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Mandatory disclaimer- my views are mine alone, and do not represent the Social Security Administration, the Department of the Interior that fucks up our paychecks, either house of Congress which forgets we exist 98% of the time. I may well be wrong in any of these answers. If you accept my bullshit at face value and gently caress up your own money, try saying out loud "the man on the internet comedy forum CLEARLY SAID-" to the next representative you talk to and see what happens. So be warned. I've worked for SSA for about a decade now. My job is taking disability and retirement claims, but I also touch many other areas, to include SSI (Supplemental Security Income). I'd like to answer any questions I can that you may have. Obviously, this offer is only good in the United States. While I find other countries' social safety nets interesting, I do not pretend to know a drat thing about them. Things I can help with a good deal: 1. Basic entitlement questions ("how do I qualify for ____) 2. Rules and guidance concerning specific situations ("I've got 3 godnieces and a stepuncle on SSI and I blah blah blah") 3. Basic procedures (no, you cannot show a photo of your driver's license you took on your iPhone and get your Social Security card) 4. The benefits offered and who qualifies. Things I can maybe kinda help with but don't hold your breath: 1. Timelines ("how long will my disability claim take to process"- it depends on where you are, what your ailment is, and how far behind your area of the country is on things) Things I absolutely cannot help with: 1. Why questions- because the answer to all of these starts with "because Congress" and then it usually gets worse from there. 2. I don't know your chances of getting approved. It all depends on how much medical evidence you have on your side, your age, your prior work history, any observations put down by the Claims Specialist that took your claim, how good the DDS examiner is at their job, how much they hate people who have your name, what the ALJ ate for breakfast, etc. I'm only being partially facetious. There's far more luck involved in the situation than there should be. Some basic answers to start with: 1. Yes, we have a cost of living allowance (COLA) increase at the end of this year, 3.2%. You will see it on your January 2024 payment. 2. Yes, Medicare premiums went up, but thankfully not as bad as expected. Part B base premiums will be $174.70 next year, up from $164.90. 3. There's only three ways to get on Medicare right now (unless you worked for a specific copper mine in Montana, and no I am not making that up): - Be 65 or older - Be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits for 2 years (not SSI) - Have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), to include dialysis or a transplant needed or done. 4. The basic number to get in touch with SSA is 1-800-772-1213. You will most likely have better chances (quicker and better answers) from your local Field Office. The teleservice reps at the 1-800 number are not as well trained, are under an enormous time-per-call crunch, and the system stays overloaded. Yes, there is a button on the SSA website that is supposed to locate your local field office. Yes, it is broken, like many links on the website. You're better off googling. 5. SSA is tremendously understaffed, and after a brief spike of hiring this year, things look to continue to decline. We get that you're frustrated, and we're not happy with the level of service we're able to provide either. That doesn't mean you should tolerate bad service, but it does mean that the timelines we give you for things are bad and we can't change that. 6. If you want a replacement Social Security card, all you need is a valid driver's license or passport. You can order it online (ssa.gov) and not even have to come in. If you don't have those things, or have a different situation (name change, adoption, etc), then yeah that's where things get picky. If it helps, I can type up a basic introduction to what Social Security is, and what it offers.
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Oct 23, 2023 06:01
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Here's a quick one that I think I already know the answer to. Is there any point in fighting it if my partner was denied disability for not having enough work credits in the past so many years? From the bit of googling I did, that rule is pretty set in stone and no amount of fighting it will get them to overrule it. But I mean, her disability was the reason it took so long to apply.. (she has severe bipolar, had her psychiatrist write a letter and all, the only issue as far as i know was the lack of work credits) Thanks!
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Oct 23, 2023 23:23
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Yeah, that's pretty set in stone. Earnings are concrete numbers, and the only way to appeal there is if you have earnings that are not being counted. And, of course, you didn't hear it from me, but plenty of people on the verge will suddenly find about 6-10 grand in self-employment to put on their taxes and get over the hump. To be honest, there's more variance and room for appeal on the onset side, but even there it still has to be supported by evidence. One of the sadder things I see is when someone delays filing for disability until they have no other option due to pride and the stigma around it, and by then they are no longer insured.
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Oct 24, 2023 01:57
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I want to throw out I've been with SSA 35 years in several different capacities, clerical, teleservice and field office. I'm a technical expert but more importantly am happy to throw in some fun stories from my career if GD doesn't think it will derail the thread.
