Alabama Social Security Disability Guide - by The Forsythe Firm - (256) 799-0297.

Most claimants who are approved for Social Security disability benefits also receive back pay--paid in a lump sum--in addition to their monthly benefits.  Back pay depends on 2 things:  date of the application for benefits and date the disability began  You are permitted to collect retroactive benefits that you qualified for prior to filing your application.  You can collect benefits back to the date you became disabled.  However, the regulations limit these retroactive benefits to 12 months prior to the application date, even if you actually became disabled years earlier.  You are also entitled to add the 5 month waiting period, for a total maximum retroactive payment of 17 months. Back payments are different.  Back payments allow you to recover one month of benefits for each month after you filed your application, up to the month Social Security finally pays your benefit.  Back payments are in addition to retroactive benefits and there is...

SSDI stands for Social Security Disability Insurance.  When you first began working, the Government deducted a percentage of your wages, called a FICA tax.  This continued as long as you worked, in most cases.  This money was set aside in a government trust fund to help you if you later became disabled and could not work. SSDI is a type of insurance program, usually called "Social Security disability."  To get benefits out of SSDI, you must prove  that you have a medical disability so severe that you cannot work any full-time job; that this disability has lasted, or is expected to last, for at least 12 consecutive months. That sounds simple but Social Security has made it rather difficult to prove that you are disabled.  One reason is that their definition of 'disability' is so strict.  You usually must prove that you cannot perform even simple, unskilled work at the sedentary (sitting) level.  On top of that, the application process is som...

Many people are amazed by what is not covered by the Social Security Act and, therefore, do not qualify for disability payments.  Here are some examples: You were laid off and have looked everywhere for work but can't find a job. The type of jobs you were trained for no longer exist or have moved out of the USA. There are no jobs open in your field in the state of Alabama. You can't get a job that pays above minimum wage and you can't live on that. You can't get or renew a license to continue doing your present work. You can no longer pass the physical exam to keep your present job. While it might seem that those are perfectly good reasons for not working, the above problems are simply not medical disabilities :  they are unemployment problems.  The fact that no jobs exist, no jobs are open in your area or state, or you can't renew a license (such as a commercial drivers license) are not covered by Social Security. The last item, not being able to pass a ...

Starting federal disability payments first requires a medical determination that you are disabled.  This is accomplished by filing an application for Social Security disability under Title 2 of the Social Security Act.  A state agency known as the Disability Determination Service will examine your application to determine if you meet the requirements for disability. Here is a brief checklist of things you need to know as you consider filing for disability: Are you currently working?  If you are now earning at least $1,090 per month before taxes or withholding, you are engaged in substantial gainful activity and are not eligible for federal disability benefits. Are you covered by Title 2 disability insurance, also called SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance)?  Unless you are a very young individual, you generally would need to have worked at least 5 years out of the most recent 10 year period. You can find out if you are covered by calling Social Security ...

Fraud prevention seems to be Social Security's new top priority.  In November 2014, the Social Security Administration set up a new division called the Office of Anti-Fraud Programs (OAFP) .  The OAFP works closely with the Inspector General (the investigative and prosecution office) to combat fraud and waste.  Congress has allocated billions of dollars to the anti-fraud campaign. Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Calvin Colvin, said her office will take a stern stand against anyone found to be trying to abuse or defraud the system.  Ms. Colvin said:     “We will find you; we will prosecute you; we will seek the maximum punishment allowable under the law; and we will fight to restore to the American public the money you’ve stolen from the American people.”  There continues to be a backlog of over 1 million disability cases waiting to be heard, and over a million claimants have been waiting 3 years or longer to get their ...

I read an article written by a poorly informed reporter about how many people are on Social Security disability down in Hale County.  This reporter seemed to have the idea that a certain Dr. Timberlake down in Hale County was signing up people left and right for disability benefits.  The impression was that since there are few jobs in Hale County outside of manufacturing and farming, people with back pain can't do those jobs; therefore, the doctor finds that they are disabled.   As I said, the writer of this article was poorly informed.   Let me quote from the federal regulations which govern how Social Security treats opinions furnished by doctors:   We will not give any special significance to the source of an opinion on issues reserved to the Commissioner described in paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section.  (20 CFR 404.1527(2)(d) ). If you read the entire section of 20 CFR 404.1527, you will see that decisions about who is disabled...

The attorney who represents you for Social Security benefits cannot charge you a fee unless your case is favorably decided and results in past due benefits.  Also, the government will set the maximum fee that is allowed. Each fee must be approved by Social Security individually.  It is against the law to charge more fee than Social Security approves.  The attorney often waits 18 to 24 months to get paid.  Now, let's try this same arrangement on your medical doctor. Doc, I will pay you a fee - but only if I completely recover.  If your treatment doesn't totally cure me, I owe you nothing.  The maximum fee you can charge to treat me has been set by law.  A group of attorneys will review and approve your fee to be sure you don't charge me too much. You have to fill out several pages of complicated forms to get your fee approved. You won't get paid by most of your patients.  However, you will eventually collect some fee from about 40 pe...