Approved Claimant Returns to Work – Are there any Defenses to a Continuing Disability Review or Termination Action by SSA
How should you prepare for a Continuing Disability Review (CDR) or notice of proposed termination? It depends on how vulnerable you are to losing. I received the following question from one of my readers:
I received a letter from SSA saying that they are reviewing my current SSDI benefit and possible to end my benefits due to substantial work between 2004 and now. I would like to have your advisement how I should handle this and what options I can do to keep my SSDI benefits. I only have Medicare insurance and living with AIDS. Also, I am deaf.
My response: Social Security is saying that you engaged in "substantial activity" from 2004 to the present. "Substantial activity" is a term of art and refers to activity that is work or work like activity. Substantial activity can be work for pay, volunteer work, school or other similar activites.
In a CDR context, Social Security is most likely looking at your earnings record. As you know, when you work your employer files copies of all W-2's and 1099's generated on behalf of employees. If you were working and your employer was withholding taxes as the law requires there is a written record of your earnings.
I have posted a table on this blog setting out what you can earn and still fall below SGA (substantial gainful activity). Social Security will look at your earnings month by month to calculate how many months you exceeded SGA. You could, in theory, could be asked to repay SSA for each month that you received earnings over SGA and also collected SSDI.
Note that a couple of other concepts apply hear. After you are deemed disabled, you are eligible for a trial work period of 9 months in which you can earn over SGA but still receive full benefits. Beyond that, you are placed into an extended period of eligibility (EPE) for disability for an additional 36 months. While in your EPE, you will be paid for months where you were under SGA and not paid for months over. So, your overpayment problem will reflect amounts paid to you during your EPE in months when you were over SGA.
If you take the position that you were not actually performing work at SGA level despite payment at or over SGA amounts, you will need to put on evidence to convince a judge that your benefits should not be terminated. This evidence can include your testimony, testimony from any employer and medical evidence. For example, if a relative gave you a "job" for the purpose of supporting you and getting a tax deduction and building up your Social Security account, and you were not doing anything of value you might have an argument.
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Comments on Approved Claimant Returns to Work – Are there any Defenses to a Continuing Disability Review or Termination Action by SSA
I was getting a ssI check and it was terminated do to my work incame and now I have a child who is sick he have seizures thay what pay my child do to my income and his dad income my son who need help. he ant but two year old what do I need to do about this please help on this
Jonathan,
Here I am with my funny name again. I know I've written to you before, but something new has come up. I was granted SSDI after an appeal in 2004, and have worked on and off since then. I have repaid about $10,000 in overpayments, and am currently repaying $18,000 more. My question is this: My EPE ended in June of this year, and the same month I took a 6-month contract programming job. I know that if I want continued benefits I have to apply for reinstatement. If I do so, do you know whether the decision will be made on the basic of my health (which has not improved), or on my work history since 2004, or both? Thank you again for your time.
I've been on SSDI since 1992 with HIV. No CDR until 2002, which was followed by start of full medical review. After I completed medical review forms (still in 2002), I received letter from local soc. sec. office apologizing for putting me through all those forms… stating they had just learned people determined disabled with HIV after 1991 are not subject to CDR's and medical reviews. The letter said I would not be receiving any more reviews. Nine years later, and living in a different state the past 7, still no CDR's. I'm 57 now with 18 years on SSDI with HIV/AIDS. Is the policy they informed me of in 2002 still in effect? I'm worried because I just obtained a copy of my medical record. Despite there's plenty of medical documentation as to my continued disability, an inept VA social worker I saw for therapy (and quit seeing a year ago because I experienced his behavior & tactics in session as unprofessional, inattentive, and questionably prejudicial) recorded multiple times in his notes that I was working part time when i was in fact volunteering. In one session's notes he stated I was "working full time for under the table money while still collecting SSDI". These statements are blatantly untrue, but I already lost a life insurance disability benefit because of his notations, and I'm scared to death I could lose my SSDI if they review and see his notes. I'm working toward requesting a correction to my VA medical records, but am not optimistic. It's his word against mine. The stress of this revelation the past few weeks is so extreme, my health, which has been half way decent the last couple years, is already in a downhill slide. If my record isn't amended, can I deny social security access to those specific notes? I saw a local legal aid attorney, but he wasn't much help other than to tell me to request amendment to my medical record.
been collecting disability for ptsd since 2006 and hadnt beeen under doctors care and am up for review filled out long form and sent back my condition hasnt improved and has gotten worse what are chances my checks will stop really worried here and scared can u please email me answer soon