: Great. I'm good.
Brian: (laughs) So, anyway, congratulations on a nice, well-rounded career. And so what's - let's get in to it. What were are going cover today, to those of you listening, is will it - we’re gonna cover, really, the common causes of why claims get denied. You know, high – seventy percent – of initial applications get denied. And there’s some steps that you can do to avoid that. We’re gonna talk about disability representatives, different types of ‘em, how you find good ones, how you weed out the ones that likely would not be of your best interest to hire for your client. Really, how representatives can increase your odds of getting approved, and – what else we’re going to talk about today – the value they add; does the representative have to be local? I got a whole list of questions here, so how do we just dig right into it and get started. All right? Barbara: Sounds great. Brian: The first thing I wanna go through with you is this term that we’ve kinda coined here – a whole service disability representative Barb, which is really just two different types for the audience that are listening out there. What a full service representative does is that they really do all the paperwork for you and the initial application phase, there is – what is it – a hundred and something forms somebody’s gonna fill out. Barbara: Yeah. There’s a good number of a piece of the paperwork and questions that have to be answered. Brian: Yeah. So a full service representative will do that for you. ‘Course, you could do it on your own. But let’s talk about full service representation and, unlike small firms that if you go to them and say you haven’t applied yet, you know, they might say: “Well, go ahead and apply. Do it on your own. See if you could get approved. If you don’t, come back.” What can you share about the difference and why have representatives gone this way. Seems like a whole lot of extra work. Barbara: Well, a lot of it the smaller companies or local companies you’re talking about that will tell you to go file on your own and come back if you’ve been denied. They’re looking at it from a perspective of saying that “We wanna deal with it when you’re getting to that hearings level, when we’re gonna go represent you in front of a judge. And once you get awarded, we’re gonna get a piece of the back end benefit that you’re “Hey!” They’re thinking if you file on your own and you work it on your own, you know, “That’s great! Less work for me. I wasn’t gonna get paid much, anyways.” What a full service representative is thinking is he knows if they help you with that initial application, they’re gonna increase your chances of getting awarded. If not at the initial level, later on, because they’re gonna start the claim off on the right foot. When you’re answering all of those questions, it’s really important to answer them the right way. Vocabulary is very important and to a lay person or person who’s just kinda talking about their disability, they don’t really know what Social Security is looking for. What Social Security is really looking for is for you to say how your disability is affecting your ability to work. If you can talk all about the pain and how much pain you’re in on everyday basis, but if you’re not kind of correlating that back, how was that pain affecting your ability to go the office everyday or, you know, to talk on the phone or to sit or your attention span – it’s not helping the case. Having a full service rep who’s going to start from day 1, you make an award at the initial level. Certainly will increase but will also increase your chances even later on if you have to go that hearings level, because they’re gonna start it off that claim the right way with the question being answered appropriately. Brian: OK. So it’s really the wording is what I’m hearing. I gather that you learn that from the seven years you spent with Social Security, you saw claims that would fly through that they likely met that criteria. Is that – Barbara: Absolutely. Brian: OK. Barbara: Yup. You know, people just – they are understanding. They’re – they’re talking in the name of, you know, what you expect. They’re talking so much about the disability. They’re forgetting the part that you kinda gotta correlate how that’s affecting ability to do – to do work in the national economy. You know, it’s a subtle thing, but it’s an important thing. People can say things that they didn’t intend. They might say, “You know, my doctor says I can do light duty.” But what a doctor interpret as light duty and what Social Security, according to vocational grits, interprets lights duty are very different. You have to be really careful with how you throw out those terms, because that could dramatically affect your decision. Brian: It’s a natural thing – it’s really, I guess the best way to put it is it’s not natural for people to explain why they can’t work because we are built and trained to sell ourselves why we can work, you know. Barbara: Right. Exactly, exactly. Brian: So, it’s you’re talking yourself out of a job is really what the deal is here. What are some of the other steps that people do in – I direct this question in this area. A lot of people and members there that are going through the approval process, certainly they’re interested in increasing their odds, but people that are sick, and just don’t either have the mental capacity or the energy to do it - are there key things or heavy lifting that