The maximum fee for representing a Social Security claimant is capped at $5,300. Social Security can increase this amount because of inflation, but is not required to do so. The cap has not been raised since 2001. A "user fee" is deducted from these fees. The user fee is to reimburse Social Security for its costs in withholding and paying the fees. In effect, it is a special tax on those who represent Social Security clamants. This user fee is adjusted for inflation. It has been $79 in 2008. Social Security has announced that it is going up to $83 in 2009, meaning that attorney fees just went down because of inflation. This sounds crazy to me.
2 comments:
That attorney bias shows a little more when discussing fees. The fee approval process is often problematic, but it's misleading to mention the $5300.00 cap without tying it to the fee agreement process, and to complain about the user fee without mentioning that it applies only to representatives who want Social Security to go to the extra time and effort, often negligible but sometimes quite troublesome, of paying them directly to help avoid collection problems from their clients.
"In effect, it is a special tax on those who represent Social Security clamants."
What a load of BS. OK lets do away with the "tax" and have SSA stop collecting and paying you your fee. You go the the claimant to collect the fee.
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