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Bob, 55 years old, has severe arthritis. He has been working
the same job as a machinist for the last 20 years. Due to the economy, Bob is
laid off from his job. Since he is still in need of income to care for himself
and his wife, Judy, he applies for unemployment benefits while he looks for
other work.
As the months go by, and Bob finds his arthritis seems to be
getting worse. He has a harder time getting around and doing simple things like
opening jars. After a visit with his doctor, the doctor tells Bob that perhaps
he should consider filing for disability. Bob’s doctor is concerned that he
would have a hard time going back to work as a machinist.
This puts Bob in an unusual situation. Bob wants to go back
to work, but no one is calling him in response to his job applications, and his
doctor warns if he goes back to strenuous work such as a machinist he may not
be able to perform like he used to.
So, what is Bob supposed to do?
Fortunately, Bob can apply for disability while he is
receiving his unemployment benefits and still seeking work. However, Congress
might be putting and end to this option soon.
The purpose of H.R. 1502 is “to amend title II of the Social
Security Act to prevent the concurrent receipt of unemployment benefits and
Social Security disability insurance, and for other purposes.” Also known as
the “Double Dip Elimination Act,” should this bill become law, it will prevent
people like Bob from collecting disability benefits for any month in which he
was receiving unemployment.
Those months in which a person is collecting unemployment
would be considered the same as engaging in substantial gainful activity (SGA),
a term used by SSA to describe a certain monthly amount earned by working. The
current SGA amount for non-blind individuals is $1,040.00.
This basically means that people like Bob may have to choose
either one route (collecting unemployment and seeking work) or the other
(seeking disability). If someone in Bob’s position does collect unemployment
while seeking disability, any months in which unemployment was received will
disqualify him from any disability benefits he may be entitled to for those
months.
This is particularly disheartening when you take into
consideration the amount of past-due medical bills most disability claimants
are faced with. Many awarded-claimants rely on their back-benefits to catch up
on these bills, as well as the mortgage, credit card bills and auto loans.
A memorandum released by the Social Security Administration
to Regional Chief Judges on November 15th, 2006, references Supreme
Court case Cleveland v. Policy Management
Systems Corp and states:
“The Court noted
that, under the presumptions embodied in our five-step sequential evaluation
process, a person can qualify for Social Security disability benefits even
though he or she remains capable of performing some work. Similar logic applies
to applications for unemployment benefits.
“In addition, it is often uncertain whether we will find a
person who applies for unemployment benefits ultimately to be disabled under
our rules, and our decision-making process can be quite lengthy. Therefore, it
is SSA’s position that individuals need not choose between applying for
unemployment insurance and Social Security disability benefits.”
While it can be argued that collecting unemployment benefits
while telling the government you can’t work is contradictory, there are
exceptions to the rule, such as in Bob’s case.
The ultimate purpose of H.R. 1502, according to
Representative Johnson, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, is to save
our country $1 billion over the course of ten years. This may be the case, but
at what cost to the individual benefit claimant? We still have a chance to tell
Congress what we think of this bill. Write to your Congressman today and voice
your opinion on H.R. 1502 before it is voted into law.
Written by Anna Westfall
Are you feeling overwhelmed by information such as this while your disability claim is pending? Our knowledgeable staff will put your mind at ease. Chances are we are located in your hometown: Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Toledo, Lorain, Mentor and Ashtabula. Learn more by clicking here, and send us an email so we can start helping you TODAY!