representatives do that you could share with us that make this process easier? Barbara: Well, what they should be doing is filling out all the paperwork for the person – whether they’re doing it by phone. Typically, it’s done by phone. They’ll ask the question and you have the answer, but they’re the ones who’re gonna complete the pages of information, gather it all together, send it to the person clearly marking where they have to sign. The idea behind this is they’re taking all of the work out the process, while giving that claimant the best representation possible. They’re also gonna make sure that they’re getting all the communication from Social Security. So if new forms are needed, if there’s a question that needs to be answered, they’re gonna make sure that’s done and done timely. If a claim is denied, they’re gonna make sure that appeal is filed and filed within the time frame. So they’re kind of staying on top of everything, making sure everything’s done appropriately, handling all those logistics, so you really can concentrate on getting better or whatever you’re going through in order to help your own personal situation and not having to deal with the headaches of Social Security. Brian: And so, could you set the expectations for somebody that is going to be working with a full service representative? They still do have some obligations, correct? They do need the authorized forms so that they can do the work. Barbara: Exactly. They don’t need to sign a form, basically authorizing representative become the representative. They still need to sign authorization to release information. Social Security will get the medical records, so there’s forms they definitely need to sign. They do need to response and answer honestly and straightforward, so the representatives can just represent them in front of Social Security. If there’s any new medical evidence, new doctors, new important tests that happened, they make sure they keep that representative updated on that. That’s really the most important thing is that – if there’s new evidence or new information, that they think would be important if they are communicating that to the representative aspect and can submit that to Social Security. Brian: OK. So, my understanding is that the way that a representative will increase somebody’s odds, their good full service, is really word-smithing the application and communicating how somebody specifically can’t work and has limitations? Barbara: Right. And ensuring that the medical records are complete. It’s really easy to forget a doctor, to forget a hospital, to forget some medication. They’re gonna make sure, talking with the individual that they have all that information and that they get that medical information. At the initial application, Social Security will go out and get the medical record. However, there isn’t a guarantee that they’re getting everything – that they’re following up, making sure they have everything. Your representative is going to make sure that Social Security – or they should be making sure – have all that information right from the beginning. And that’s extremely important. It’s also gonna make your decision a whole lot quicker. If Social Security can start working the claim immediately and doesn’t have to wait that time to get the information back from doctors and hospitals that can increase your chances too. That’s a huge benefit right there.
Brian: OK. Let’s roll it forward a little bit for somebody that has already applied. So we’ve talked about those that haven’t applied, we’re gonna talk about those that have already applied and are waiting. OK? Now the wait to get approved or the wait for a decision at the initial level varies – I don’t know. You have any – Barbara: It’s not three to six months on average. Brian: Three to six months. OK. So somebody’s in that three to six months range, and they’re just like, “I’m really considering using a representative.” What value could a representative add at this stage, Barb? Barbara: Well, once the claim has already been submitted at the initial level, it’s up to Social Security to make that medical decision once they have the application. So the initial application has already been filed, they already supplied, you know, the medical information, the medical listings for Social Security, they go and collect that. There’s really not a whole lot they can do at that point. They could potentially ask how to answer these questions and maybe submit some supplemental information. But for the most part, if you’ve already submitted that Social Security and you think you’ve answered things, you know, the best of your ability – you’ve listed all your doctors and hospitals – it could just be best if that point, wait ‘til the decision comes back, and then at that point if it’s been denied, you get a vendor involved. There is not too much they can affect once that initial application is in. Brian: Pending that its done correctly. Let me also say this: a lot of people wonder if they’ve done it right. So let’s say that they – they haven’t listed all their conditions or they don’t all their medical records or their medications or something’s happened in that three to six month period that could influence the decision. Can an impact be made? Barbara: Well, it can. You definitely can get in touch with a disability examiner and tell them there’s more medical evidence that you want to add to it and they could write up an addendum. Maybe