Disability
Under both plans:

• A member must have at least 5 years of contributing service credit unless they are covered under the law enforcement division and become disabled due to an on-duty illness or injury.
• The member must go off the payroll because of a presumably permanent disabling condition, either mental or physical, which prevents the member from performing their current job duties. A disability benefit cannot be given due to a temporary illness or temporary disability. The disability does not have to have occurred on the job; a majority of the persons receiving a OPERS disability benefit became disabled as the result of a disease or an “off-the-job” accident.
• No more than two years have passed since contributing service has terminated, unless at the end of the two-year period the member was disabled and unable to file an application.
• The member is not receiving an age and service retirement benefit. Under the original plan, a member must file a disability application before age 60; under the revised plan, they may apply at any age.

The attorneys at the Law Office of Eric A. Jones, LLC can help you navigate the OPERS complex requirements, file your claim, and appeal denials.   There are no fees unless your claim for disability is approved.

Contact us for a free consultation at (614) 545-9998 or email consult@ericjoneslaw.com.

Information about Medicare changes for 2012, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov. For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.

The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.

SSA Press Office  440 Altmeyer Building  6401 Security Blvd.  Baltimore, MD 21235
410-965-8904  FAX 410-966-9973

Author: Brett Schmied

An overpayment occurs when Social Security is alleging that it paid a beneficiary more than it should have paid that particular beneficiary.  This is why it is important to report directly to your local Social Security office and inform Social Security a change occurred that could affect your monthly benefit amount. Please notify Social Security promptly by phone, mail or in person whenever a change occurs that could affect your benefits. Family members receiving benefits based on your work also should report events that might affect their payments.

The following must be reported: (1) if you begin working; (2) if you receive other disability benefits; (3) if you are offered services under Ticket to Work Program; (4) if you move; (5) if you change bank deposit accounts; (6) if you become unable to manage your benefits; (7) if you get a pension not covered by Social Security; (8) if you get married or divorced; (9) if you change your name; (10) if you care for child who receives benefits; (11) if you become a parent (either naturally or through adoption); (12) if you have an outstanding arrest warrant for certain felonies; (13) if you are convicted of a crime; (14) if you violate a condition of parole or probation; (15) if you leave the United States; (16) if your citizenship status changes; (17) if a beneficiary dies; (18) or if you receive Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits.

There are two options if an overpayment issue arises.  First, if you agree that you have been paid too much and that the overpayment amount is correct, you have options for repaying it.

If you are receiving Social Security benefits, Social Security will withhold the full amount of your benefit each month, unless you ask for a lesser withholding amount and Social Security approves your request. Generally, Social Security will approve your request to a lesser withholding amount as long as the overpayment would paid within 3 years.

If you are receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), generally Social Security will withhold 10 percent of the maximum federal benefit rate each month. If you cannot afford this, you may ask that less be taken from your benefit. Or you may ask to pay back the overpayment at a rate greater than 10 percent. The same general rule for lowering the amount applies here. Social Security will not start deducting money from your SSI payments until at least 60 days after it notifies you of the overpayment. If you no longer receive SSI, but you do receive Social Security, you can pay back your SSI overpayment by having up to 10 percent of your monthly Social Security benefit withheld.

If you are not receiving benefits, you can: send a check to Social Security for the entire amount of the overpayment within 30 days; or contact Social Security to set up a plan to pay back the amount in monthly installments. Generally, Social Security will likely approve an amount that would eliminate the overpayment within 3 years.

If you are not receiving benefits, and you do not pay the amount back, Social Security can recover the overpayment from your federal income tax refund or from your wages if you are working. Also, Social Security can recover overpayments from future SSI or Social Security benefits. Social Security also will report the delinquency to credit bureaus.

Alternatively, if you do not agree that you have been overpaid, or if you believe the amount is incorrect, you can appeal by filing form SSA-561 with your local Social Security office. Your appeal must be in writing. You should explain why you think you have not been overpaid or why you think the amount is not correct.

You have 60 days from the date on the original overpayment notice to file an appeal. Social Security will assume you got this letter five days after the date on it, unless you show Social Security that you did not get it within the five-day period. You must have a good reason for waiting more than 60 days to ask for an appeal.

If you believe you should not have to pay the money back, you can request that Social Security waive collection. You must submit form SSA-632 at your local Social Security office. There is no time limit for filing a waiver. In order for the waiver to be granted, you must prove: (1) the overpayment was not your fault; AND (2) paying the amount back would cause you financial hardship or be unfair for some other reason.

Social Security may ask you to give it proof of your income and expenses. Social Security also may ask you to meet with a Social Security representative. If so, it is important for you to attend this meeting.

Social Security will stop recovering the overpayment until it makes a decision on either your request for an appeal or a waiver. Remember, any decision can be appealed.

Please contact us at (877) SSD-IWIN or email consult@ericjoneslaw.com for additional information.

