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Social Security Disability and mental impairments
While individuals may collect benefits for both physical and mental medical conditions under the Social Security Disability program, it is much harder to secure benefits for a mental illness. This is because symptoms associated with a mental disability are difficult…
Pulse of The People: Reject Chained CPI
A flawed policy initiative called the Chained CPI is gaining steam in Washington budget talks that would shortchange New Yorkers who receive federal benefits such as Social Security and federal annuities by low balling their annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs.) Chained CPI…
Don’t Destroy Your Social Security Disability Claim By Failing to Accurately Complete the Work History Report
When you apply for Social Security Disability benefits the Social Security Administration is going to send you a form called the Work History Report form (SSA-3369-BK) http://www.ssa.gov/online/ssa/3369.pdf. Unfortunately, many Social Security Disability applicants don’t do a complete job of filling out the…
New study warns of US long-term debt problems
A new government study says that federal health care and retirement programs threaten to overwhelm the federal budget and harm the economy in coming decades unless Washington finds the political will to restrain their inexorable growth. The long-term pressures promise…
FTC Cracks Down On Bogus Medical Discount Scam Targeting Seniors
The Federal Trade Commission has shut down a medical discount scheme that scammed seniors across the country by offering phony discounts on prescription drugs and pretending to be affiliated with Medicare, Social Security, or medical insurance providers. In a complaint filed…
Guide to Social Security
After years of being told that Social Security is “going broke” or that it “won’t be enough”, or that you have to be “old” to collect, baby boomers are starting to realize that Social Security will be an important source…
Elder Care Benefits and Social Security
Seniors receive lots of elder care benefits and Social Security is among them. Social Security is among the long-term benefits the seniors receive in addition to Medicare insurance. Receiving benefits usually begins at 65 and continues before the dying of…
Taxing Medicare Benefits
In a recent post, I discussed the nontaxation of imputed rent – the income homeowners receive from themselves by virtue of being both landlord and renter – which, judging by the comments, many readers found bizarre. In my continuing series on tax expenditures,…
A timely reminder: Sign up for online Social Security account
I was pleased to receive an automatic e-mail alert from the Social Security Administration Monday urging me to review my Social Security statement online. Just like in the old days of paper statements when an annual benefits estimate would arrive in…
Senators highlight report on improper disability payments
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ranking Member Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), on Sept. 16, highlighted the report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled, “Disability Insurance:…