The 1935 Social Security Act provided for retirement and death benefits only. Disability was added in 1956.
I’m not entirely sure what you mean by:
It replaces a portion (typically two thirds) of the employee’s average wage while he is totally disabled and a lesser amount if an employee is partially disabled and not earning a certain percentage of his prior income.
Neither workers’ compensation nor SSDI pays anything directly to dependents (unless the worker is in jail, in the case of the former).
Social Security death benefits are completely separate. Those are paid to widows, children who are under 18 at the time of death (or under 19 and still in high school), and children who are over 18 who are themselves disabled.
This is not correct. In the first place, death benefits are paid to the surviving spouse (if there is one, otherwise as specified in the Act) and it is only $250.
Auxillary benefits are paid to certain dependents (both if the wage earner is retired or disabled) as set forth in the Act and Regulations. See this link for a start in reading about auxillary benefits: Code of Federal Regulations § 404.350
I gave this link before, but I’ll give it again, and you can go through the Table of Contents for other relevant info: Code of Federal Regulations, Part404
I am very sorry to hear about your situation. Don’t give up hope, I more than most understand how frustrating it is waiting on a decision. As I said up thread, I had practically given up on SS, then out of the blue I get the call from my attorney that we have a hearing. One thing I forgot to mention about the hearing is that the judge had asked me how I was able to support myself all the years since my injury. I was very honest in telling him that I used most my savings,my family helped me and that I attempted to go back to work on several occasions, but that I was unable to do the job. He said that he would count the limited income I had brought in from the few jobs a “failed attempts to return to work”. The important thing that I learned from this is do not lie to the judge about any income during the process, as they have access to your IRS information. He seemed to appreciate my honesty. The hearing was in a small room in the local federal courtouse. The only people there were my attorney, the judge, a ballif and a court reporter. In my case it seemed very informal.
The only other big piece of advice I can give you is to look into a Medicare Advantage Plan once you get Medicare (which should be right away if you have been waiting a few yeas). I have found the Advantage plan to be much better and easier than straight Medicare. There is no cost to out, but your health insurance will be managed by a private insurance company and prescription coverage is integrated into the plan. The insurer in my case is Blue Cross/Blue Shield, but there are many who provide the plans. Do your research, there is a comparison page on the Medicare site, take your time and carefully compare drug coverage as what is cover varies. Your opinion and others may vary on this advice, but I have found it much superior to standard Medicare and Medicare part D.
Oh, I had originally thought about going with Binder and Binder, but went with a local attorney that my Workers Comp attorney reccomended. After we won the case, I found out that I was her very first client.
If you have more questions, feel free to PM me. I am not a Medicare expert, but I can certainly give you a heads up on what it is like to live under Disability. Good luck to you!
So that I understand, are you clarifying the distinction between a small $250 “death benefit” and “auxillary benefits” that are paid to dependents upon death which is considered a disability?
Oh, and just an note, once you go on disability rarely is it ever “for life” no questions asked. Even though I have been declared permanently disabled from time to time I have to undergo a “disability review” from SS. In fact, just yesterday I received notification of a review. These are quite nerve-wracking for it is almost like going through the approval process again. They do a complete review of your medical info, drugs, etc. and then a panel of doctors who have never met you decide our fate. Even though my condition hasn’t changed since approval, I am very nervous about the review. Remeber, these same doctors initially denied my claim years ago and I had to go in front of a judge to get approval. I wouldn’t be so concerned if I knew I could work, but if they make a determination that I am no longer disabled I have no idea how I will be able to support myself, not to mention the medication I require every month. Out of pocket it would cost hundreds of dollars per month.
