Residency Requirements for Social Security Disability Benefits

Posted September 16, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® Your eligibility for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits may be affected by your citizenship status or where you live. Most SSD recipients are American citizens, either living in the United States or abroad. However, non-citizens who are permanent residents and have paid taxes into the Social Security system for the required amount of years are eligible for Social Security disability benefits, as are non-citizens who are veterans or active duty members of the U.S. military.

If you are neither a citizen nor a permanent resident, you still may be entitled to receive SSDI if you can show that you are lawfully present in the United States and meet certain other criteria. (8 U.S.C. § 1611(b)(2)).

Most foreign workers in the United States are covered under the U.S. Social Security program and can potentially qualify for disability benefits, even if they are not citizens or permanent residents. Federal law generally requires that all workers pay Social Security taxes, and therefore be covered under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for services performed in the United States. This is true even if they are nonresident aliens or employees who work here for short periods.

There are a few exceptions. Some nonimmigrant foreign students and exchange visitors temporarily working in the United States may be exempt from paying Social Security taxes and therefore would not qualify for disability benefits under SSDI if they became disabled.

The rules are stricter for Title XVI, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), benefits. To receive SSI, you generally must be either: (a) a citizen or national of the United States; or (b) a non-citizen who meets the alien eligibility criteria under the 1996 legislation and its amendments. Beginning August 22, 1996, most non-residents must meet two requirements to be eligible for SSI: first, the non-citizen must be in a qualified alien category; and second, must meet a condition that allows qualified aliens to get benefits. The seven categories of qualified aliens and qualifying conditions can be found here:
http://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-eligibility-ussi.htm

 

Additionally, to receive SSI payments, you must reside within one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or the Mariana Islands – individuals living in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or abroad may not receive SSI payments. You also cannot receive SSI while in prison or jail, and are not entitled to retroactive pay for that time.

If you are considering applying for benefits but are not sure whether you qualify, please contact us for a free case evaluation.

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

I was already approved for benefits, why is Social Security reviewing my case again?

Posted September 8, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® The Social Security Administration does not assume that you will be permanently disabled when you are granted Social Security Disability (SSDI/RSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits. Many of the conditions that prevent Social Security recipients from working can be expected to improve with time. Accordingly, the SSA periodically reviews the cases of Social Security disability recipients to determine whether they are still unable to work and therefore still considered disabled. This process is called a “continuing disability review,” or CDR.

When your application for Social Security Disability benefits is approved, the disability determination representative who handled your claim will set the dates for your continuing disability reviews (these dates are sometimes called “diaries”). The Certificate of Award you received when your claim was approved should indicate when you can expect your first review. Generally speaking, CDRs are set at every three years or every seven years.

• Medical Improvement Possible – If your case has been labeled as medical improvement possible (MIP), then you can expect a review at least once every three years. The SSA may review your case every three years if you have a condition that can reasonably be expected to improve, such as a mental illness.

• Medical Improvement Expected – In some cases, your claim could be reviewed even sooner than three years. For someone who has had their disability case classified as medical improvement expected (MIE), the case will be scheduled for a review within six to eighteen months after the applicant was first confirmed of having a disability. For example, if you were granted disability benefits while recovering from multiple knee surgeries, your case was probably classified as MIE. Additionally, babies who are awarded SSI benefits due to a low birth-weight will have their case reviewed by their first birthday. It is less likely that those over 55 will receive a CDR according to the MIE timeline.

• Medical Improvement Not Expected – You may be set to a seven year diary if you have a condition that is not expected to improve, such as blindness, autism, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, or other chronic conditions. These cases are categorized as medical improvement not expected (MINE). In addition, those over the age of 55 are often assigned seven year diaries simply because older individuals are less likely to improve than younger persons. Even disability recipients who have undoubtedly permanent conditions, such as amputations or mental retardation, may be subject to continuing disability reviews.

• Child SSI Recipients – Child SSI recipients will have their case reviewed at the time they turn 18, regardless of their disability.

• Deviation From These Guidelines – Although the above guidelines constitute the official procedure, the fact is that SSA has much leniency in determining when to do CDRs. There are a web of overlapping guidelines that SSA uses in setting the dates for CDRs. As a result, some SSD beneficiaries may see more frequent CDRs, while others go many years without being subject to one (the more common scenario because of current budget shortfalls). In general, the standard for proving ongoing disability are less strict in continuing disability reviews compared to the initial disability determination. The majority of claimants have their benefits continued following a CDR.

In addition to CDRs, which consist of reviewing the medical evidence in a claim, those receiving SSI will also be subject to “redeterminations.” Because SSI is a needs-based program with strict income and asset limits, the SSA regularly reviews beneficiaries’ income, resources, and living arrangements. If it is found that an individual is outside the allowable limits for SSI, then his or her SSI benefits will stop.

Re-determinations can be conducted anywhere from every one to six years. SSI claims are also subject to a re-determination when a beneficiary undergoes a change that could affect their eligibility (such as marriage).

Sources:

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10153.pdf

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10090.pdf

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

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month

Posted September 2, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. First officially recognized by the federal government in 1983, National Sickle Cell Awareness Month calls attention to sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic disease that researchers estimate affects between 90,000 and 100,000 Americans.

Sickle cell disease is inherited. People who have the disease inherit two copies of the sickle globin gene—one from each parent. The gene codes for production of an abnormal hemoglobin, leading red blood cells to become distorted and shaped like crescents or sickles. These cells are sticky and can block blood vessels, leading to organ damage, and severe episodes of pain known as crises.

Some people have mild symptoms, while others have very severe symptoms and are hospitalized frequently for treatment. Most people in the US with sickle cell disease can expect to live at least into middle age. Some of these people have few symptoms, but some live with a considerable burden of disease, including recurrent and chronic pain, lung disease, leg ulcers, and other complications. Persons with sickle cell disease are also at risk of pneumonia, bone infections, and other infections.

If sickle cell anemia has left you unable to work, you may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability benefits. Social Security pays benefits to individuals diagnosed with this medical condition that meet certain criteria, or can otherwise show that they are permanently disabled. If you or someone you know has a qualifying medical condition, please contact us for a free evaluation of your claim.

Source: National Institute of Health; http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/spotlight/fact-sheet/sickle-cell-disease-research-care

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