Skip to main content

4 WAYS TO LOSE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS

By Charles W. Forsythe, The Forsythe Firm, Huntsville, AL

 

I am going to discuss 4 ways to get your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits taken away. I'm not saying these are the only ways--just 4 common ways.

  1. Going to work. If you receive SSDI benefits you may not work at Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). If you do, Social Security will consider you to be no longer disabled and stop your benefits.

(SGA is an amount of earned income set by Social Security each year. In 2025 you are working at SGA level if you earn wages or self-employment of at least $1,620 per month (gross). This is NOT a limit on how much income you can have; it is a limit on how much you can WORK. There are no exceptions and it doesn't matter WHY you are working.

  1. Continuing Disability Review (CDR). Social Security will periodically review your case to see if you remain eligible for benefits. If they find that you've made "significant medical improvement" they may discontinue your benefits. Most CDRs do not result in loss of benefits but they may.

  1. Failure to continue medical treatment. If you stop seeing the doctor, discontinue all your medications or otherwise indicate that you are no longer under medical care, Social Security may interpret that as an indication of "significant medical improvement." Aside from that, when you have a Continuing Disability Review (CDR) you won't have any medical evidence to prove an ongoing disability. During a CDR, Social Security will contact your doctors to inquire about your current medical conditions and treatments.

    4. Incarceration. If you are incarcerated for more than 30 days, your Social                 Security benefits will be stopped--at least temporarily. Whether you can get             them back or not is anyone's guess.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT YOU WILL BE ASKED AT A DISABILITY HEARING

Most Social Security disability claims will be denied twice:  First at the end of the Application process, and again after the "Reconsideration" process.  The third stop will be a hearing before a federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). It is here at the hearing level that most SSDI claims are paid.  So, what do you need to know about your Social Security disability hearing?     First, the judge will follow the rules established by the Social Security Administration.  His or her job is to determine whether you meet the particular laws and rules to receive disability payments.  So, it is a legal proceeding where you must prove certain things in order to get paid. Among the things you must prove:  Your insured status with Social Security:  You have worked recently enough and paid into the Social Security trust fund to gain the required "work credits" to support your claim.  You have a severe medical or mental impairment supported by adequa...
Post a Comment
Read more

CAN YOU WIN YOUR DISABILITY APPEAL WITHOUT A LAWYER?

The Social Security Administration does not require you to have a lawyer to file an appeal or to appear at a hearing.  However, most people heading for a disability hearing will hire a lawyer or advocate to help them.   Studies have shown that you are about twice as likely to win with a lawyer.  A recent study found that claimants with no lawyer win about 30 percent of the time while claimants with a lawyer or advocate win 60 percent of the time.   " He just cooked his own goose." These statistics cover only one aspect of a disability appear--your odds of winning. The other important aspects are time and convenience. If you prepare and adjudicate your own disability appeal, expect to spend 12 to 24 months working on the case.  You will be collecting, reading and submitting hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records.  These records are complex and often difficult to understand.  And you must know how each medical record helps (or hurts) your dis...
Post a Comment
Read more

RED FLAGS IN SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY CASES

  RED FLAGS IN A SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY CASE A red flag is something that causes concern or raises a problem in a Social Security disability case.   In short, it’s something that may get the claim denied or cause a big problem. Here are some of the red flags that we see crop up: ·          Work after the alleged onset date (AOD).   Since the process takes so long, many claimants feel that they are forced to return to work for income.   Social Security often sees this as a sign that the claimant is not disabled. ·          Severe substance abuse.   Chronic and frequent abuse of drugs or alcohol can pose problems. ·           A skimpy work record.   A claimant who has worked very little or has jumped from job to job frequently may not have good credibility. ·          Quitting wo...
Post a Comment
Read more