New York Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog

As experienced Social Security lawyers practicing in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, our jobs are to focus on the nitty gritty of Social Security disability claims: the factual details and supporting evidence that can mean the difference between a successful and unsuccessful claim. We understand the intricacies of the often complex disability claims process because we have been navigating it for more than 50 years combined. A person seeking Social Security benefits, however, cannot be expected to have such thorough knowledge of what for most Americans is an obscure - albeit highly important - federal system. Yet before a person can decide whether or not to file a claim for Social Security benefits, he or she must know what Social Security is. CNBC's new primer on the Social Security disability and retirement programs provides the uninitiated with a thorough overview of Social Security and how it works.

As Senior Editor Mark Koba explains, Social Security began in 1935 as a mandatory retirement program created as part of the "New Deal" initiatives - a series of economic programs passed in response to the Great Depression - championed by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is codified in the Social Security Act (the Act) and operated by the Social Security Administration (SSA). In 1954, the Act was amended to provide insurance benefits for persons unable to work due to disability. Today, roughly 56 million people receive some form of Social Security benefits.

Currently, the retirement program offers partial benefits to persons who retire at age 62 and full benefits to those who work until reaching full retirement age (which varies based on date of birth). Benefits are calculated based on the recipient's earnings over his or her entire lifetime and cost of living adjustments. The average retiree receives a little less than $1,200 per month.

The SSA also provides disability benefits to persons who are disabled, that is, either unable to work for one year, or it is foreseeable that they will be unable to work for over 12 months or more due to a physical or mental impairment. The SSA makes Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments to adults and children who are disabled or blind and have limited income and resources. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), on the other hand, is available to disabled persons, their spouses and children, regardless of income and resources, if the disabled person has made sufficient payments into the Social Security system.

Although Social Security is funded by taxes - workers and their employers each pay 6.2 percent of the worker's earnings into the system - it is not technically part of the federal budget. Social Security taxes are allocated to two separate trust funds: the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds, each of which earn interest.

Continue reading "Social Security Disability and Retirement 101" »

A recent opinion from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Apone v. Commissioner, Social Security Administration lays out the basic framework under which a Social Security Administration (SSA) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) is expected to review a Social Security Disability benefits claim. While the decision provides a quick overview of the process, based on many years of success in navigating the system, we assure you that the process is not a simple as the court makes it out to be.

In considering Tanya Apone's appeal of the SSA's denial of her disability benefits claim, the court explained the process that an ALJ is required to go through in considering a claim.

The Social Security Regulations outline a five-step sequential evaluation process for determining whether a claimant is disabled. The ALJ must evaluate (1) whether the claimant engaged in substantial gainful work; (2) whether the claimant has a severe impairment; (3) whether the severe impairment meets or equals an impairment in the Listings of Impairments; (4) whether the claimant has the residual functional capacity ("RFC") to perform her past relevant work; and (5) whether, in the light of the claimant's RFC, age, education, and work experience, there are other jobs the claimant can perform.

The plaintiff asserted that she was unable to work due to a combination of physical and mental disabilities. The SSA denied her claim and the ALJ upheld the decision after the first hearing, finding that a significant number of jobs existed that Apone could perform and, therefore, she was not disabled. After further appeal, the case was sent back to the ALJ to for a second hearing to include testimony from a Vocational Expert (VE), a professional who, by responding to questions that mirror the claimant's situation to varying degrees, provides advice to an ALJ regarding a claimant's ability to perform any type of work activity. The VE indicated that a person with the plaintiff's limitations could find work as a security officer, cashier or fast food worker. Accordingly, the ALJ again denied the plaintiff's claim.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial, finding that the ALJ properly considered the claim under the framework described above. Specifically, the court concluded that the ALJ appropriately posed hypothetical questions to the VE based on the plaintiff's specific limitations and therefore the decision to uphold the denial was supported by the law.

As experienced Social Security attorneys, we understand that although the basic guidelines for considering a disability benefits claim are set in stone, the way in which each judge applies the guidelines to a certain claim and considers the relevant evidence varies widely depending on the judge. For claimants, it is therefore crucial that the attorney representing you not only know the law, but also the ALJ who will apply it in your particular case. Local, experienced disability lawyers are much more likely to understand how a specific judge operates and evaluates a claim than a representative from a national advocacy organization who may have just flown in for the hearing.

Furthermore, in a hearing involving a VE, an experienced disability lawyer can gauge the VE's impartiality, expertise and professional qualifications, question the VE fully on his responses to the ALJ's questions and pose his own questions to the VE as well as arguing which set of limitations most closely resembles the claimant. Your lawyer can also object to the VE's testimony - based on bias, lack of expertise or other valid grounds - if necessary.

Related blog posts:

A Good Social Security Attorney Provides a Roadmap for the Judge: Diaz v. Commissioner of Social Security and Residual Functional Capacity

The Outcome of Your Social Security Disability Claim Often Depends on the Personality of the ALJ Who Decides Your Case

Social Security Disability Application: Managing a Mountain of Paperwork

Starting August 15, 2011 all local Social Security field offices throughout the country are on tap to reduce the time they are open to the public by 30 minutes.

"While agency employees will continue to work their regular hours, this shorter public window will allow us to complete face-to-face service with the visiting public without incurring the cost of overtime for our employees," said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. "Congress provided our agency with nearly $1 billion less than the President requested for our budget this fiscal year, which makes it impossible for us to provide the amount of overtime needed to handle service to the public as we have in the past."

While the essence of these budget debates are much more complex than simple overtime hours, the real issues facing the disabled/retired community are how will these cuts affect service and, for that matter, will it move the needle enough to reduce costs to protect benefits?

Because some tasks can be done online (but not SSI applications) this may not be as bad as it seems. But---and it's a big but---in these uncertain times, can you afford to not do your research before you file your initial claim?

A call to Insler & Hermann, LLP can save you time and effort. Get the facts; call for a free screening to see if you could benefit from an in-person consultation with an attorney. (Offices in Westchester and Dutchess counties in New York, Bergen County NJ and Fairfield County, CT.)

Gabriel J. Hermann, Esq.

Social Security, Budget Debate, budget cuts, disability, Social Security disability, SSI, SSD