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Lawyer's community allows him independence with disability

When an unexpected injury occurs, the future can be frightening. There are numerous disabilities that can impede an individual's ability to work. For Pittsburgh residents who are facing vision or hearing problems, physical impairments or psychological disorders that prevent you from being able to work, there are options available for you.

For example, for over two decades, one man has been living with a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down. He receives Social Security Disability benefits for injuries along with Supplemental Security Income, but the $750 they bring in each month is not enough to get by on.

SSDI most important in rural communities

With disability claims on the rise, here in Pittsburgh as well as throughout the nation, studies have been conducted to find out who uses Social Security disability benefits the most. A recent data analysis shows that the communities that are the most dependent on SSDI benefits are poor rural areas.

People who use SSDI to get by are those who are below retirement age but cannot work due to medical reasons. Since the beginning of the recent recession, more than 400,000 Americans have joined the list of SSDI recipients annually. The monthly average is about $1,000 per person.

Suggestions to overhaul SSDI

America's Social Security system has come under fire recently for being too lenient and not cost-effective. The program was originally started by the federal government 1956 to help older workers with significant impairments that made them unable to work. It was expanded to support those with serious disabilities. Since then, Social Security disability benefits have degraded into a crutch for those with mild disabilities who do not desire to work and, recently, a kind of unemployment insurance not only for residents of Pittsburgh, but throughout the nation.

Mathematica, a policy research company, recently released a report critiquing the current Social Security disability system along with suggestions for improvement. Their Center for Studying Disability Policy stated that the current disability system has two major structural flaws: It encourages life-long impairment and is inconsistent across the country.

Home ownership and SSI benefits

Supplemental Security Income benefits were implemented to help those who are disabled, elderly or blind and do not have sufficient income and resources. Some Pennsylvania residents may worry that their home will automatically disqualify them for aid, but the Social Security Administration says that is not the case.

When considering a person's resources, the Social Security Administration does not count the house that the applicant resides in when considering SSI claims. Any money that a person can use for support is considered a resource. A person's resource as a single cannot exceed $2,000, while a married couple's resources cannot exceed $3,000. When tallying resources, SSA counts cash, bank accounts, real estate, personal possessions, stocks and bonds.

Social Security increase will impact small communities

Pittsburgh residents who rely on Social Security or Supplemental Security Income should notice an increase in their monthly checks to the tune of 3.6 percent. This cost of living adjustment is the first for Social Security benefits since 2009. In March 2011, it was estimated that the COLA would be an increase of 1.2 percent. Due to inflation, however, that percentage has tripled.

Social Security's COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. That number is compared in the third quarter from one year to the next.

Americans turn to disability after unemployment

When unemployment insurance runs out, an increasing number of Americans are turning to Social Security disability benefits for needed income. According to new studies, the number of people in the United States receiving Social Security Disability benefits has increased 47 percent since 2002, bringing the current number up to 10.6 million.

The newly added stress on the Social Security system may be putting its funds in danger. Most people, even children, who begin receiving Social Security disability benefits, remain in the program until they retire. The average person who receives SSD receives more than $240,000 in benefits, according to a study cited by the White House's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA).

Terminal SSD applicants die while waiting for benefits

With such a long list of applicants waiting for Social Security disability benefits in Pennsylvania and throughout the country, the Social Security Administration cannot or does not always grant benefits in time to aid those most in need. Applicants sometimes die during the process and it happens often enough that there is a code for appeals that have been dismissed because the applicant is deceased. There have been more than 15,000 cases since 2005 that have been labeled with this code.

One man who applied for SSDI benefits, but never lived to see them was a 50-year-old man with colon cancer. After he was diagnosed with colon cancer in February 2009, he applied for disability benefits. He was initially denied and his first appeal was also denied because they said he did not give enough medical records.

Social Security Administration commissions SSDI review

Concerns have been raised that the Social Security Disability system is not working as it should. To address those concerns, the Social Security Administration has commissioned a review of the federal disability system by an independent entity. The Administrative Conference of the United States will perform the review and make recommendations next year.

One aspect of the study that Pittsburgh residents may find interesting will be review of the approximately 1,500 administrative-law judges who hear SSDI claims appeals.

New plan hopefully offers more jobs to disabled workers

Americans with disabilities in the Pittsburgh area and throughout the United States may have an easier time finding jobs, thanks to a new plan from the Labor Department. The plan would set a goal for companies with federal contracts to hire disabled workers, who are greatly under-represented in the workforce. The goal would be 7 percent; the rule would only apply to contractors with at least 50 employees and a minimum $50,000 government contract. About 170,000 contractors would be affected.

The new rule would put President Obama well on his way to meeting his goal to increase employment among those with disabilities. In 2010, he signed an executive order setting the goal of 100,000 jobs for the disabled over five years.

Disabled mother struggles to provide for 7 children

In today's troubling economy, it can be difficult to make ends meet. One 36-year-old Buffalo mom knows all too well how difficult it can be, particularly with the holidays now upon us. The woman is a single mother with four children of her own, plus three nieces and nephews that she gained custody of in 2008.

Due to neck and back injuries from a car accident in 2005, the mother suffers chronic pain and cannot work. She receives money from Social Security Disability as well as monthly child support. Her nephew receives Supplemental Security Income. In all, the family has about $1,700 each month to cover rent, utilities and insurance. Even with food stamps and Section 8 housing aid, they struggle to make ends meet.

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