documenting some additional information about the condition and then including the new medical evidence. And that certainly will supplement the claim and could affect it. As long as you get there and you get that done in time, it’s definitely possible. Also the person, if you do hire someone while that initial claim of pending, they could already start delving into that case, preparing it for appeal if they think the claim is gonna be denied. But there is that potential that once, having the representative come in and they could have an impact. The most important thing I could say is that initial application, answering the questions right off the bat, because of they did say something that hurts their case, that has to be overcome. For example, mentioning something about, “My doctor says I can do light duty,” not really understanding what that means. Or a claimant that’s on long-term disability saying, “I’m filing because my insurance company is making me.” They may not mean “I’m still thinking I’m disabled but I shouldn’t file.” They risk maybe stating a fact, but those are things that have to be overcome later and having them up front just makes the case a little bit more difficult down the road. Brian: OK. Let’s talk about back benefits. Maybe you can, first of all, just give us a quick explanation of what was entitled to for back benefits, and then we can kinda move on to talking about onset dates and how those could be properly spotted. Barbara: Sure. Whenever you file for disability, you’re gonna allege a date of disability – the date you could no longer work. If Social Security finds you disabled as of that date, you have to wait five full calendar months before your date of entitlement and the date of entitle would mean the first month or due of payment. So if you were disabled on March 15, your waiting period would be April, May, June, July, and August. September is the first month you’re due with check. That’s your – your date of entitlement. Now, Social Security can pay back twelve months from the date you filed. So, if you waited to file – you were disabled; you wait a little while; you want to see if you were gonna get better; you eventually find out that you have to file. You wanna be sure that you file, at least within seventeen months from the date of disability. And I think seventeen months, because for twelve months waiting period – or… excuse me. That’s for twelve months, they can pay back in retro benefits plus for five months waiting period. If you wait longer than seventeen months from your date of disability, and you’re eventually found to be disabled as of the original date of onset, you will be leaving some money out of that. You won’t be allowed to be paid, because Social Security can only pay you back twelve months from the date you filed. Brian: So if you’re over seventeen months, you could be leaving money on the table? Barbara: Exactly. Brian: OK. Barbara: You wanna make sure you file within seventeen months of that initial date of disability. Brian: All right. Now – gather my thoughts here. So if somebody has intermittent work attempts or failed work attempts… Barabara: Right. Brian: …and they go to apply. For example, let’s say that they apply today. But they really haven’t been able to work consistently for the last year. Can you give us like a general statement of what might be possible for somebody to adjust their onset date? Because it will – it could be today, but it might not be. Barbara: Right. That’s a great question. That’s one of the big reasons why I’m very pro getting someone to help you when you’re filing disability benefits. Because when you fill out that application for Social Security, it’s going to ask you, “What was your date of onset?” and it’s going to say, “When was the date you could no longer work?” And for a lot of people, it’s not a drop-dead day, it just didn’t all of a sudden happen; occur on this date – “I never worked from this date forward.” For a lot of people, it’s that intermittent disability – it came on flowy; it affected work; you were in and out of work. If you don’t have somebody telling you what they put in – you probably gonna put the most recent date you were out of work. And – and that’s not always what you have to do. You can sometimes move that onset date back and the way to do that is something called an “unsuccessful work attempt” and that’s a Social Security term. Basically, what it means is if you were out of work for at least thirty days, at one point in time you had to have a break. For thirty days you went back to work, but it didn’t – it wasn’t successful and that work lasted for less than six months. If it ended because of the disability, there is a potential you could move that onset date back to the original time you went out. So if the work period – it’s definitely can be moved back if the work period was less than three months. If it’s between three and six months long, you kinda have to do a little evaluation of how much you were working and what was going on there. More paperwork that needs to be done, but it definitely can be done and should be looked at to see if you could move that onset date back before you went back to work and tried out for that – you know, preliminary period that just didn’t have them. Brian: OK. So I wanna make sure I get this. If somebody is working – out of work for thirty or more days, and then goes back to work for less than six months, they could pinpoint their