Income and Qualifications for Social Security Disability

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Anyone can become either temporarily or permanently disabled. Some projections are estimating that Americans in their 20s today have an approximate 30 percent chance of experiencing a disability profound enough to cause them to miss three or more months of work before retiring. Despite the risks, most Americans do not carry short or long-term disability insurance. Close to half of all mortgage foreclosures are due to owners being struck with a disability, and fewer than 15 percent of people who purchase life insurance opt for disability insurance. The Social Security Administration (SSA) was tasked in 1956 to address disability and work income by creating a disability insurance program. Throughout its long history, additional rules have contributed to its complex regulations and eligibility requirements that make applying for disability benefits difficult.

The disability benefits are in the form of monthly payments to provide a safety net for qualified individuals who have become too disabled to work. The benefits are paid through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Programs. Both of the programs are intended for disabled workers, but they have different benefits and qualifying requirements as well as different funding sources.

To become eligible for the SSDI program, you will have worked a required number of years in a job where you paid into the social security taxes (FICA, Federal Insurance Contributions Act). You have to have accrued a certain number of work credits. You can earn up to 4 work credits per year. Workers that do not have the required number of work years and who also have low income and minimal assets can apply for SSI. In both programs, you are not eligible to be engaged in a substantial gainful activity (SGA), earning a certain amount of income from some other work.

The number of work credits required as a qualification for SSDI benefits depends on the age at which you became disabled. Generally, it is possible to qualify if you have earned at least 20 credits in the ten years before being disabled and if you have earned credits that total 40 or more. If you do not have enough work credits to qualify, there is a chance you can become qualified based on a spouse or parent’s work record. There are many regulations governing eligibility for SSDI, and each individual has a varied work history. To understand how to qualify and how much you should be able to receive, it is best to contact a legal professional for help.

Once you qualify from a work history perspective for SSDI, then you must prove you meet medical eligibility requirements. SSDI benefits are available to those workers who have a severe, long-term, or total disability. A severe disability is a condition that interferes with general work-related actions. Long-term disability means you are unable to perform “substantial gainful activity” (SGA) for a minimum of one year. Total disability is a person’s inability to work in their own or any other occupation for which they are suited by training, experience, or education due to a sickness or injury.

SSI medical qualifications are similar to medical terms used in SSDI qualifications; however, these individuals must also have limited resources and a low income. The benefits from the SSI program are funded through general tax revenue and not dependent on your work history or having paid into the social security taxes known as FICA.

For either program, it can be challenging to qualify for the SSA’s definition of disabled. To be considered disabled by the SSA, your condition has to last a year or be expected to last a year. Or your condition should be expected to result in your death. Your condition must also significantly limit your abilities to do necessary work activities like walking, sitting, standing, or retaining and remembering information. Additionally, your condition must be listed in the SSA’s “Listing of Impairments” (Blue Book) or have medical equivalency to listed conditions. Finally, your condition must prevent you from doing any work for which you qualify before your disability.

Becoming approved for benefits is a lengthy and often frustrating process as many people are denied on their first application. A myriad of forms, doctors’ recommendations, personal medical history, work, and tax documentation all contribute to becoming accepted into either program. You can apply online or at your local social security office. It is best to contact the office to schedule an appointment to submit your application for benefits. Regarding financial qualification, be prepared with your work history and current earnings, household assets and income, your bank, and financial institution information. Also required is your current and past employers and up to five jobs you have held in the past 15 years, any other benefits you may be receiving, your status of citizenship, and, if applicable, any paperwork from a military discharge.  Pay stubs, proof of citizenship, W-2s or 1099s, information about your disability, and detailed medical records are all pertinent data to bring.

An initial application that is denied has multiple stages of appeal. You can enter a request for reconsideration or even go up as high as an appeal to a federal court. If your condition has made you very sick and you are experiencing a severe medical condition, there is a streamlined process known as the SSA’s Compassionate Allowance List. This list primarily includes adult brain disorders, certain cancers, and several rare disorders that affect children.

If and when you are approved for disability income through SSDI or SSI, there is a waiting period. Benefits will not be made available to you until you have been disabled for a full five months, and, likely, you will not be approved for six months to a year, including the likelihood for at least one level of appeal. Be prepared from the outset for a lengthy process and improve your chances for approval with a well thought out, legally reviewed application for disability income.

If you have questions or need guidance through your planning or planning for a loved one, please do not hesitate to contact our Ruston, Louisiana office by calling us at (318) 255-1760.

