From Kaiser Health News:
... Every year, tens of thousands of people who are disabled and unable to work consider taking early retirement benefits from Social Security. The underfunded federal disability system acknowledges that it is stymied by delays and dysfunction, even as over 1 million people await a decision on their benefits application.
The United States, which has one of the least generous disability programs among developed Western nations, denies most initial claims, leaving applicants to endure a lengthy appeals process. ...
"They don't have the luxury of waiting," said Charles T. Hall, a disability attorney based in Raleigh, North Carolina. "The vast majority of people need the money now, and you can get early retirement benefits in two months or less." ...
Most callers to the Social Security Administration are unable to reach an agent, and people seeking local field office assistance with an application can wait at least a month for an appointment ...
In a written statement, Social Security Administration spokesperson Darren Lutz acknowledged that wait times are "far too long," citing inconsistent and insufficient funding, staffing shortages, and other challenges. The agency refused to make officials available for a phone call to discuss the issue in more detail.
Caught in the tangle of dysfunction are disabled people with little or no income, who often take early retirement because they are struggling to pay for basics like housing, food, and medicine. In some cases, people end up homeless or die waiting for their disability benefits, lawyers told KFF Health News. ...
14 comments:
Beating a dead horse. Agency employees and beneficiaries have been sounding the alarm for years, yet nothing has changed. Big surprise. Employees are being CRUSHED with unmanageable workloads. If you don’t work for SSA currently, you can’t even fathom the workloads employees are carrying. The agencies solution? Crack the whip harder, fudge even more numbers to make it look less bad than it is, and offer overtime so employees can try to keep up with the soul crushing workloads! Yeah, that’s worked out well so far.
How often do Claims Specialists fail to explain to claimants that RIB and DIB can be pursued simultaneously if they are between 62 and FRA? How many representatives are involved unaware of that? For those that are aware, how often do they fail to discuss that with their clients, or discourage it since it lowers the retro and the fee in most cases?
1:44
I recently spoke to someone who was told by another attorney that they should not file for both because it would lock them into the early retirement rate regardless of what happens with their disability claim. This infuriates me. I can't imagine being so unsuccessful that I have to lie to people so I can potentially make more money.
The question about being disabled is on every application, retirement applications included. If the claimant answers the question YES then a claim should be taken for disability.
As a 100% disabled veteran who resides in Florida, my case was expedited and only took 3 years to obtain my benefits. I'm so glad my case was fast tracked.
LOL!
The online disability application actually specifically asks claimants age 62 or older filing for disability if they also wish to receive reduced retirement benefits. It records the claimant's response to the question on the internet application summary that is retained in SSA's records. It just so happens I literally spoke to a person today that turned full retirement age last month who had filed an internet application back in 07/22 -- the stored summary specifically showed that he declined to file for reduced retirement benefits.
Thing is, for people that don't file online, an application for Title II disability benefits (or any other type of Title II benefit) is an application for all classes of benefits under Title II. If a person over age 62 files for DIB and does not file for RIB, the retirement aspects of that application remain open and unadjudicated until the claimant or the agency does something to close it out. Same thing applies to DIB filers who are eligible for but do not file as a spouse or widow/disabled widow (and surviving divorced spouse/disabled surviving divorced spouse) and vice versa.
3:27: I always explain the option of filing for early disability along with our DIB app for clients between the ages of 62-65. I explain the risk, however, in that if I don't win their DIB case, they lose the ability to elect the full benefit amount at FRA. However, this is a complicated concept for many clients to understand. No mater how slowly and patiently I explain this choice to clients, some just don't grasp it. Hopefully the client you described wasn't lied to by his attorney and instead was just confused.
All of the above are true. Overtime is only a small part of the solution. Workloads during the normal everyday are CRUSHING. Who wants to work over tour?. The only reason there are New Hires is that they do not know what they are getting themselves into. Interviewers are routinely assigned 15-20 telephone redeterminations , IMPOSSIBLE. In my FO only mgmt can schedule leads on ELAS, (and none are available for at least 30-60 days!), all the base staff can do is request an appointment via e-mail. Untenable situation.
4:41, the retirement application asks "are you, or during the past 14 months have you been, unable to work because of illnesses, injuries, or conditions?"
This question works for some people but there are others who'd qualify for DI who would answer no to it--like if they reduced work to sub-SGA levels but were still employed. Others might say no because their primary reason for not working is different--caring for a relative or "choosing" to retire, even though they are disabled under SSA's standards. I think there are ways to make it clearer--so that more people who would qualify for DI answer yes, and so people who aren't eligible (like those whose inability to work lasted a week or two) are more likely to say no.
@1058. True. I've had retirement claimants answer no to the children question when they were the payee for a child on SSI that had been disabled since birth. One does have to ask a few more questions regarding being disabled as well.
I always tell my clients about the possible filing for both Title II retirement and DIB at the same time and yes, I also explain it lowers my fee if they do that but I don't care. Most do file for both but there are reasons not to. If you do collect early and are not found disabled in the end, you are locked in at the lower amount. Also, for some who receive LTD benefits and would have that amount deducted if they apply for retirement, there is no reason to start collecting the retirement early. And for those collecting WC, there is the issue of the WC offset and possible RIB/DIB election.
I even had one client want to collect disability to FRA and wanted to know at that point could they withdraw the claim to get the increased payments for delayed retirement. I honestly don't know the answer to that one.
Botton line is its complicated and no one filing strategy fits all.
@415
The answer is water under the bridge for now. But best answer is no. If they had already received benefits for more than a year, then no they can’t withdraw. Under a year, possibly, but if the withdraw is approved, they have to pay back all the benefits they received. If they took DIB (without taking the early RIB portion), then they are already getting their FRA amount as DIB payments. If they received a reduced RIB, and then were approved for DIB, the DIB amount is lower than the FRA amount based on the number of months of RIB they received before being approved for DIB. There is a lot of gray area in policy and it’s never as easy as giving a straight forward yes/no answer.
Claims Specialists? Even the worst ones still broach it 99.999999999999999% if the time. That’s quite the reach to disparage employees.
People need money to live so they file for reduced RIB while they await a decision on their DIB claim. It's that simple. Remember, one of the Republican proposals is not to allow simultaneous filing for DIB and reduced RIB.
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