onset date during… at the beginning of that thirty day period? Barbara: Exactly. As long as the work ended because of the disability, and that would be called an “unsuccessful work attempt.” There is an additional – some additional paperwork that needs to be done to document that unsuccessful work. Brian: Yup. So if sometime within the last seventeen months this happened, it would really make sense for somebody to target that correct onset date. ‘Cause every month, they could pick up this extra money. Right? Barbara: Absolutely, absolutely. He was not only to ask extra money, but also, the earlier the date of entitlement, the earlier your Medicare will start. You get a Medicare two years after date of entitlement, so if you could get that date of entitlement to move back like four, five months, that’s gonna move up your Medicare entitlement date. Brian: Oh, great point. That’s a great point. Barbara: The date of disability is extremely important. Probably, the most important question on that application is to get that date of disability right, because you wanna get benefits as early as possible. Brian: OK. I wanna make sure I get this part right. Your twenty-four months that you have to wait for Medicare. Is twenty-four months from the onset date of your disability? Barbara: No. It’s from your date of entitlement. Brian: From your date of entitlement. Barbara: Right. Which is gonna be five full calendar months from your date of disability. So that person who was disabled in March 15, his date of entitlement is going to be September 2010. So Medicare starts in December – excuse me, September of 2012. Not the March when they were actually disabled. Brian: OK. I have been led to believe and thank you for clarifying this that it was twenty-four months after you were approved. Barbara: Nope. Actually you could’ve been approved. It might have taken them two years to approve your claim. Your Medicare might start right up as soon as – as soon as it’s approved. You’re eligible for Medicare immediately. Brian: Wow. This is great news. Barbara: Yeah. Not the approval date. It’s all based on the date of entitlement. Brian: OK. So you gotta get that date of entitlement correct. You gotta lock it in. Barbara: Right. Brian: OK. Awesome. All right. Yeah, seventeen months minus five, twelve – I mean, that’s twelve. There’s some people I’ve know that have gotten back benefit checks for over $20,000. Barbara: Exactly. You don’t want it to be the largest – you don’t really want a large retro because what that means is that it took Social Security a long time to approve you for the most part. You know, it take two, three years to get awarded and they find you disabled right back to the beginning. Well then, you’re owed about two and a half years of back benefits and that’s why you have a large retro. Ideally, if you get awarded quickly, so the benefits can come in right away and you don’t have all those years of – when you’re waiting for this income. Brian: Who are you to waited to apply. Barbara: Exactly. Or you’ve waited to apply. Brian: Yeah, yeah. OK. So let’s see if you can – as best you can from your position, your professional position – if you could provide us with some questions. So I guess… where I’m going is attorney selection questions, get an idea where to look for a full service representative and what’s some of the value of it is. But I guess I’m gonna start with this. If somebody isn’t – hasn’t applied, most people are of the mindset to say, “Well. I thought I’d find somebody that’s local.” So can you give us your take on that? Do they need to be local? Barbara: You actually don’t need to have somebody local, because the process of Social Security isn’t something where you need to be face-to-face. When you’re dealing with Social Security, you’re always dealing either phone or email. It’s not a face-to-face process unless you get to that hearings level. When you’re dealing with a representative, everything can get – be done by phone. As long as you can communicate with that attorney, that’s fine. So you definitely – you don’t have to have a legal presence if they want it, but you don’t have to have it. The most important thing I believe – I’ve said this since I worked for Social Security day 1 – is that you hire someone that only does Social Security law. It really is a niche market and you want someone with that – their full attention –they’ve seen a little bit of everything and they know what they need to do. Another point that I might make about using a local representative versus somebody just somebody you like who represents people nationally – is a company that represents nationally – will tend to work with judges all over the country. Wherever you happen to be, and the judge you’re assigned, they’re gonna work with that judge. When you work with a local attorney, they tend to work with the same judges over and over again. Now, you may think on the plus side, well, they know that judge – maybe they know how to present a case to that. There’s absolutely truth to that. But there’s also the truth – the fact that the local attorney works for this judge so often on so many cases, they have to stay on good terms with that judge. They’re not necessarily gonna press the envelope or push something or be confrontational in situations where maybe they need to be, because they have to stay in good standing. They have to see this judge every single day. This is their livelihood. When you deal