 

VA Pension Eligibility for Non-Disabled Wartime Veterans

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It is a challenge to keep up with US Military benefits as they are always changing, and many veterans miss out on what can be life-changing aid. Many wartime veterans receive a disability pension due to injury. But did you know that wartime veterans age 65 or more may qualify for a VA Pension without being disabled? The Veteran’s Administration qualifications for this type of VA Pension include:

  • Your military service discharge is deemed anything other than dishonorable conditions,
  • Your service was 90 or more active duty days with at minimum one day of service during a period of wartime.
  • You are age 65 years or older,
  • Your countable family income is below a threshold set every year by law.

2020 Family Income Limits (Effective December 1, 2019)

If you are a… Your yearly income must be less than…*
Veteran with no dependents $13,752*
Veteran with a spouse or a child $18,008**
Housebound veteran with no dependents $16,805
Housebound veteran with one dependent $21,063
Veteran who needs aid and attendance and has no dependents $22,939
Veteran who needs aid and attendance (A/A) and has one dependent $27,195
Two veterans married to each other $18,008
Add for each additional child to any category above $2,351

 

*Some income is not counted toward the yearly limit (for example, welfare benefits, some wages earned by dependent children, and Supplemental Security Income. It is also important to note that your medical-related expenses are considered when determining your yearly family income. *To be deducted, medical expenses must exceed $687 ** To be deducted, medical expenses must exceed $900

 The financial information chart above, published by military.com, is commensurate with the numbers posted on the Veteran’s Administration website.  Be aware; there is a look-back period that will determine if you have transferred assets in the three years previous to filing your claim. There would be a penalty period rate of $2,266 if you did move assets for less than fair market value during this period.

The VA will pay a qualified veteran the difference between personal countable family income and the yearly income limit category into which they fall. Payments are made in 12 equal installments per month and rounded down to the nearest dollar. As an example, a single veteran with a $5,000 annual income qualifies for an annual limit of $13,752. Subtracting that veteran’s income from the income limit yields an annual pension rate of $8,752, which translates into a VA monthly pension check of $729.33 or $729.00 rounded down to the nearest dollar value.

The VA website recognizes the following wartime periods that determine if your service was during an eligible wartime period:

  • World War II (December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946)
  • Korean conflict (June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955)
  • Vietnam War era (February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975, for Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period. August 5, 1964, to May 7, 1975, for Veterans who served outside the Republic of Vietnam.)
  • Gulf War (August 2, 1990, through a future date to be set by law or presidential proclamation)

In addition to VA pension, wartime Veterans may also qualify for an additional allowance called Aid and Attendance. To qualify medically for VA Aid and Attendance, one of the following must be true:

  • Another person is required for you to perform daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and feeding, or
  • You spend a large portion, or all of your day in bed due to illness, or
  • Due to a loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability you are a patient in a nursing home, or
  • Your eyesight is severely limited (wearing glasses or contacts your eyesight is 5/200 or less in both eyes or your concentric contraction visual field is 5 degrees or less)

There are similar benefits available to surviving spouses of wartime Veterans. If you are a wartime veteran or the surviving spouse of a wartime Veteran, we can help you determine whether you could qualify for pension benefits.

While eligible veterans or surviving spouses can apply for benefits on their own through the www.va.gov  website, it is advisable to seek the advice of counsel before applying. There may be planning options available to avoid a penalty period and speed up the qualification process.

If you have questions or need guidance in your planning or planning for a loved one, please don’t hesitate to contact our Ruston, Louisiana office by calling us at (318) 255-1760.

 

How the Windfall Elimination Provision Could Reduce Your Social Security Benefits

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If you receive a pension from your employment that did not pay social security payroll taxes, your SSA benefit might be reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). How can you know if this is your situation? Your social security statement does not reflect any reduction in benefits because of the WEP. The SSA will wait until you file to collect benefits to tell you what your reduction is in the event you qualify for both social security and a non-covered pension. Without the ability to accurately calculate your social security benefits in advance, your retirement planning becomes challenging. However, you do not have to wait until you file for Social Security to understand if a reduction in benefits will apply to you.

So what are the mechanics of the WEP? The Social Security Amendments of 1983 created the WEP to prevent gaming the system by “double-dipping.” Double-dipping occurs when a retired worker receiving a pension from a job that did not pay social security payroll taxes additionally gets a social security benefits check. The WEP provision began reducing social security benefits for these workers who receive a pension from that job which did not pay into the system.

This reduction of benefits is most common among teachers and other public sector workers such as police and firefighters, state, county, and local employees, as well as non-profit organizations or if you were employed by another country. At the start, social security did not cover any public sector employees because states maintained pension funds. Over the years, however, many states dropped their pension funds and entered into the SSA coverage agreements, and the solvency of each state’s fund varies.

