Social Security Attorneys Prepare for Increased Baby Boomer SSI Claims

SSI law firm Berry and Associates is cautioning disabled consumers about longer waits to Social Security Disability cases. Lawyers are cautious that the increasing demands of the population have outpaced infrastructure capabilities within the Social Security Administration system.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) August 6, 2008 -- The population spike within Baby Boomer generation has influenced society throughout their lives. As this generation matures additional areas of society have adapted to the demand for Baby Boomer services. One area that is not keeping pace with the Boomers is wait times for Social Security Disability cases.

For many looking to receive Social Security Disability (SSI and SSDI), it can take two or three years to complete under the current system. This is a concern for Social Security attorney, Matt Berry, Founder and Principal of Berry and Associates. The law firm's website nationaldisabilitylawyer.com offers disabled consumers help with navigating the Social Security system.

Berry, an experienced Social Security Disability (SSI) lawyer has witnessed the increasing length of time a person has encountered within the disability system. The notion that a person submitting a SSI disability application today may wait two or three years to receive the benefits he is entitled to is alarming.

"A sociological shift of workers retiring with pensions in their 50's to workers continuing careers well into their 60's has put a natural strain on the Social Security Disability system," explains Matt Berry. "We are focused on educating the consumer to seek out the professional help of an experienced Social Security attorney earlier in their benefits case. The earlier the consumer reaches out to us, the faster we are able to help affect the outcome of their disability case."

As a result of increasingly longer wait times the law firm has increased their online marketing activities to further reach out to the disabled community. The expectation is the law firm will be able to have an impact for many disabled consumers earlier in the process. The law firm expects some of the greatest impacts will be among Baby Boomers that are comfortable with the Internet.

Keith Hanks of TwentySix2 Marketing said, "The Baby Boomer generation has integrated various online technologies into their lives. Providing Baby Boomers with enhanced online capabilities to locate, contact and evaluate their medical condition against Social Security standards is going to help decrease wait times, and improve win ratios of many disabled consumers. Berry and Associates is positioned to play a critical role in impacting the lives of thousands of disabled consumers and their families."

As a method to reach out to disabled consumers with disability questions Berry and Associates offers a free disability case evaluation. For many disabled consumers the law firm can help you apply for SSI Social Security disability benefits and can help with a denied SSI application that is pending an appeal. The free case evaluation is intended for disabled consumers undergoing the SSI or SSDI application process.

Finding an Attorney to help with your Disability Impairments:Documenting your impairments is essential to receiving disability benefits. The Social Security Administration is going to be looking for medical evidence that supports your disability claim. Too often Baby Boomers find deserving disability applications are denied because the medical evidence was not presented properly.

When working with a disability attorney Berry and Associates stresses you work with one that has experienced in cases that fit your medical condition. For example, MS disability attorneys (lawyers), bipolar disability attorneys (lawyers) and diabetes disability attorneys (lawyers) can be a valuable resource to those with MS, bipolar disorder or diabetes. Berry and Associates has experienced staff to help with other disability impairments and symptoms including:
- Bipolar disorder
- Breast cancer
- Congestive heart failure (CHF)
- Cardiac obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Crohns disease
- Colitis
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Chronic depression
- Diabetes
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Retinopathy
- Kidney failure
- Blindness
- Heart disease
- MS (multiple sclerosis)
- Parkinson's disease
- Schizophrenia

For more information about Social Security Disability visit nationaldisabilitylawyer.com.

For more information about Atlanta Internet marketing services visit twentysix2.com.

About TwentySix2 Marketing:
Founded in 1997; TwentySix2 is one of the most advanced online marketing agencies dedicated to helping businesses achieve their full online potential. The firm assists both large and small businesses, including thirty of the top Fortune 1000 companies. TwentySix2 Marketing has been a leader in the online marketing industry, providing services in search engine optimization, paid search, affiliate marketing, email marketing, blog marketing, social media, web design and online consulting services and strategy.