with a representative who represents nationally, they don’t have that fear. They’re gonna challenge a judge if they need to and they’re gonna push every case as far as they possibly can to get that claim awarded. So there’s pros and cons of both, but I don’t think you should limit your search, thinking you just need local. I don’t think there’s any real benefit in doing that. I think any – as long as you get the right representative, they can be located anywhere. Brian: That’s a good point. Never thought of that. Yeah, made me think of the Joe Pesci movie or it came in from out of town and he’s defending the two Utes. (laughs) Barbara: (laughs) Right. Brian: Yeah. Yeah. Very good point. So, as far as a representative being specific in this area, do they need to look for like – it’s their certain size of representative or case volume or.. is that is important, if somebody specializes in this, and they do five cases a month. Is that enough to be good or is twenty-five or thirty better? Or… any take on that? Barbara: I don’t think that volume necessarily is a good judge. I think it is all they do in Social Security law and this is their livelihood. You can assume that, you know, they’ve seen a good number of cases. You might wanna ask how many years they’ve been in practice and how many years have they been doing this. That can certainly be helpful. I’d ask them questions about your case specifically. What do you think is the most important facts about my case in order to get it awarded? What do you think could potentially hurt my case? I’d ask questions like that I think are more important evaluating a representative. Other things you should ask is, what is my role in it? What do you expect from me? And what should I expect from you? I think communication is the most important tool in everything. There’s no exception to that when selecting a representative. You wanna be very clear from the start: what do they expect from you? What do you expect from them? How will the communication go? That can always be a sticking point with attorneys and making sure that you’re updated as often as you feel you should be – and that you can get in touch with that attorney. Those are really important things to know. I think those are probably just as important as everything else when you’re having that initial conversation, deciding who you’re gonna use. Brian: That’s one of the number one complaints that we get – is related to that. That we see. I’ll make a very general statement here. A lot of attorneys that do practice this work – you don’t have to be an attorney. But a lot of attorneys – are attorneys – and their business practices aren’t always in tune with people’s expectations in that people think that they can always be in touch with their attorney – and that’s not the case. So your point that you brought up, which is a great one, is you’re suggesting that they establish an understanding of what appropriate communication plan would be. Correct? Barbara: Definitely, definitely. How often are you gonna update me on what’ going on? When do you expect I should hear something? When should I expect you’ll be doing something? Because that’s a lot of it. I think when you’re sitting back on the other end, you’re wondering, “What are they doing? Are they working on my case right now? What’s happening? Is it just sitting out there?” You should be prepped upfront - at the initial level, you should be called once you submit that application and we submitted that medical evidence. If there’s new medical evidence that comes down the road, all we can do is sit and wait. There’s really nothing your representative can be doing at that point and they see it off to give you guidelines on how long you should expect to wait. When will they follow up? Because there should be a follow up plan. You don’t just allow Social Security to stay out there forever. There should be a point in time, whether that be at three months, they’re gonna do a check-in and see what’s going on, and then get back to you. Those are important things for you to know because obviously, this is your life and so you want to know and have some assurance that everything’s progressing the way it should, that you’re gonna be updated so you’re not just sitting out there wondering what’s happening. Brian: There are people that – that certainly believe that once they retain a representative, they have the right to call in frequently and I have my opinion about that, but I think people that are gonna call too much are gonna create challenges in their working relationship. But I was curious what your – what you could share with us, your advice in that area? Barbara: Well, that’s again, I think that comes back to communicating - how often makes sense. Because you’re right. If you’re calling every day, there’s no new information to give you and all you’re doing is really taking away the time, you know, from some other cases that representatives might need to work on. However, at the same time, I think it’s important that you’re able to get in touch with who you want to. Jjust something important to share. You know, one thing – another question to ask when you’re looking for who’s gonna represent you is: “Do you use voicemail?” A lot of companies use voicemail out there. Might be hard to find any that don’t – but some don’t. I could tell you that the company I work for, Doherty, Cella, Keane, we don’t use voicemail. We don’t use it for a reason because