Social Security

Tax season is officially upon us and April 15th will be here sooner than you know.  And many people want to know if their Social Security Disability Benefits are taxable.  I am not a tax professional or a tax attorney.  But I am a Social Security attorney.  The answer is that it depends.  It depends [...]

While many cases are still being sent to other hearing offices as well as the National Hearing Center, it appears that some Toledo cases filed less than a year ago are now being scheduled for hearing. Hopefully this progress will continue so that people in the Toledo area including Lima, Findlay, and Sandusky will have [...]

(1) Drug and/or alcohol addicts get benefits, why don’t I? As of 1996, it is not possible to receive social security disability benefits based solely on addiction. However, if someone is an active user, determination of their eligibility for benefits will depend on whether their use is “material” to their conditions.  In other words, if [...]

As part of their cost savings measures, the Social Security Administration has closed all temporary remote hearing sites.  For us, locally, that affects the Lima area.  Lima, Ohio used to have a temporary remote site where Administrative Law Judges would come in and conduct hearings so that Claimants would not have to travel long distances [...]

Election Day is upon us and I urge you to vote on November 8th or early vote and to vote NO on Issue 2. If you would like to vote early you may do so this week at your local Board of Elections: We Are Ohio – Action. Issue 2 is the referendum on Senate [...]

Parents of high school students turning 18 who receive Social Security benefits must be sure to check in with their local Social Security office to make sure the benefits continue beyond age 18 provided their recipient child is still in school. This information must be provided to the Social Security Administration. Otherwise, monthly Social Security [...]

The Social Security Administration announced this week that it is doing something that it hasn’t done since 2009 – give it’s recipients a cost of living adjustment. Social Security really does not have much choice on whether or not to increase benefits. The system as it is set up is based on the Consumer Price [...]

The federal government has concluded that electronic payments are not simply the best way to receive Government money; rather, they will soon be the only way.  The U.S. Department of the Treasury has a new rule phasing out paper checks for Federal benefits and nontax payments by March 1, 2013.  Moreover, effective May 1, 2011, [...]

Recently, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the federal government’s interpretation of an Iowa law, written before technology was available to allow genetic material to be preserved. This interpretation has led the court to conclude that a child did not qualify for benefits.  The eight year old girl, born two years after her [...]

Did you ever wonder what happened to your Social Security benefits if you were to leave the country?  If you are receiving benefits and you’re not outside of the country for over 30 days, the answer is nothing.  But if you are making a more permanent move, you will need to alert Social Security so [...]