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Oct 29, 2023 23:48
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Nutella posted:I want to throw out I've been with SSA 35 years in several different capacities, clerical, teleservice and field office. I'm a technical expert but more importantly am happy to throw in some fun stories from my career if GD doesn't think it will derail the thread. Sheeeeit, I'll probably end up asking you things.
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Oct 30, 2023 02:54
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No time like now to add some content, I guess. Start with the basics- what do I need to order a replacement Social Security card? Here's the bingo free space- don't come in with just your birth certificate, like too many assholes do. This isn't 1975. ID theft is a thing. The burden of proof is higher now. Also we don't accept photocopies, a picture of your driver's license on your phone, or a family member vouching for you. Because, cmon. Option 1- Do you have a valid driver's license, state ID (ie, the non-driver version of a driver's license), or passport? Go online and order it at ssa.gov. (For the love of god, DOT GOV.) Scroll down a little until you see the "replace card" option. (Under "Number & Card"). You do have to create a user account, but you're free to ignore it after that. The main headache there is creating a password that meets all the stupid government rules and then the two-factor verification. It's still much less of a pain in the rear end than visiting in the office. If your address can be verified against your records with Experian (the credit agency they contracted with for verification), voila. Your card will arrive in 10-14 days. If it takes longer than two weeks, it's not coming. The Post Office ate it. Order it again. Option 1A- "I've moved recently/want it sent to my grandma's house/use a PO Box because my neighbors are crackheads". The website will say it can't order your card, but it will save your information and (as of a few months back) will offer to schedule you an appointment in office to show your ID and have them order a card. The actual process takes maybe 3 minutes; the wait varies tremendously. Some offices prioritize appointments. Some are basically understaffed, slow moving train wrecks. Be kind. Option 2- "I've lost my wallet, which I carry my Social Security card around in for some reason. It had all my ID in it". The fun ones. SSA rules state we're supposed to ask for a primary ID (passport, DL, non driver state ID), and if you can't get one within 10 days, you can use one of the below secondary forms of ID. I haven't seen an office that stresses that point, but YMMV. So, per RM 10210.420 of our Policy and Operations Manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110210420 We can accept, for an adult 18 or over: quote:• U.S. military identification card for active duty member, retiree, national guard, or dependent So, some plain English here. If you just got married and want to change your name, you can apply online but it'll force you to come in and show your proofs. If you got married within the last two years, the certificate/decree is all you need, it's your ID and proof of new name together. (Any gender can do it- since Obergefell, we're officially gender neutral on marriage issues.) You can't use it as an ID unless you're also there to change your name, though. School IDs or records for adults are same-school year only. Most colleges are too cheap to issue an ID card every school year, so they rarely will work. (It must have the school year on the card.) Medicaid/health insurance cards rarely have the person's DOB on them (that's what they mean by biographical data), so they usually don't work either. The usual path for a person who has no ID that works is the certified medical extract. Go to any doctor you've ever seen (it does not matter what kind of doctor, nor does it matter how long ago the treatment was), get something showing treatment by that doctor- a visit record, something, and have someone in that office sign or stamp it. Voila. ID. Make sure it's not an immunization (because nurses do those, get it), and that the printout shows the date of issue (usually somewhere on the bottom it'll show the print date). If you get a service rep saying the treatment has to be within the last four years, you get to be that rare person that out bureaucrats the bureaucrat, and point out that the only requirement is that the actual printout was issued within the last four years. Quit loving carrying your Social Security card in your wallet. Option 3- I need one for my kid(s). Can't do these online yet (and I doubt we ever will). Bring ID for you (anything listed above works), and then look at the upper section of the chart I linked for what we take as ID for the children. Yes, even your two month old infant needs ID. We basically break into 3 categories: 5 and under, 6-17 years old, and adults (18+). The biggest distinction is that for 5 and under, we can take a certified (signed or stamped) immunization record as the child's ID. Over 5, we cannot. They're of school age, and at that point the usual thing people use is a certified (ie, signed or stamped) school record or school profile (must show the kid's name and DOB- report cards usually don't). I love love love when anti-vaxxers tell me at this point they didn't have their child immunized. I act like I haven't been on the internet in the last 25 years, that this is the first time I've heard of such a thing, and that the thought of a parent being that irresponsible is so foreign that I cannot form coherent words. Option 4- I want to change my gender. This used to be an ordeal, but one of the few good things our current incompetent Acting Commissioner has done right is clearing that up. You literally just have to ask now. If you're worried you might run into a MAGA type (yeah, every branch of government has em, sadly) that will make poo poo up, have RM 10212.200.B.2 pulled up on your phone: https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110212200 quote:No evidence is required to support an update in the sex field on the NUMIDENT. Accept the sex designation as indicated by the number holder or proper applicant. And tell on them to their supervisor. Because gently caress them. Note- for non-binary folks, we're supposed to tell you that system limitations require us to assign one of the two genders. This