About nationaldisabilitylawyer.com:
Nationaldisabilitylawyer.com is maintained by Berry and Associates. Berry and Associates Social Security Disability Lawyers are Attorneys that can help with SSDI, SSD and SSI Disability Benefit Claims. Learn what we do to help consumers fight for disability benefits by visiting nationaldisabilitylawyer.com.

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NationalDisabilityLawyer.com is a website with SSDI and SSI Disability information. Learn more about disability cases, how to apply for disability and how to appeal a denied Social Security Disability case.

Clueless About Disability

Baby boomers are in the dark about public disability income programs such as Social Security disability insurance and worker's compensation, according to a recent survey by America's Health Insurance Plans of Washington.

Nearly half of the 827 respondents said they believed incorrectly that a working adult would qualify for SSDI benefits if he or she were unable to work at their current job but could still work at another job that paid less.

More than a third said they thought that a worker would qualify for SSDI benefits if he or she could work no more than 20 hours a week, and one in four said they didn't know what the qualifications were.

In reality, workers are eligible for SSDI benefits only if they are unable to do any work for which they would earn $1,000 or more a month.

Just one in five correctly estimated the average monthly SSDI benefit for a disabled worker to be about $1,000 a month. Eighteen percent overestimated the benefit, and 43% said they didn't know.

The survey also assessed the boomers' knowledge of the length of time it takes to receive SSDI benefits.

Thirty-four percent estimated the length of time to be shorter than it generally was, and 35% said they didn't know. The average length of time it takes for a person who files a SSDI claim to be accepted or denied is more than 17 months.

"Baby boomers know very little about the public disability safety net available for workers who suffer a disability," Humphrey Taylor, chairman of the Harris Poll, said in a statement.

Thirty-six percent didn't know how much of their income workers' compensation benefits would replace, and one in five overestimated benefits. Just 24% knew that workers' compensation replaces two-thirds of a worker's pre-disability income.

Original article located on www.investmentnews.com

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NationalDisabilityLawyer.com is a website with SSDI and SSI Disability information. Learn more about disability cases, how to apply for disability and how to appeal a denied Social Security Disability case.

Most Americans Are Financially Unprepared for Job Disrupting Disabilities

Most Americans Are Financially Unprepared for Job Disrupting Disabilities

Written by U.S. Insurance News

Monday, 19 May 2008

Two new surveys show that Americans are poorly prepared to handle the financial fallout of a disability. Should they suffer a disability, most baby boomers say they are financially unprepared, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). In fact, they would struggle to pay bills and many would have to rely on their retirement savings. The formula creating this potential disaster is simple, according to Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of AHIP. “Baby boomers have too much debt and not enough savings to weather even a short-term disability,” Ignagni said. The survey determined how financially prepared boomers would be if the primary wage earner in their household became disabled and was unable to work for an extended amount of time. Fifty-five percent said they are not at all or somewhat unprepared, while only 15 percent said they are very or extremely prepared should a disability occur. Boomers were also asked how long they could go without their primary wage earner’s income before they had difficulty paying all their bills. Sixty-four percent would have difficulty within the first year, 49 percent would have difficulty in the first six months, and 33 percent would have difficulty paying all their bills in just the first three months. Most boomers said they would have difficulty making their mortgage payments, car payments, credit card payments, and/or supporting dependents within the first year. Thirty-two percent of boomers said they would have to tap into their retirement savings if the primary wage earner in their household became disabled, and 17 percent admitted they do not have a retirement savings to draw upon. Compounding the problem is that most boomers have a significant amount of non-mortgage financial burdens, such as credit card debt and auto or education loans. Fifty-two percent have more than $5,000 in non-mortgage debt, 25 percent have more than $20,000 in debt, and nine percent have debt of more than $50,000. One obvious solution is the protection provided by disability insurance. But many Americans don’t enjoy that security. A survey released by the nonprofit LIFE (Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education) Foundation shows that nearly 80 percent of working Americans say they would turn to their employer or the government for financial support in the event of a disabling illness or injury, rather than disability insurance purchased on their own. “Most people have a false sense of security when it comes to being financially prepared for a long-term disability,” said Matthew S. Tassey, former chair of the LIFE Foundation. “The reality is the majority of workers do not have disability coverage through work, and disability benefits offered by the government, such as Social Security or Workers’ Compensation, can be difficult to qualify for.” The LIFE survey asked 520 working adult Americans (employed either full- or part-time) which source of financial support they would rely on most if they were to become disabled for one year or more: 35 percent said they would count on employer-sponsored disability insurance coverage if they were to become disabled for a year or more. While coverage provided by employers is the main source of disability income protection in the United States, most employers don’t provide disability insurance as an employee benefit. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, less than 30 percent of U.S. workers have access to long-term disability coverage through work, and only about 37 percent have access to short-term disability coverage. 31 percent said they would rely on government-provided benefits, but those aren’t easy to get. According to the Social Security Administration, roughly 60 percent of people who applied for Social Security disability benefits in 2005 were initially denied. To those who are declared eligible, Social Security pays just a little more than $1,000 a month. 13 percent said they would turn to Workers’ Compensation, but that covers only those who get injured, ill, or die as a result of their job—and only 10 percent of disabilities occur on the job. 11 percent said they would rely on disability insurance they had purchased on their own. Nearly one-third of workers will suffer a disability that keeps them out of work for 90 days or longer at some point in their career. Despite that fact, only 6 million individual disability insurance policies are in force for a U.S. workforce of more than 146 million.

