Both spouses can claim Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. However, each spouse must qualify on their own. SSDI benefits consider the work history and earnings of each person who has worked and paid Social Security taxes for the required number of years.
Family Benefit Amounts
If neither spouse has children eligible for SSDI family
For adults receiving disability benefits, pursuing a career is often not an option. To receive such benefits, an individual must not be able to engage in “substantial gainful activity.” The federal government defines substantial gainful activity as earning more than $1,550 a month (in 2024) through employment.
However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) does offer
Social Security Disability Insurance(SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are two federaldisability benefits programs that provide monetary assistance for people with disabilities. Both programs allow recipients who work to deduct certain work-related expenses from their countable income. This can make it easier to qualify for benefits or, in the case of SSI, to receive a
An attorney asks:
I am seeking guidance for a client who is potentially subject to back pay from SSA. If a person is not able to spend down the funds is there a best way to move money out of their
Whether supplemental or special, these trusts serve the same purpose of helping meet the needs of individuals with disabilities while still permitting them to qualify for vital public benefits programs. But there are different categories of special needs trusts and important differences between them that warrant a longer explanation.
Continue Reading Supplemental vs. Special Needs Trusts: Any Difference?
The Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) has tremendous implications for our practice, primarily negative, but is a huge boon to planning for persons with disabilities who have been shut out of the private insurance market in the past. Our law firm’s loss is our clients’ gains, and we couldn’t be happier
We’re working on an appeal of another attorney’s client’s case that was lost at a Social Security Adminsitration Administrative Law Judge hearing. In reviewing the twelve page decision, we find the judge wrote the following (the typos are ALL his):
"Rather, when examined by Dr. Miguel xxxx, a psychiatrist at the request of the office of
It would be difficult to underestimate the positive impact of ObamaCare – the Affordable Care Act – on persons with disabilities. In the last two weeks, I have had three clients who were seeking a finding of "disabled" by the Social Security Administration because being found eligible for a monthly disability check would qualify them to receive health care. None of them are now that they can purchase health insurance.
The private profit-making health insurance industry will not take individuals with pre-existing health conditions. One client, a published author, had lost her health insurance when she developed Crohn’s Disease. Although it was initially somewhat managed, painfully, by medications, she now needs to have many feet of necrotic intestinal tissue removed surgically from her stomach. Even though she has money, no insurance company would sell her health insurance. She has too much money for Medicaid eligibility. She will die without surgery.Continue Reading The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on persons with disabilities
Each year the Social Security Administration announces in October if there will be any changes in the amount of payments of SSI and SSDI due to Cost of Living Adjustments. The new payments for SSI for 2012 are $698 to and individual, and $1048 to a married couple who are both on SSI. SSI is
Congratulations and a big thank you to our Florida Congressmen, Ander Crenshaw and Kendrick Meek, who have introduced legislation to allow families to plan for their loved ones with some significant tax saings. Information on the bill follows. To see the bill in its entirety, click on H.R. 1205.
Disability Savings Accounts
The bipartisan Achieving