is actually true; SSA IT infrastructure is incredibly ancient and jury-rigged, and SSA is probably both unwilling to spend the money to make a major foundational change, and scared that it will break many other things. Like a lot of things, this is probably going to end up fixed one day due to a lawsuit. Option 5- I need a whole-rear end new Social Security Number due to identity theft. This is a tough one. It is possible, but the burden of proof is pretty high. I can't link the regulation (it's restricted), but I can tell you that there is no one specific thing or form you have to provide. Essentially, you have to provide evidence (police reports, credit reports, or anything else supporting your case) that the identity theft is providing a severe problem to your life. This is a judgement call for the SSA employee; we're supposed to counsel you on the things that can go wrong with having a new SSN (we're not the only organization with lovely IT- many people face issues with banks or insurance companies). Option 6- I'm on the run from an abusive partner. Thankfully, there's a carve-out for this. The SSA magical phrase to drop for this is HALE (Harassment, Abuse, and Life Endangerment). It's not a commonly dealt with issue, so the service rep you deal with may be caught flatfooted when you ask about it. The agency has a special team that handles these cases, and the field office is supposed to contact them to handle it. I haven't taken any of these cases, but I have seen HALE records and let me tell you, they do not screw around. Every bit of the new identity is essentially stamped HANDLE WITH loving CARE OR ELSE. Option 7- I need my Social Security card, today. We don't have an expedite option like passports. 10-14 days in the mail. Option 8- I'm gonna get fired/not get hired if I don't show my boss something with my SSN on it, today. (taps sign that says FAILURE TO PLAN ON YOUR PART DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN EMERGENCY ON MINE) But seriously, we can't do SSN printouts anymore. They were too much of a vector for identity theft. We're supposed to, at that point, mention e-Verify as an option (the employer has to run your SSN and match it against your name/DOB, so that proves it). The handout covering this situation (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10559.pdf) doesn't mention this because they'd rather push employers to sign up for the verification service, but our policy does state that we can call the employer to tell them why we can't provide anything on paper. I don't ever mind doing that, and neither should any decent rep. (Not on my work computer, will edit that in later when I find the reference) GD_American fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Oct 30, 2023 |
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Oct 30, 2023 04:29
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Placeholder for more content to come: Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Uncle Sam loves doing that poo poo. Medicare and Medicaid are two vastly different programs, but also one massively confusing consonant off. 1. SSDI (Disability) is the same thing as the Social Security retirement benefit everyone is familiar with. You work, pay FICA taxes (so does your employer), build an earnings record, in the hopes that one day at retirement age (62+) you'll be able to get some of it back. The distinction for Disability is that if you cannot keep working into retirement age due to a mental or physical disability, you can draw that retirement benefit earlier due to your disability. The amount you get is based on what you paid in FICA taxes. This is why lower earners receive lower benefits. The way I usually explain it is, we don't measure sweat. We measure taxes. I know that someone making 600 bucks a month in Social Security might well have busted their rear end harder than the guy making $3k a month. But that's not how it works. The SSA definition of a disability is a physical or mental condition that prevents you from working a significant amount, and which is expected to last 12 months or longer, or end in your death. This means we don't do short-term or partial disability. Usually you'll either file online, or make an appointment and do a roughly 60-90 minute interview with a Claims Specialist (my job), or in rare circumstances you can actually fill out the paper forms. I'd advise against it- there are multiple forms involved, and if you don't have all the right ones together it slows things down. From that point, the claim is sent to a state agency called DDS (Disability Determination Service). Every state has one of these, because under our weird blend of federalism, the specific definitions of disability can be state law-dependent. These offices are fighting to keep staff, usually terribly underfunded, and do not pay their examiners very well. This is usually the part that takes the longest in getting a decision back, both because it takes time to request medical records, and because they have such a case backlog. Once approved, there are a few lovely actuarial gotchas built into the rules made by Congress, even before you get to the shortcomings of our bureaucracy. SSDI has a statutory five month waiting period. That means no matter what your disability*, even if it's stage 4 cancer, you have to wait five full calendar months before entitlement to Disability. Example- Your boss runs over your foot with a forklift 10/3/2023. Your waiting period consists of 11/23, 12/23, 1/24, 2/24, and 3/24. Your first month of entitlement is April 2024. We pay a month in arrears, so if approved, your first check will be May 2024. * ALS is the only disease that waives the five month waiting period. The only one. Congratulate the ALS Caucus for getting it across the finish line. And wonder why the gently caress we can't do that for some other diseases. Or just everybody. OK, so now you're getting a disability check, half a year after getting hurt. Time to go to the doctor, right? Nope. Medicare entitlement starts after you have been entitled to Disability benefit for two freaking years. Not two years since you got hurt (in this example, 10/3/25). Two years of entitlement. So April of 2026. Until then? That's a you problem, according to the law as it stands now. Can you work? Kinda. It gets complicated as poo poo. More on that in another post. 2. Supplemental Security Income (SSI)- I have to have a drink for this one. More to come later.
