David Paletta

Data on Approvals and Denials by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) at the Social Security Administration Office of Hearing Operations (OHO) in Fayetteville, North Carolina. 9/30/2017 - 9/28/2018. The 2nd appeal available to an individual who has been denied disability benefits is a Request for Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (often referred to as an ALJ). The Hearing may be in person or via a video conference. One of the most common questions I am asked is - what are my chances of winning? The Judge that hears the case is [...]

A handy tool SSA now provides is an online "My Social Security account". With this account, you can immediately view, download, or print your Social Security Statement. Your SSA Statement contains the most up-to-date information about your earnings and benefits, including disability and retirement benefits. When you create a my Social Security account, you will no longer receive a paper Social Security Statement in the mail. You will, however, receive an email reminder  approximately three months before your birthday, to remind you to review your Statement online. To create an online [...]

Data on Approvals and Denials by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) at the Social Security Administration Office of Hearing Operations (OHO) in Greensboro, North Carolina. 9/30/2017 - 9/28/2018. The 2nd appeal available to an individual who has been denied disability benefits is a Request for Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (often referred to as an ALJ). The Hearing may be in person or via a video conference. One of the most common questions I am asked is - what are my chances of winning? The Judge that hears the case is [...]

In order to be eligible for SSI disability benefits, an individual must meet Resource and Income limits set by the Social Security Administration (SSA). If the limits are not met, the individual can NOT receive benefits even if he or she is disabled. A summary of the regulations is set forth below. For 2018 the monthly SSI benefit is $750 for an individual and $1,125 for a couple. SI 00810.001. Who is eligible? (B)(1) An individual is eligible for SSI benefits if the person: • is disabled, is blind or is [...]

If a disability Judge (referred to as an ALJ) denies your case, you may appeal by filing a Request for Review by Social Security’s Appeals Council (AC). You do not appear before the AC. Your attorney will send a legal argument to the AC which will review the entire record. If the AC finds your appeal has merit, it will order another Hearing be held. It is unusual for the AC to directly award disability benefits. For fiscal year 2017 the top ten reasons for AC remands were as follows: #1.  [...]

Data on Approvals and Denials by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) at the Social Security Administration Office of Hearing Operations (OHO) in Raleigh, North Carolina. 9/30/2017 - 7/27/2018. The 2nd appeal available to an individual who has been denied disability benefits is a Request for Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (often referred to as an ALJ). The Hearing may be in person or via a video conference. One of the most common questions I am asked is - what are my chances of winning? The Judge that hears the case is certainly [...]

From time to time I get asked this question. It is a reasonable question because the amount of monthly disability benefits most people receive is difficult to live on. There is no simple black and white answer to this question, and the answer is influenced by the unique facts of each case. If you find yourself in this situation, here are a few guidelines to consider. 1. SSA performs continuing disability reviews. SSA will look at all information it deems relevant. Any work activity will be looked at closely. 2. SSA [...]

The Social Security Administration has a program to help disabled individuals return to work known as the Ticket to Work program. See https://www.ssa.gov/work/. This program applies to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Step 1 of the Ticket to Work program is a Trial Work Period (TWP). During TWP the individual receives full SSDI benefits regardless of earnings. TWP starts when gross earnings exceed $840/month. It continues until the individual accumulates 9 TWP service months (not necessarily consecutive) within a 60 month period. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will not conduct [...]