If your answers match the ones below, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is likely to award you benefits.

• Are you gainfully employed? NO
• Do you have a severe impairment? YES
• Will your impairment last 12 months or result in death? YES
• Does your disability meet one of SSA’s listed impairments? If YES, you qualify. If no …
• Are you able to work? No

How long do disability appeals take?

Although the rules and regulations that apply in determining if you qualify for benefits are very complex,  the actual application process is not as difficult as most people think.  The application can be completed online in the privacy of your own home. 

Applying online for disability benefits offers several advantages:

• You can start your disability claim immediately.  There is no need to wait for an appointment;
• You can apply from the convenience of your own home or on any computer; and
• You avoid trips to a Social Security office, saving you time and money.

You can use the online application to apply for benefits if you:

• Are age 18 or older;
• Have worked and paid Social Security taxes long enough to qualify;
• Have a medical condition that has prevented you from working or is expected to prevent you from working for at least 12 months or end in death; and
• Live in the United States or one of its territories/commonwealths.

The Social Security disability application process involves 4 easy steps:

• Step 1. Review the Adult Disability Checklist for details about what you will need before starting the online process. 
• Step 2. Fill out the online Disability Benefit Application to provide us with information regarding eligibility for payment. 
• Step 3. Fill out the online Adult Disability Report to provide us with medical and work history.  
• Step 4. Fill out, sign and mail or take the Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration to your local Social Security Office.

It is very helpful and strongly recommended that you gather the following information before you begin the applicaiton process:

•  
  • Military Service discharge information for all periods of active duty.
  • W-2 Form (or your IRS 1040 and Schedules C and SE if self-employed) from last year.
  • Social Security Number(s) for your spouse and minor children.
  • Checking or savings account number and bank routing number, if you want Direct Deposit for your benefit checks.
  • Name, address and phone number of someone we can contact who knows about your medical conditions and can help with your claim.
  • Names, addresses, phone numbers, patient ID numbers, and dates of treatment for all doctors, hospitals, and clinics. 
    NOTE: You may want to refer to any Medical Records you have.
  • Names of medicines you are taking and who prescribed them.
    NOTE: You may want to have your medicine bottles available.
  • Names and dates of medical tests you have had and who sent you for them.
  • Types of jobs and dates you worked for your last 5 jobs.
  • Information about any insurance or workers’ compensation claims you filed, such as claim number and name, address and phone number of insurance company.

Greetings all from Columbus ODAR,

This month, we’d like to up to date on some changes and activities since we were last in touch.

We are on the verge of getting final approval for an expansion of the office, taking over the rest of the floor. This is great news for us. Columbus has been understaffed for years with our judge to support staff ratio. This has been like the rest of the nation, partly due to budget constraints in the past. However, while other offices have been able to catch up, we’ve been limited by space in the office. We anticipate that the new space will include another hearing room and we anticipate adding another ALJ. Additionally, the new space will include a “spoke” for the National Hearing Center. These facilities, as we understand it, are stand alone offices with smaller video hearing rooms. In Columbus, the NHC space will be apart from Columbus ODAR. We’ll provide systems support, but it will be independent of us in every other way. We don’t have a timeline yet, but we’ll keep you posted as this exciting project moves forward.

Many of you know that Toledo and Akron ODAR offices are opening this month. Just last week, about 120 individuals received ALJ appointments and several of them will be assigned to those two offices. With judges and staff starting from scratch, we expect it will be a while before they schedule significant numbers of cases. Columbus has offered any help we can to both offices as they train staff and judges. There is still no decision on service area realignment (Lima, Mansfield), but again, we’ll let you know.

Speaking of the National Hearing Center, we recently transferred 400 of our oldest cases to the St. Louis NHC and will be transferring 300-400 monthly. You can expect to hear from them directly. We have made the conference room we converted to a video hearing room and one of our regular hearing rooms available to them to schedule hearings

I hope all of you in the area are responding to the effort to form the new CBA Social Security committee. Please contact Julie Hall or Ken Karlock for details. This committee has been a long time coming and we at ODAR are looking forward to this relationship as we work together to best serve your clients.

Finally, I’m pleased to advise that Judge John Montgomery, currently in the Cincinnati office, has accepted an offer to transfer to Columbus, effective August 29. Judge Montgomery was a staff attorney in Columbus for many years and we welcome him back.

More in September. Until then, stay cool!

John R. Allen

Chief U.S. Administrative Law Judge

Social Security Administration / ODAR

(Posted by Law Office of Eric A. Jones, LLC)

Contact Eric Jones at (614) 545-9998 for more information or questions about your disability case.

We offer all of our clients an integrated and full-service approach to meet their day-to-day and emerging needs in an effective, timely, and cost effective manner.

We represent our clients professionally, ethically and comprehensively. Our work begins with a detailed understanding of your business. We then develop an integrated legal strategy that contributes to your success.

– Kim H., Columbus, OH