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Oct 30, 2023 04:57
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Not sure if you can answer this but my mom has SSI from when she worked briefly plus 50 percent of my dad's SS benefits. However, our math suggests she should be earning more than what SS determined. Her contribution is correct, but we're not sure what numbers SS determined for 50 percent of my father's. Is there a way to see the breakdown online or do we have to go to the office to find out?
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Oct 30, 2023 14:15
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DTaeKim posted:Not sure if you can answer this but my mom has SSI from when she worked briefly plus 50 percent of my dad's SS benefits. However, our math suggests she should be earning more than what SS determined. Her contribution is correct, but we're not sure what numbers SS determined for 50 percent of my father's. Is there a way to see the breakdown online or do we have to go to the office to find out? SSI is a needs-based benefit (ie, welfare), not an earnings based one. I'm guessing she is actually getting Social Security retirement, plus spousal benefits off your father. Since you mentioned half, I'm assuming your father is still alive (survivor benefits have different math). My shortcut when talking to claimants is asking what day they get paid. Only SSI gets paid on the 1st of the month. Earnings-based benefits get paid either on the 3rd of the month, or the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wednesday of the month. It's a common misconception that spousal benefits are half, and we don't help much in clearing that up. Actually the half part comes at the beginning of the math problem, not the end. The good news is for this calculation, the amount she gets on her own earnings is irrelevant (just trust me on that). https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0300615201 You start off with an amount called the PIA- Primary Insurance Amount. This is the basic number that every person's earnings record has; it's the amount you'd get per month if you either filed for Social Security Disability, or filed for Social Security Retirement at your Full Retirement Age (FRA). For virtually all of us, it's going to be 67 (unless Congress does more dumb poo poo), but your mom's may be somewhere between 66 and 67. A quick chart (assuming her birthday isn't literally January 1st, which throws poo poo off): Birth year (1954 or earlier): FRA is age 66. 1955: FRA is 66 years and 2 months. 1956: FRA is 66 years and 4 months. 1957: FRA is 66 years and 6 months. 1958: FRA is 66 years and 8 months. 1959: FRA is 66 years and 10 months. 1960 or later: FRA is 67 years old. So, what's important here is your dad's PIA. This is the starting point for the calculation. OK? Now chop it in half. That's the starting point for the spousal calculation, known as the Original Benefit (OB). Round down any cents to the nearest dime. Now, the next part of the math is your mother's entitlement date. What month is the first month your mother as entitled spousal benefits? Was it prior to her Full Retirement Age? If so, how many months prior? That number right there is what's called her Reduction Factors (RFs). The real math is that her benefit is reduced by 25/36th of a percent each month she retired early. The easy way to calculate is this formula: If the number of RFs is 36 or less: ((OB) x (144 - RF))/144 = the Maximum Benefit Allowable (MBA), ie the amount she's due. Round down to the nearest dime, but they only pay whole dollars. If there are more than 36 RFS: ((OB) - (144- RF))/240 = their MBA. Benefit calculation errors are extremely rare, if it makes you feel better. Most incorrect benefits are due to missing earnings on a record.
