Congress very recently passed a budget that will, among many other things, allow the social security disability trust fund to remain solvent through 2022. The disability trust fund was previously predicted to become insolvent as early as 2016.
As with the retirement trust fund, the future probably holds major changes for social security disability recipients.
Some recent proposals have included reducing disability benefits across the board by 20%, changing the definition of disability so that the ability to work part time disqualifies a person from receiving disability benefits, and increasing the ages when the special medical-vocational rules take effect. All of these changes would be devastating to disability recipients, whose average benefit it around $1150.
Currently, at the hearings level, social security has been focusing on “decisional quality.” This has resulted in a rate of disability allowances at hearing that is 10% less than in recent years. Now more than ever, having the help of an experienced attorney at your hearing is critical so that the best possible case can be presented now that the goal posts have been moved.
Social security is crucial for most Americans. Pay attention to politics and vote for candidates, Democrat or Republican, who are ready to go to Washington, D.C. to roll up their shirt sleeves to work to make Social Security safer and better for all of us. Contact our office to learn more.
