The Social Security Administration (SSA) is proposing changes to what defines unsuccessful work attempts, and the process of applying for expedited reinstatement of disability benefits.
Both of these impact those individuals who have been found disabled by the SSA. People often attempt to return to work after they have been found disabled. These attempts can be declared unsuccessful if they last less than six months.
Historically, there have been different requirements for the work to be declared unsuccessful, depending on how long the individual worked. The proposed changes to this process will align and simplify the policies making it easier for the public to understand. They will also make it easier on the SSA to process the claims and allow for faster determinations.
Expedited reinstatement can occur once an individual who has been found disabled is forced to stop working as a result of their conditions. This allows for benefits to be paid to the individual while the SSA reviews their eligibility to receive ongoing disability benefits. This proposal is set to allow application for expedited reinstatement in the same month an individual stops performing substantial gainful activity.
Provisional benefits will begin the month after the request for expedited reinstatement if the individual stops performing substantial gainful activity in the same month as the request for reinstatement. Again, these proposed changes will make it easier on the SSA to process the claims and allow for faster determinations.
Please check back with us, as we at Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., L.P.A., continue to monitor these proposed changes and how they will impact injured workers.