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Oct 30, 2023 16:38
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Wow, that calculation looks as clear as mud. From my understanding, my father retired at 70 (born in 1953) and my mother retired at 66 years and 6 months (born in 1967). I understand the 50 percent comes from my father's PIA at age 66. According to them, they pulled out that number and calculated 50 percent and their number comes out roughly $300 more per month than what she received. Is there some other math I'm missing short of reviewing their numbers again?
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Oct 30, 2023 17:23
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GD_American posted:And, of course, you didn't hear it from me, but plenty of people on the verge will suddenly find about 6-10 grand in self-employment to put on their taxes and get over the hump. Page 1 and already on the topic of "suggestions on how to perform social security fraud" - surprising! Admiral101 fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Oct 31, 2023 |
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Oct 31, 2023 00:25
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DTaeKim posted:Wow, that calculation looks as clear as mud. How is your mother getting right paid now for retiring in the year 2033? Admiral101 posted:Page 1 and already on the topic of "suggestions on how to perform social security fraud" - surprising! Oh trust me, we know what we see when someone with no work history all of a sudden starts getting right around 10-12k self-employment on their earnings record. A guy who recently retired made it his mission to burn EITC cheats, no matter how much we told him he was pissing in the wind.
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Oct 31, 2023 02:58
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GD_American posted:Oh trust me, we know what we see when someone with no work history all of a sudden starts getting right around 10-12k self-employment on their earnings record. Dunno why he'd stress about it, the IRS seems to put a fair amount of effort into finding earned income credit hijinks on their own judging by my experiences as a preparer (and the amount of time they spend threatening me if I gently caress around with it myself, of course, not that I blame them given how tax fraud is typically pulled off). Oddly enough I'd say with all the rideshare/delivery app stuff you're actually getting a lot more legitimate low-level self employment income people these days anyway since all the jobless/minimally employed jump for it. Boy they do NOT like learning about how income + SE tax works out when you don't have an employer withholding them for you (or the high price every tax software/preparer charges once you've wandered into the Business Income Zone, because we know how bad you will gently caress it up without a lot of trained professional help ("I need to know my mileage? Why?"  )).
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Oct 31, 2023 03:46
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An exceedingly common thing we see in the office: 1. Disability/SSI recipient ignores a hundred letters in the mail, only comes in when his check doesn't arrive. 2. We tell them their payment stopped because of work they didn't report, which showed up as S/E when they filed taxes for the prior year. 3. "I didn't do any of that, the tax lady did" 4. Sign here, we'll turn your check back on. 5. The IRS will want your bullshit tax refund back. 6. They come back the next year with the same issue. He used to get livid when the bullshit self-employment stacked up enough that somebody with no work history and 4-5 years of fraudulent returns now got qualified for Disability. To the point that he'd check the earnings records of people who were checked in there for like Social Security cards, and then make sure he saw them and brought up their "earnings". Our state doesn't regulate tax preparers in any way, so we have tons of fly-by-night GUARANTEED REFUND places with a table, a chair, and a copy of TurboTax.
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Oct 31, 2023 04:17
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GD_American posted:How is your mother getting right paid now for retiring in the year 2033? Fat fingered typo. She was born in 1957 and waited the requisite six months to collect full benefits.
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Oct 31, 2023 16:45
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GD_American posted:This is actually true; SSA IT infrastructure is incredibly ancient and jury-rigged, I don't want to distract from the main purpose of your thread, but any good anecdotes?
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Nov 1, 2023 04:16
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DTaeKim posted:Fat fingered typo. She was born in 1957 and waited the requisite six months to collect full benefits. Ah. Then you're probably making the common mistake of figuring half of what your father makes (which, retiring at age 70, is his PIA plus up to 48 Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs)), instead of half of his PIA. Like I said the half-for-spouses part comes at the beginning of the math problem, not the end. I don't want to put your info out to the world, but if you really want me to go over the numbers in a PM I can. Pekinduck posted:I don't want to distract from the main purpose of your thread, but any good anecdotes? I do, but this is a a big enough subject I need to build up a head of steam. Give me a few days to anger-type a megapost.
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Nov 1, 2023 04:35
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Sent you a PM, thanks!
