Social Security and VA Benefit Payments Go Paperless Starting Today - May 1, 2011

To reduce costs, the U.S. Treasury is going paperless. Starting May 1, 2011, the Treasury Department will begin phasing out paper checks. Benefit payments for things like Social Security Disability, SSI and Veterans Compensation will be made through electronic funds transfers directly into recipients' bank accounts. It is estimated that it will take 2 years to change the entire system away from paper checks.

The government estimates that this will save $1 billion over the next decade. This is in part due to the large influx of baby boomers who will begin receiving Social Security retirement checks - 18 million or so. Though a lot of people already get benefits directly deposited into their banks, the government still cuts paper checks to 11 million people.

Anyone that is receiving a check currently will have to change to direct deposit by March 1, 2013. The Treasury Department is saying that they will notify recipients of how to make that switch. If someone does not make the change, they will receive a Direct Express card.

Many of my clients have been doing this for years, and it works very well. Once benefits start, I have never had a client tell me they had a problem with their deposit being made on time.


Copyright (c) 2011 by Florida Disability Benefits Lawyer John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

New Treatment Options for Multiple Sclerosis

For those suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, more and more options for treatment keep getting introduced to the medical profession. The National M.S. Society magazine, Momentum, included a feature story in its Spring 2011 issue titled "A New Era: New Drugs, New Options, New Risk" that I would encourage anyone suffering from MS or who has a family member of friend with MS to read.

As an attorney representing people trying to get disability benefits, I see some of the devastating effects of MS. Multiple Sclerosis hits people in many different ways, but a horrible part of the disease is the fact that disability insurance companies and Social Security Disability often do not believe a person's symptoms are that bad. This is particularly true where someone with MS does not "look disabled," but the impact of the disease creeps up on them every day as they get more fatigued, develop blurry vision, have increasing difficulty holding things, or simply cannot concentrate on simple tasks.

If you would like more information about disability claims or are looking for a disability attorney in Florida, contact me at (866) 282-5260 or send me an email. We offer free consultations. Getting a little information before you apply for benefits puts your mind at ease, and it may also help you get your claim paid without having to hire a disability lawyer like me.


Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Social Security Disability or SSI Hearing? Read SSA's Own Stats to Find Out How Often Your Judge Pays Claims

Social Security Disability and SSI cases are handled by Administrative Law Judges - called "ALJs." Some ALJs pay award benefits more often than others. So, how do you know?

If your disability or SSI claim was scheduled for hearing, you can find the name of your Judge by looking at the Notice of Hearing letter. Click here to see the Social Security Administration's own statistics about how many claims your ALJ has paid or denied.

Keep in mind that Social Security's statistics also show that you are more likely to win a Social Security Disability / SSI attorney when you are represented by a knowledgeable attorney at your hearing.

Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Florida Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Proposed Social Security Rule Changes How the Government Collects and Evaluates Evidence in Disability Cases

A key portion of a proposed new regulation from Social Security states that the Social Security Administration wants to change how it collects evidence in Disability cases. A key part of the proposed regulation reads as follows:

"We propose to modify the requirement to recontact your medical source(s) first when we need to resolve an inconsistency or insufficiency in the evidence he or she provided. Depending on the nature of the inconsistency or insufficiency, there may be other, more appropriate sources from whom we could obtain the information we need. By giving adjudicators more flexibility in determining how best to obtain this information, we will be able to make a determination or decision on disability claims more quickly and efficiently in certain situations. Eventually, our need to recontact your medical source(s) in many situations will be significantly reduced as a result of our efforts to improve the evidence collection process through the increased utilization of Health Information Technology (HIT)."

The full proposed rule can be found at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-8388.pdf.

The Disability Law Firm is going to review the full proposal and offer comment later. We have to be careful to keep the Social Security Administration from restricting or harming the rights of those seeking Disability and SSI benefits.

Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Possible Government Shutdown Should Not Impact Social Security Disability Hearings

The current word that we have received from the Social Security Administration (SSA) about the possible government shutdown is that hearing offices and permanent remote sites will continue to hold Social Security Disability and SSI hearings if a shutdown occurs. SSA's hearings office is called the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, ODAR. We are told that ODARs will hold hearings, but staffing will only be Administrative Law Judges (ALJ's) and security personnel. Contract employees, like hearing assistants and vocational experts will also not be affected by a shutdown.

So, for now, it appears that hearings will go on. Who knows how long it will take for decisions to get written, but our firm and our clients are appearing at hearings next week as planned.


Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Social Security Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.