Social Security Disability

For disabled older Americans who are denied disability benefits from the Social Security Administration and must try to find employment, the labor market can be a cruel place. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) requires that successful applicants have a severe and well-documented medical impairment that not only prevents him/her from…

One of the biggest factors in proving you are no longer able to work at any job in the economy  and deserve to receive Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits is: How much pain do you suffer?  And one of the most difficult factors to prove is: How much pain do…

If the symptoms you experience as a result of your disability or medical condition interfere with your ability to perform the duties of an entry-level job, Social Security will consider you disabled.  However, the chance of succeeding on your claim improve if your condition or disability is common enough to…

If your initial claim for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits is denied, you have 60 days from the date of your denial to file an appeal.  Once you have filed the appeal, your claim is entered into a queue to receive a hearing in front of an Administrative Law…

It is official: New Yorkers have the worst wait times compared to every other state in the nation when trying to obtain Social Security benefits or schedule a hearing to vet their claims for benefits, according to data released by the Social Security Administration. In Manhattan, it now takes more…

According to recent numbers released by the Social Security Administration, 760,000 Americans are currently on the wait list for disability benefits.  With slashed funding and a shortage of Administrative Law Judges to handle the growing number of claims, many of these people find themselves taking drastic measures to survive. Take…

This article first appeared in The Buffalo News on August 2, 2018. When President Trump signed an executive order eliminating examinations and competitive hiring of administrative law judges (ALJs), he paved the way for cronyism and politicizing of these positions.  This decision is a threat to those applying for Social…

More than 100 House of Representatives members recently wrote a letter that called on the White House to stop additional closures of Social Security Administration offices and to reopen those that have already closed.  They stated that more than 10,000 people become eligible to retire each day, and the need…

In June, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative John Larson introduced legislation that will give the Social Security Administration (SSA) the necessary funds to restore timely services to beneficiaries.  The wait for a Social Security disability appeals decision has reached an all-time high of more than 600 days. Since 2010, funding…

The pending number of requests for Social Security Disability (SSD) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) hearings with administrative law judges (ALJs) at the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) has declined by 8.4 percent so far this fiscal year. This reflects a number of factors; however, it does not necessarily mean…