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Nov 1, 2023 16:06
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So, SSA IT. First off, let me say, since this is the only government job I've ever had, that a lot of people who scoff about "government IT" are being somewhat unfair. I've seen a lot of terrible, outdated IT in the private sector too. And I've also seen IT that looks primitive as hell but never got updated because it never needed to; greenscreen DOS stuff for industrial equipment that flawlessly does the seven things the machine needs, and would only get less reliable and more complicated if you tried to modernize it. So, SSA IT. First off, the backbone. SSA systems run on more than 60 million lines of COBOL, and require mainframe inputs for very simple transactions at the most basic user level, which are batch processed overnight. This means that there are no instantaneous changes, and that overnight processing, due to having a very specific order of processes, sometimes means your inputs won't show up for 2-3 days even. Purpose-built (sometimes decades old) programs each line up for their pass at the data for the purpose of their very specific task. Any changes in Social Security law that may change the calculations we make (or classes of individuals) is incredibly expensive and error-prone to program for. At the basic user level, we run two green screen terminal emulators using IBM Personal Communicator. You make what are essentially coding inputs (and for certain classes of benefits they were never able to fully automate, such as SSI couples' cases, they are literally coding inputs). If I showed you a person's Master Benefit Record (MBR- their record for Title II benefits such as retirement/disability/survivors), or Supplemental Security Record (SSR, the same but for Title XVI SSI/welfare), it'd look like complete Greek to you. That's because none of it is in plain language. By the way, those two records use different codes. You have to learn how read both types of codes just to answer a person's basic questions about their benefits. That's why it's generally accepted that it takes three years to train a Service Rep to any kind of proficiency. For what is basically a data entry/customer service job. So here's a worst case scenario. A man and his wife who both are on SSI want to change their address to the house next door. In a normal GUI, you'd just make like a maximum of three keystrokes or clicks to get to the address field, right? And just turn that "666 Hellfire Lane" into "668 Hellfire Lane". But in our systems, I open up PCOM, navigate to the correct screen, and type in the following: (person's SSN) + C, enter BC7(routing number)(C for checking account, S for savings)(account number).AD668 Hellfire Lane.AY7Mobile.AT7AL.ZP736602.RA668 Hellfire Lane.AY7Mobile.AT7AL.ZP36602.TL7(phone number).LA701480AA. You may think that you can skip typing the bank account, because that's not gonna change, right? Well, the input will look like it works. And then it will never change. And then you have to look up the error code a day later (overnight run, remember?), find the error code, and then look it up to realize that actually yeah, it doesn't work if you try to change the address without also typing in the direct deposit. Dumb poo poo like that. Basic rear end inputs that take far too long to make, train, and verify.
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Nov 2, 2023 02:28
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My wife's hearing was yesterday. She's very nervous that she didn't explicitly say enough out loud, but she had written a letter and provided reams of medical evidence about her headaches. I felt like it went well. she emphasized that she needs to constantly manage time, take lots of breaks, and rest. The judge turned to the labor expert person, as far as I can tell this is the person whose job it is to say what jobs my wife can do in the national economy and make $314 per week. The labor expert talked about number I think meant my wifes history has higher paying jobs that you need fewer hours per week to be "substantially gainful". But then the judge was asking her questions about "time on task" and "days missed per month" and the labor person said "precluded" a bunch. I think between the massive pile of medical documents the personal letter and the testimony the judge understands that my wife can't work a regular job with regular breaks because if she looks down too much she just gets massive headaches.  , I guess
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Nov 3, 2023 13:52
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Harold Fjord posted:My wife's hearing was yesterday. She's very nervous that she didn't explicitly say enough out loud, but she had written a letter and provided reams of medical evidence about her headaches. I've been through this exact same kind of hearing to get SSI and the labor expert repeating "precluded" and all those hypotheticals is going to be burned into my brain forever. (Not in a bad way, it's just the thing I remember the most about it.) Best of luck to you and your wife!
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Nov 6, 2023 03:24
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I have a disability but I’m not disabled. When is the appropriate time to have the “Reasonable Accommodations” conversation with a job? During the interview or when they make the offer? It’s a government design job but it’s hybrid part time. I’m high risk to Covid complications so in a perfect world they’d let me go full remote but I know better. Right now they offer 3 days in 2 days remote I’d like 1-2 days in and the rest remote so I’m not as exposed to the half of the state that is vaccine hesitant. But most likely when I say I’m high risk they’ll probably just tell me to buy a mask or “We found another candidate that matched our specifications”.