See the frustrating thing is that while I am not bed ridden, I am unable to maintain employment. Here are days when it might be possible that I could do work. The problem is that when I do anything even remotely straining or even stand too long I am in terible pain for the next day or so. Or the days when the pain is so bad (most days when it is raining) I can’t even get out of bed, employers usually like you to show you everyday. Plus with the morphine it isn’t unusual for me to become very lethargic, possibly falling asleep at random times during the day. Now I take ampjetamie just to keep me awake during the day. Which of course brings up a huge problem. Not too many employers are willing to hire someone who is taking strong narcotics every day, the liability is too great. Even something a simple as being a delivery driver. If I got into an accident, it puts the company at risk for a lawsuit. It is incredibly frustrating, I want to return to work, as I am tired of living with little money and I am bored out of my mind, but I just don’t see how I can find an employer willing to accomidate all the limitations that I will bring with me. If anyone knows of someone willing to hire me, let me know.
Well, my apologies, as it appears I just went on a rant. This is what living on disability does to you, makes you crazy! Sorry for the long post, I thought you might be interested in the review process.
Those benefits are conditioned as set forth in the Regulations, and a few other auxillary benefits are possible. You can check the link yourself for any others.
See the last paragraph in one of my prior posts. No matter if they are the same doctors, SSA must show medical improvement related to your ability to work, or an exception thereto. (Post #8)
Thanks and you are right, it will drive you crazy. I was classified as permanently disabled, so from hat I understand I will be reviewed every seven years vs. someone who SS classifies has a disability that might improve, thus requiring a review every three years. I am not knocking the SS Adminisrtarion for conducting the review. It makes sense to verify that benefits are being paid only to those that have a true disability. However, that doesn’t take away the feeling of nervousness that comes with one of these reviews. I am not concerned and honestly wish I could go back to work. I miss working very much, enough that I still dream about it. It isn’t only the money I miss, but the pride from having a career and being proud of a profession. The only hope that I have of returning to work is undergoing a specific surgery done by a medical group that specializes in FBBS (failed back surgery syndrome). This surgical group comes highly recommended, but they don’t accept Medicare and p
Thanks and you are right, it will drive you crazy. I was classified as permanently disabled, but I understand I will be reviewed every seven years vs. someone who SS classifies as having a disability that might improve, thus requiring a review every three years. I am not knocking the SS Adminisrtarion for conducting the review. It makes sense to verify that benefits are being paid only to those that have a true disability. However, that doesn’t take away the feeling of nervousness that comes with one of these reviews. I am not concerned and honestly wish I could go back to work. I miss working very much, enough that I still dream about it. It isn’t only the money I miss, but the pride from having a career and being proud of a profession. The only hope that I have of returning to work is undergoing a specific surgery done by a medical group that specializes in FBSS (failed back surgery syndrome). This surgical group comes highly recommended, but they don’t accept Medicare and paying cash isn’t an option for me. I keep explorimg avenues for a solution, but haven’t found one yet. Hopefully I will one day be able to find a medical treatment that will fix the problem, not just mask the symptoms. In the end, I am thankful for what I have, for I know that there are many out there that have it a lot worse than I do. I am blessed with a wonderful and supportive wife and family. I feel very deppresed at times because I feel so limited in what I can do financially for my family, but I realize that it is beyond my control. I can live with that fact because I know that I have done all I can, ie: I tried to return to work several times after the accident. Mentally it is very difficult for those of us on disability and I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who is saying they would rather stay on it than return to a productive life.
To those reading this thread, please understand that I am not looking for sympathy. I just want to make it clear that those of us who have had to go on disability aren’t freeloaders and truly dont want to be in this situation. We are here because we don’t have any other options and we are so limited in options that getting off of disability is almost impossible.
Nope, not going to complain about them either. An occasional review to make sure everything is as it should be sounds quite reasonable to me. Doesn’t make it any less stressful, but it’s reasonable. And I am not known for being agreeable to anything Congress does, but they got this one right.
Congratulations! That is great news. You will find that living on what disability pays won’t be easy, but you now have the peace of mind that you won’t be living on the streets because you can’t work. I wish you the best!