we don’t like it. We want you to reach a person, so anytime you call our office, you’re gonna have a person who’s going to get the answer that you need. That’s a good question if you can ask, but you do, on the other side, you have to have some perspective and recognize that there are certain times when you’re just waiting for Social Security to act – and Social Security is not speedy. They’re very slow. Sadly, they’re getting slower. Right now, at the hearings level, everything is just slow down to a crawl. And it’s been that way for years and years and years. But unfortunately, given the economy, Social Security is being inundated with new claims at the initial level. Last year, they had 3.3 million people file for disability benefits at the initial level. They don’t staff appropriately for that, and so what we’re gonna start seeing is that initial level claims are gonna start taking longer and longer, because more claim are coming in and they actually have less bodies to do the work than they did before. So, there’s gotta be a recognition there that once everything’s been submitted and everything’s in there, it is a waiting game and you are gonna have to wait. There is gonna be an appropriate time to follow up but there are gonna be months in which nothing’s happening. Brian: So that’s an interesting figure. The last I heard, it was around 2.6 million, so it’s up to 700,000. That’s – Barbara: Exactly. It’s gone up dramatically. Brian: That’s huge. Yeah. OK. Well, you’ve shared some good tips here. Let’s talk about fees for a minute. There’s a pretty general understanding of the fee structure that’s out there for Social Security. Can you share with the audience, Barb, what one can expect to pay for a Social Security representative? Barbara: All right. You’re always gonna ask the representative, “What is your fee?” Ninety-five percent of everybody in this business is – they have the same fee, and it’s called the “standard fee agreement.” The reason why everyone has the same amount is because Social Security must approve any fee charged by representative to represent a claim for Social Security. They’re not allowed to go out and just dictate whatever they want. It has to be approved by Social Security. So that standard fee is twenty-five percent of half due benefits up to a cap of $6,000. So the most they can charge is $6,000, otherwise twenty-five percent of whatever your past due benefits are. The other type – when I say its ninety-five percent, the other potential five percent is sum of attorney’s right to proceed petition. What that means is they’re gonna petition Social Security for whatever they think the cost should be. What they have to do is they have to document how many hours they worked in the work that they did. They’re really asking for more than that fee agreement, and Social Security must approve that. You would be getting a copy of all that paperwork and you’d be able to submit paperwork to Social Security. If you disagree with what the attorney was asking for, but you’d wanna know upfront: “Is it gonna be that standard fee agreement?” The other things you would wanna look for – you could say other hidden fees. Well, there really shouldn’t be any hidden fees, ‘cause everything should be upfront. But for most, it’s just that standard agreement. However, there’re some attorneys that will charge you for medical records. Or that will charge you for travel, if they have to travel to a hearing. Those would be considered out-of-pocket expenses and they can charge for those separately than that standard fee agreement. You would wanna know if those are gonna be additional charges that you’re gonna be responsible for or if that’s included in that standard fee. Brian: Good point. Say, I have been informed that there are some that classify a fee as an administrative fee that – and it various. They’re allowed to charge an administrative fee, I except. Correct? Barabara: I’m not really familiar with a term of “administrative fee.” I think – I guess they probably could. I have not seen companies that have done that, but those are definitely the questions to ask. If it’s not – if it’s a fee that’s not for the actual represented claimant to get them awarded, then I guess they can charge for that, because that is separate that what Social Security says their fee is for. That’s for the actual representation. So actually, I think that they could do something like that. I’m just not familiar with companies that do that. Brian: OK. Well, this all has to be certainly weighed into the – into the process of what’s best for the claimant, the applicant. Whether representation is the way to go or pursuing or advancing their claim on their own. So you shared some really great information with us today. I wanna kind of go through and recap and see if you could maybe pinpoint some of the key benefits that somebody would have. If they’re not represented now to what I would refer to as “interview with a representative,”. What in your mind would be some of the key benefits that somebody would walk away with from a free interview. You know, you’ve given them some of the questions to ask. But… what can you share with us? Barbara: Well, I think that way you gained is maybe some – somebody with experience and knowing what Social Security needs to see to get you awarded. Telling you an honest opinion of what kinda case you have, you know. Is it a good case? Is it gonna be a tough case? I think that’s