SS Retirement Benefits

This article gives great advice regarding getting when and how to get the most out of Social Security retirement benefits.

Pain Management Support

I represent a 58 year old former security officer with hip, shoulder and back impairments, whose Social Security Disability (“SSD”) application was approved without a hearing. What distinguished this case from the countless other SSD applications based on orthopedic impairments is the support from pain management physicians. 

The claimant had seen more than one pain management specialist, whose treatment records were provided. Just as importantly, we submitted reports detailing the claimant’s functionality. Those records and reports objectified the effects of the claimant’s pain. 

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) views the opinions of treating physicians with skeptically, which is why the SSA withdrew the rule that gave the opinions of treating physicians greater weight than the SSA doctors. I had numerous Administrative Law Judges (“ALJ’s”) and SSA medical experts tell me that they do not care what treating doctors say because they will say anything to help their patients. ALJ’s reject SSD applications by asserting claimant’s complaints of pain lack credibility and are inconsistent with the objective medical record. 

No medical specialist is in a better position to opine about the effects of a claimant’s subjective complaints of pain than a pain management specialist, which makes it more difficult for the SSA to deny a claim. Moreover, logic dictates that the SSA will find complaints of pain more credible when a claimant sees the need to treat with a pain management specialist.

Social Security Scam

We received a phone call today from a former client who was very upset because he had received a voice mail from Social Security accusing him of fraud. Fortunately, before returning the call, he called me. I advised my client that Social Security would never leave a message like that. I urged him to call his local Social Security office to advise them of the phone call, which obviously was a scam. Do not ever respond to such a call, and contact your local Social Security office if you have any questions.

More Trouble for SSD

The denial rates for Social Security Disability ("SSD") benefits have been increasing for several years now. Nonetheless, in order to invigorate that trend, the Trump Administration has changed the rules governing the hiring of Administrative Law Judges ("ALJ's"). Instead of going through a competitive interviewing process based on experience, the new executive order makes it easier for Presidential appointed Agency Heads to hire new ALJ's directly. This fosters the selection of ALJs who are predisposed to deny SSD benefits, which is a goal of the Administration.  More denials means more appeals, choking the already backlogged system with more claims, and increasing even further the amount of time that people will have to wait for a favorable decision.