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Baby Boomers Still Misunderstand Disability Income

Original Link: Baby Boomers Still Misunderstand Disability Income (from: ohsonline.com)

Posted: May 7, 2008

According to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans, most baby boomers overestimate the breadth and depth of the public safety net available for workers who suffer a disability, believing public programs provide disability benefits to more people than they actually do and overestimating the amount of benefits available.

The survey assessed boomers' knowledge about public disability income programs, such as Social Security Disability Insurance and Worker's Compensation. Nearly half of boomers surveyed believe incorrectly that a working adult would qualify for SSDI benefits if he or she were unable to work at their current job, but could still work at another job that pays less money. More than a third of baby boomers believe a worker is qualified if he or she can work no more than twenty hours a week, and one in four say they do not know what the qualifications are. In reality, workers are eligible for SSDI benefits only if they are unable to do any work for which they would earn $1,000 or more per month.

"Baby boomers believe they have more disability income protection than they actually do, giving them a false sense of security against the financial risks of disability," AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni. Humphrey Taylor, chairman of the Harris Poll, seconded that thought, saying, "Baby boomers know very little about the public disability safety net available for workers who suffer a disability."

Only one in five boomers correctly estimated the average monthly SSDI benefit for a disabled worker to be about $1,000 a month. Eighteen percent overestimated the benefit and a significant number of those surveyed (43 percent) said they did not know how much the average monthly SSDI benefit was. While a majority of boomers (60 percent) accurately stated that job-related illnesses and injuries are qualifications for worker's compensation, many incorrectly believe this coverage is also available to individuals who suffer a disability in other situations. Many of those surveyed said they believe people can qualify for worker's comp benefits if they suffer a disability that prevents them from working at their previous job (26 percent), forces them to work at a job that pays less than their current job (10 percent), or if they can only work part-time (9 percent).

Thirty-six percent of boomers did not know how much of their current income worker's comp benefits would replace, and one in five overestimated benefits. Only 24 percent of boomers accurately stated that worker's compensation replaces two-thirds of a worker's pre-disability income.

The survey also assessed baby boomers knowledge of the length of time it takes to receive SSDI benefits. Thirty-four percent estimated that the length of time to receive benefits was shorter than it generally is, and more than a third (35 percent) said they didn't know how long the process takes. The average length of time it takes for a person who files a SSDI claim to be accepted or denied, including any appeals, is approximately 500 days, or more than 17 months. A memo outlining the survey findings is available at www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?docid=23188, and the survey questionnaire can be found at www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?docid=23187.

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1-800-507-4774

NationalDisabilityLawyer.com is a website with SSDI and SSI Disability information. Learn more about disability cases, how to apply for disability and how to appeal a denied Social Security Disability case.