good for you to know the expectations going in, for you to have an idea to say: “You know what, sounds like I have a pretty good case that might just probably get an award – will be awarded. And also give you a perspective as you hear: “You know what, this is gonna be a pretty tough one and this is why,” I think I can give you some good understanding into what Social Security is looking for and what you can expect. It’s something that you certainly can gain. Brian: ‘Cause they could say, “Listen. We can’t help you. We would not be able to accept your case.” Barbara: Right. Consider that and you’re probably thinking you probably don’t have a pretty good chance of being awarded and they’re not willing to even spend the time on it. That can be a tough thing to hear but it also can be an eye-opener and help you set your expectation. Brian: Sure. ‘Cause if you file, you have to give below a thousand dollars a month on earnings. So if you’re gonna drop your income to file, and wait around for decision, and then you don’t have a good crack at it that’d be… then in my opinion, that’d be very valuable information. Barbara: Right, right. Actually, substantial gain for activity, which is the amount of work that Social Security is considered substantial. You’re not disabled. Right now, in this year is $1,000 a month. So if this year, you can work, there is a job that you can do that would allow you to earn more than $1,000 a month, then Social Security can say you’re not disabled. If you can’t find a job, you physically or mentally are unable to perform a job that’s gonna allow you to earn $1,000 a month, then Social Security should find you disabled. And that’s crux, if you wanna get right down to the most basic thing that Social Security is looking for. That’s what they’re looking for - your ability to earn a $1,000 or more a month. If you’re earning less than $1,000 – you are still working but earning less than $1,000, then you absolutely have a right to file for Social Security even while continuing to work in earning that amount. Brian: OK. Great, great. OK, while we’ve covered some super information here today, is there anything that you think maybe I’ve left out that would be of value to the members, Barb, other than what we’ve discussed? Barbara: Think what I’d say about a representative is what they’re skilled at is they know how to communicate medical conditions to Social Security. They know how to cite why you’re certain situation or limitations prevent your ability to work. So, they know the vocabulary. They know what has to be shown. They should take all the work out of it for you, because it can be an absolutely frustrating process to be with Social Security. They’re gonna make sure nothing falls to the cracks. All the forms are completed. All the medicals submitted. So the idea behind it is taking the work out of it for you, and then giving you the best representation possible so you to have the best chance of being awarded and being awarded quickly. Social Security is a long, arduous process, and a lot of people – the best chance of being awarded is at the hearings level. And sadly, by the time you get that hearings decision, you’re very likely three years in the life of your Social Security claim. Anything you can do, to try and get that claim awarded early, I think you should do just knowing that the potential of having to wait three years could be out there. One other thing we didn’t touch on, if you do go to the hearings level, a lot of representatives will try to get what’s called “on-the-record decision.” An on-the-record decision means, they’re gonna write up a legal brief and submit it, stating all of the reasons why this claim should be awarded without the need to have a face-to-face personal hearing. A lot of claims are awarded this way and it’s much quicker – ‘cause you’re not waiting for that hearing date, no one has to travel to a hearing. So it’s all positive and it’s a way to get an award to consider the hearings level award, but it’s quicker and you don’t actually have to go to a hearing. That’s something only a representative can do for you. That’s a really important fact to know. And not only to know, but to ask your representative, if they’re going to try and write an on-the-record decision and get your claim awarded – what’s called on the record. Brian: Excellent point. So is there like a general time frame in that… that this would reduce the approval. Barbara: I’m just gonna give you nothing official. You’re gonna get off the top of my head thought. And on-the-record could shorten your hearing process from a minimum of six months to a year. Brian: OK. So if somebody’s in the state of Georgia, which is like around two years for a wait for a hearing, it could potentially cut that time in half? Barbara: Absolutely could cut that time in half. Brian: Right. Barbara: That’s a state where they have such a backlog of hearings, ‘cause they wanna award as many claims as possible on-the-record. They’re trying to eliminate that backlog. This is actually a great time right now for on-the-records to be done, because of all of the push right now to eliminate the hearings’ backlog. There is a great push to – if you have a good case on the record – award it. Brian: OK. Awesome. Awesome. Barb, thank you so much. This has been fantastically valuable information. I’ve learned a lot, so I thank you for coming out and sharing this with us. Barbara: Great. Thanks for having me.
|