Social Security Recipients May Receive a Raise in 2017

Posted October 18, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® On Tuesday, the Social Security Administration will announce the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, affecting nearly 66 million Americans who receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income payments.

Beneficiaries received no cost-of-living increase in 2016 due to soft inflation in 2015, including a plunge in the cost of gasoline and other energy products that depressed broad consumer-price gauges. The price measure used to calculate the annual COLA, the Labor Department’s consumer-price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W), fell 0.4% in the third quarter of 2015 compared with one year earlier. That translated into no change in benefits for the third time since the 2007-09 recession.

An upward adjustment is expected for next year’s payments as U.S. inflation gradually firms. But under the law, adjustments are calculated from a base in the last year when benefits were raised. So when the Labor Department releases its September CPI report on Tuesday morning, the third-quarter average for the CPI-W will be compared with its level in 2014, not 2015, to determine the Social Security adjustment for 2017.

The likely result is a small increase in benefits. The Social Security trustees’ report released in June forecast a 0.2% increase for next year. The American Institute for Economic Research this week predicted an increase in the 0.2% to 0.5% range, which would be the smallest rise (aside from years with no increase at all) since automatic adjustments began in the mid-1970s. Social Security benefits increased by 1.7% in 2015, 1.5% in 2014 and 1.7% in 2013.

The average monthly Social Security benefit check is currently $1,238. “Our forecasted increase would add between $2 and $6 to the average Social Security payment, less than the increases beneficiaries have seen in most recent years,” wrote Max Gulker, a senior research fellow at AIER, on the nonprofit group’s website. But, he added, the “small increase is not necessarily bad news for beneficiaries, as it reflects extremely low inflation over the past year.”

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/10/13/social-security-recipients-may-get-a-very-small-raise-in-2017/

By Thomas A. Klint of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

Social Security Adds an Extra Layer of Security to their Website

Posted September 29, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® The Social Security Administration has added an extra layer of security for individuals when they interact online using the “my Social Security” suite of services. The my Social Security feature is a section of the Administration’s website that allows you to create an account and view your contributions to your retirement and disability account, as well as estimated payments if you become disabled. All account holders are required to use their cell phone, in addition to their username and password, as an additional authentication factor during online registration and for each log in.

The Social Security Administration implemented this multi-factor authentication to comply with Executive Order 13681, which requires federal agencies to provide more secure authentication for their online services. This is just one of the methods the Administration uses to “ensure the safety and security of the resources entrusted to them.”

Now, all new and current my Social Security account holders will need to provide a cell phone number that is able to receive text messages. People will not be able to access their personal my Social Security account if they do not have a cell phone or do not wish to provide their cell phone number. The Administration expects to provide additional options in the future, dependent upon the requirements of national guidelines which are currently being revised.

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Source: http://www.disability-links.com/new-layer-security-www-ssa-gov/

Executive Order 13681: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/10/17/executive-order-improving-security-consumer-financial-transactions

By: Thomas A. Klint of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

Family Benefits for Social Security Disability Recipients

Posted September 23, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® One of the most important thing about Social Security disability benefits is payments to qualified family members. It is also one of the important distinctions between SSI and Social Security disability: only workers who have paid taxes into the system are eligible for full family coverage.

A family member may be eligible for a monthly benefit that is up to 50 percent of the worker’s disability payment. There is a limit to the total amount of money that can be paid to a family on one Social Security record. The limit, known as the family maximum, is between 150 and 180 percent of the primary worker’s disability benefit. This is true whether or not the spouse actually depended on the worker for support. Family benefits are not paid to SSI applicants, although a disabled spouse or child may be independently eligible.

– An eligible child can be a biological child, adopted child or stepchild. A dependent grandchild may also qualify. There are complicated rules for children of common law marriages and  illegitimate children, eligibility here may depend on state law.

– An ex-spouse over 62 may qualify if the marriage lasted over 10 years, and there is not eligibility on another record. This has no effect on the amount of benefits the worker’s current family receives.

– The Social Security program also pays benefits to adults who have a disability that began before age 22. These adults are paid regular disability on a parent’s Social Security earnings record. A child may have drawn SSI benefits until the time a parent retired, became disabled or died. This benefit comes into play after one of these events, and is important – it can take a disabled adult out of the vast asset restrictions of the SSI program.

– Children can qualify separately for SSI if they meet Social Security’s definition of disability, and if their family’s income and assets fall within the eligibility limits.

If you have any questions about these benefits, or about any point of Social Security law, please call us for a free consultation. We have seen cases where the application for family benefits is not automatically entered when a worker applies for benefits, and this can reduce the back benefit payments paid to families. Let us help you get all the benefits you deserve.

Source: http://www.disability-links.com/family-members-eligible-disability-benefits/

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LCC^®