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Nov 12, 2023 22:05
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There's too many variables there for me to answer (it's more of a question for the Fed thread here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3324421&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1)
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Nov 12, 2023 22:34
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Black Noise posted:I have a disability but I’m not disabled. When is the appropriate time to have the “Reasonable Accommodations” conversation with a job? During the interview or when they make the offer? I don't have a perfect answer for you but I DO know people personally who work from home full time in a federal government position due to medical exemption, so don't feel like asking is out of the question!
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Nov 13, 2023 13:33
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I don’t understand the rating scale. I don’t see my kid successfully performing SGA or ever living fully independently. I’m also not sure if they’d be assessed under 12.03, 12.05, 12.11 or 12.15 - do they decide on a criteria based on diagnoses and what happens when you have an alphabet soup of comorbidities? I still have another year before I’ll help them apply, but would like to get the documentation squared away. They’re in a separate setting classroom and have a former classmate who had an initial denial at age 18. Knowing that kid for two years (and knowing he can’t be left unsupervised for more than an hour), I would’ve expected it to be a clear cut yes.
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Nov 27, 2023 00:05
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It'd be nice to rope in a DDS examiner for that one; I flat-out admit I do not understand a lot of the denials I see for CDB/DAC benefits. Many of them seem to envision a perfect world of vocational rehab and career placement, and that's even before we get into the ridiculous roles they assume are available to the permanently physically compromised. As for comorbidities, the sad truth is a lot of claimants go with the big two/three and don't bother putting the rest on the claim (or the claims specialist gets lazy and huffy if you want to list more than a half-dozen conditions). For applicants (you in this case, the kid is the claimant) who are willing to do the homework and get poo poo together, doing a paper application is not the worst idea in the world. Just make sure to follow up with your local field office to make sure it gets sent off to DDS in a timely fashion. The big thing is that while you can fill out the SSA-3368 for them (the meat of the application), the kid themselves (if they're 12 or over) has to sign the SSA-827 (release of medical records) themselves in those cases. Internet applications go to a giant stack in a Workload Support Unit, aka an office that's not local or possibly even in the same state, with specialists working a few dozen a day out of the giant stack. Avoid if possible.
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Nov 27, 2023 00:29
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How long before age 18 should I send it in? And do they consider any of the under 18 previously submitted info at age 18 redetermination (kid previously qualified when they were living with biofam, and kept benefits during foster care)?
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Nov 27, 2023 00:42
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You can file for DAC benefits as early as 17 years, 6 months, unless a parent is receiving child in care benefits and needs the kid's disability entitlement to continue drawing CIC benefits, in which case they can file at age 16. To make sure- is one of their parents either deceased or on Social Security? Because that's the basic requirement. Also- is the child still receiving SSI? At age 18, they are supposed to both do a medical CDR (medical review, ensuring they meet the adult requirements) and a redetermination (review of their living arrangements, to see they meet the non-medical income/resource benefits). and also file for any DAC benefits that can be payable. I know previous decisions are used as sources of medical information not included in the current claim, but how much they weight into the adult decision, I do not know.
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Nov 27, 2023 02:25
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One birth parent is deceased, but I don’t believe there were any death benefits as I highly doubt that parent had enough years of legitimate income in the system (parent died before age 40 and was intermittently homeless). Plus that parent is not on their new birth certificate. They had income qualified SSI up until adoption. DSS had been the payee while they were in foster care so I think any overages from the time it took to get it shut off were repaid. I mostly want to get them set up with SSI as an adult so I can keep them on Medicaid. I know they’ll get a reduced benefit because I’ll still pay for most of their housing and food.
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Nov 27, 2023 13:58
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Adoption does not terminate entitlement on a birth parent's record. Also, it's worth looking into, because if that person died earlier than retirement age, they needed fewer credits than normal to be insured for survivor benefits. You may be surprised. While shelter will continue to be considered income for SSI purposes, food is probably going away as an issue in the next release or two of the Federal Register. Also, check the table on this page: https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-child-ussi.htm by number of ineligible children, they just mean "how many other kids in the household, who don't get SSI?" And earned income = wages and self-employment, unearned = a lot of things but mainly government type benefits such as Social Security/unemployment. If it looks like your household is under the limit, try to apply for them as a kid. Even if it's borderline, make an appointment and get an official determination.
