DISABILITY BENEFIT TIP: What is the “Date Last Insured”?

Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) benefits are like an insurance program. While you are working, the FICA taxes you pay go toward your “premium.” After you stop working, your coverage lapses about five years later. The day this coverage lapses is called your date last insured (“DLI”). In order to be approved for SSDI benefits, you must be able to prove that you were disabled while still insured.

For example, if Client A was in a car accident in March 2000 and became unable to work, his DLI would be about five years later, or around March 2005. Even if he applies for benefits after that date, he could still be found eligible for SSDI benefits because he was “insured” at the time he became disabled. Even if Client A is found to be currently disabled, his claim will not be approved unless he can prove he was disabled before March 31, 2005. Note however, that waiting to apply for disability benefits can make the claim very difficult, as doctors’ offices tend to purge old records and Social Security relies on those records to make their decision.

As another example, Client B stopped working in March 2000 (but was still physically and mentally capable of working). His DLI was about five years later, or around March 2005. In August 2006, he was in a car accident and became disabled. He will not qualify for SSDI benefits because he was not “insured” at the time he became disabled.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) has different requirements for eligibility. Even if you do not qualify for SSDI benefits, you may still be able to receive SSI benefits.

Remember: Your date last insured does not affect when you must apply for benefits, but you must show that your disability began during the time you were insured.

Copyright (c) 2008 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.

Are Social Security Disability Benefits Taxable?

The National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) has a page devoted to answering this question. Click: http://198.173.77.57/tax.html.


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.

DISABILITY BENEFIT TIP: What is "sedentary work," "light work," "medium work," and "heavy work" and does it effect your disability claim?

Doctors are often asked to complete forms stating their patients' restrictions, limitations, and general capabilities. Insurance companies ask these doctors to state whether a client is capable of Sedentary, Light, Medium, Heavy and Very Heavy Work, but the insurance companies do not give accurate definitions of each type of work. A doctor might, therefore, state that a client is capable of "light duty" work when, in fact, their restrictions would preclude them from performing such work. Often, a doctor may say "light duty" when they just mean something less than full duty. They don't realize that "light" means something different to your disability insurance company or the Social Security Administration. By writing that you can do a certain level of work when you cannot actually do that much activity, they may be seriously hurting your disability case.

If your doctor has been asked to complete any forms that state what your restrictions and limitations are, it is a good idea to provide them with the following guidelines (taken directly from the U.S. government's Dictionary of Occupational Titles) for the requirements of each type of work:

Sedentary Work - exerting (lifting or pushing/pulling) up to 10 pounds of force occasionally (Occasionally: activity or condition exists up to 1/3 of the time) and/or a negligible amount of force frequently (Frequently: activity or condition exists from 1/3 to 2/3 of the time) or lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time, but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Light Work - exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly (Constantly: activity or condition exists 2/3 or more of the time) to move objects. Physical demand requirements are in excess of those for Sedentary Work. Even though the weight lifted may be only a negligible amount, a job should be rated Light Work: (1) when it requires walking or standing to a significant degree; or (2) when it requires sitting most of the time but entails pushing and/or pulling of arm or leg controls; and (3) when the job requires working at a production rate pace entailing the constant pushing and/or pulling of materials even though the weight of those materials is negligible. NOTE: The constant stress and strain of maintaining a production rate pace, especially in an industrial setting, can be and is physically demanding of a worker even though the amoung of force exerted is negligible.

Medium Work - exerting 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, and/or greater than negligible force up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical Demand requirements are in excess of those for Light Work.

Heavy Work - exerting 50 to 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 25 to 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or 10 to 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical Demand requirements are in excess of those for Medium Work.

Very Heavy - exerting in excess of 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or in excess of 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or in excess of 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical Demand requirements are in excess of those for Heavy Work.

REMEMBER: Give your doctor these guidelines before he or she completes any forms on your behalf. Remind your doctor to also consider non-exertional impairments (like difficulty concentrating because of medication side effects) that would make even Sedentary Work too difficult to perform.

Copyright (c) 2008 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.

Mid-Florida Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society Launches New Website

The Mid-Florida Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has launched its new website. Multiple Sclerosis - MS - is a complex neurological disease with a wide variety of symptoms that can appear rapidly but often improve or get worse without obvious cause over weeks or months. MS frequently leads to disability.

MS symptoms are different for every person who suffers from the disease. They vary in intensity and problem based on where the nerves are damaged. These symptoms may or may not be transient. The following is a list of some of the many symptoms of MS:

• Numbness or tingling in the limbs
• Impaired balance
• Change in vision such as blurred vision in one eye or double vision
• Fatigue that does not seem associated with activity
• Change in bowel, bladder, and sexual function
• Stiffness or tightness in the muscles
• Weakness
• Trouble walking

Disability attorney John Tucker is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mid-Florida Chapter of the National M.S. Society, an organization committed to curing M.S. in our lifetime.


Copyright (c) 2008 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 Representative Fee Cap Increases to $6,000 Effective June 22, 2009

The Social Security Administration has raised the cap on contingency attorney fees in Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") cases to $6,000, up from $5,300 effective June 22, 2009. The following was published in the Federal Register yesterday:

SUMMARY: We are increasing the maximum dollar amount limit for fee agreements approved under sections 206(a)(2)(A) and 1631(d)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act to $6,000. Effective June 22, 2009, decision-makers may approve fee agreements up to the new limit provided that the fee agreement otherwise meets the statutory conditions of the agreement process.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marg Handel, Office of Income Security Programs, phone (410) 965-4639, e-mail: marg.handel@ssa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Social Security Act (Act) p rovides a streamlined process for a representative to obtain approval of the fee he or she wishes to charge for representing a claimant before the agency. See, §§ 206(a)(2)(A) and 1631(d)(2)(A) of the Act, as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990, Public Law No. 101–508, § 5106. To use that process, the representative and the claimant must agree, in writing, to a fee that does not exceed the lesser of 25% of past due benefits or a prescribed dollar amount. OBRA of 1990 set the initial fee amount at $4,000 and gave the Commissioner the authority to increase it periodically, provided that the cumulative rate of increase did not at any time exceed the rate of increase in primary insurance amounts since January 1, 1991. The law further provided that notice of any increased amount shall be published in the Federal Register. On January 17, 2002, we published a notice raising the maximum fee to $5,300. With this notice, we announce that the maximum dollar amount for fee agreements will increase to $6,000. This increase does not exceed the rate of increase provided in OBRA of 1990. We believe this increase will adequately compensate representatives for their services while ensuring that claimants are protected from excessive fees. A decisionmaker may approve fees up to the new amount effective June 22, 2009. This effective date will ensure adequate time to provide training and guidance to our employees and to make necessary changes in our information technology infrastructure.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 74, No. 22, Page 6080.


Copyright (c) 2008 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.