If public sector employment applies to your retirement, there is a rule that the maximum social security reduction can never be larger than one half of your pension. The impact of the WEP starts to diminish if you have more than 20 years of substantial covered earnings. The WEP does not apply to your benefits at all after 30 years of substantial covered earnings.

A person with a mixture of both private and public sector employment generally has a smaller percentage of their income applied to their average indexed monthly earnings. Many Americans are choosing to work past full retirement age, and if you have a mixture of public and private employment, search for a new job where you can work an additional ten or so years to offset the WEP reduction.

The SSA has not made understanding the calculation process simple. There is one set of rules that calculate your baseline retirement benefit payout, the second set of rules defining how that number will change depending on the age you choose to retire, and even more rules to cover special situations like the WEP. Factor in your state’s pension solvency situation (with the help of SSA coverage agreements), and you can see how retirement planning is becoming very complex. It is advisable to find a financial planner to sort out your pension and social security benefits position accurately.

Whether or not you find the Windfall Elimination Provision fair is usually based on how it affects your financial position. Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers are looking at ways to amend the WEP formula that “some feel unfairly penalizes many public employees,” says Representative Richard Neal (D-Mass). There are separate bills currently under review to address this problem of fairness. Some policymakers are advocating that all public sector workers pay into the social security payroll tax. While this would be a simple solution going forward, it does not address the concerns of public sector employees who are going to be WEP affected.

Fixing the issues that face social security benefits is complicated. Congress is currently looking at making changes to the Windfall Elimination Provision to address public sector worker and constituent concerns. The percentages of Americans employed by federal, state, or local government ranges from 10 to 25 percent depending on the state in which you live and that is not taking into account non-profit or foreign country employment. Because policymakers can change the social security benefits calculation formula, your retirement planning is a dynamic problem to solve. The WEP is a special situation rule calculation that can affect your social security benefit and is under scrutiny for potential revision. Know your employment history fully as it relates to social security rules before retiring.

If you are retired or thinking about retiring, now is the time to update your estate plan. It is important that your medical and financial needs are addressed in your plan, and that you name qualified people to help out if needed.

If you have questions or need guidance in your planning or planning or a loved one, please do not hesitate to contact our Ruston, Louisiana office by calling us at (318) 255-1760.

 

The Hybrid Policy and How it Can Help You

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You have probably heard about the astronomical costs of nursing-home care if you become seriously ill or injured. You might also know that Medicare would cover only a minimal amount of those costs. Private insurance doesn’t seem like a good bet either if you’ve heard horror stories about skyrocketing premium costs and difficulties in even obtaining long-term care (LTC) insurance in the first place.

There may be a better way. “Hybrid” policies essentially combine life insurance or an annuity with LTC coverage. (The benefits can be known as “accelerated death benefits” or “living benefits,” or the coverage can be called “life/long term care,” “linked benefits,” or a “combo” policy.)

This type of policy will pay if you need nursing care, but, if you never need that, then the policy functions like standard whole-life coverage. It’s a win-win. Say, for example, you buy a hybrid policy with a $100,000 death benefit. You eventually need $50,000 of that coverage to pay for LTC. Then, when you pass, your beneficiary would receive a $50,000 payout from what’s left of the original $100,000 coverage.

Some plans offer tax-free death benefits to your heirs if your LTC benefits are not fully used or needed. They may return your premiums if you change your mind down the road. Premiums can be locked in from the initial purchase date, with a guarantee that they will never increase. Those who already hold a legacy policy with a large cash value may be able to roll that value over, tax-free, into a new hybrid policy.

For those who can afford to pay premiums in a lump sum in advance, LTC coverage could amount to as much as twice the face value of the policy. Compare that with simply setting money aside for LTC expenses at a rate of five percent interest. It could take as long as thirty years to save for what this policy offered on its face.

There is a wide range of coverage, depending on the policies. They may cover different services, delivered at home, in a facility, or both. Monthly or daily benefits can vary. Some policies require an elimination period (a delay between the time a doctor qualifies you for coverage, and actual payment); some do not. Some provide inflation protection. Some provide adjustable rates, depending on how much the insured might need LTC as against the death benefit.

Always also remember that the carrier must have the long-term financial stability to pay claims, and to remain in business, for decades to come.

To sort through all these intricacies, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has issued a free and comprehensive Shopper’s Guide to LTC Insurance. It provides especially helpful shopping tips at pp. 31-36. Find the publication here.

We can create a long-term care plan that incorporates a hybrid plan like this with an irrevocable trust that will protect all of your bank accounts and real property (like your home) in the event you need long term care. If you are interested in protecting your savings and your home, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss a plan that works for you.

If you have any questions or need guidance in your planning or planning for a loved one, please don’t hesitate to contact our Ruston, Louisiana office by calling us at (318) 255-1760.