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Dec 4, 2023 07:20
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GD_American posted:Adoption does not terminate entitlement on a birth parent's record. Also, it's worth looking into, because if that person died earlier than retirement age, they needed fewer credits than normal to be insured for survivor benefits. You may be surprised. I actually don’t think biodad is on their original birth certificate, so that may complicate things. I confirmed ineligibility when I called and talked through to get the address changed when I figured out correspondence was still being sent to DSS.
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Dec 4, 2023 14:16
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If I only worked 15 or so years total, and choose the earliest withdraw, is there a way to calculate how much my monthly $$ is going to be?
Fozzy The Bear fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Dec 5, 2023 |
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Dec 5, 2023 06:22
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Engineer Lenk posted:I actually don’t think biodad is on their original birth certificate, so that may complicate things. I hate these cases. Here's how I work the evidence chain: 1. Birth certificate or numident (our record). 2. Married to the mom (presumption of paternity largely guided by state law) 3. Court paperwork (paternity suit, child support) 4. DNA (goes by state law, usually matrilineal/family tests won't cut it) 5. Written acknowledgement of paternity (did he file for disability and list the kid? Put the kid on his insurance at work? Write a letter acknowledging paternity in some way?) Make an appointment and file and make them go through the steps. You might be surprised. Worst that happens is a no. Fozzy The Bear posted:If I only worked 15 or so years total, and choose the earliest withdraw, is there a way to calculate how much my monthly $$ is going to be? https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/anypia/index.html Or you can call or go into the office. They can give you quotes for any age. The big difference between the online calculators and us giving you a quote is the online ones presume continuing work (you're making 30k? If you kept making 30k until age 62 you'd get ____) and our quotes go only off of your existing work record, which kind of assumes no earnings ever posted again.
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Dec 5, 2023 07:18
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GD_American posted:I hate these cases. Here's how I work the evidence chain: Eh, 1. No 2. No 3. No 4. No 5. Unlikely, and I wouldn’t have any of that anyway Biodad had a lot of substance issues (mostly opioids) and was periodically incarcerated, I really doubt he did much above the table work. It doesn’t seem worth the effort to ask.
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Dec 5, 2023 16:55
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GD_American posted:https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/anypia/index.html Thanks for this! They updated the online one, so that you can put in a different income. If I make $500/year until age 62 I'll get $800/month in society security. Guess I need to keep working.
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Dec 13, 2023 20:19
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Fozzy The Bear posted:Thanks for this! $500 in a year isn't even enough to qualify for one Quarter of Coverage (QC), of which you need 40 to qualify for retirement benefits so no, if it's telling you that it's very wrong.
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Dec 14, 2023 03:29
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GD_American posted:So, SSA IT. Yeah, people often have a knee-jerk reaction to replace old systems that work fine for their intended purpose and won't be improved by modernization. A computer science professor shared an example he was involved with: Delta or one of the big airlines wanted to explore rewriting their mainframe-based flight scheduling system to something more modern. Everything had to be transferred over seamlessly, no downtime acceptable. They hired a consulting company who looked at everything and said it can be done, for 300 million dollars. The benefits would have to be enormous to justify that. GD_American posted:So, SSA IT. That's wild, thanks for sharing. I imagine the batch based system could be hard to change, but surely they could put a more humane UI on top of it?
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Dec 23, 2023 21:13
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Pekinduck posted:That's wild, thanks for sharing. I imagine the batch based system could be hard to change, but surely they could put a more humane UI on top of it? That's their goal, with the meager budget we're told they have. They've come up with an incompletely fielded browser based overlay that is at once prettier, slower to load, and only slightly more in plain English.
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Dec 24, 2023 12:05
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I was talking to my mom earlier tonight and she mentioned getting a message from "social security" and that she tried to log into their website but the website said you can only log in during "business hours". Do I need to be concerned that she got phished or scammed or something, or does the actual social security website close down for weekends and nights?
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Mar 10, 2024 07:44
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counterfeitsaint posted:I was talking to my mom earlier tonight and she mentioned getting a message from "social security" and that she tried to log into their website but the website said you can only log in during "business hours". Do I need to be concerned that she got phished or scammed or something, or does the actual social security website close down for weekends and nights? Yeah that sounds pretty suspicious. The big thing is making sure she's at the actual dot gov website. What was the message?
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Mar 10, 2024 16:42
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