The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

FAQ: When Does Someone Become Eligible for SSDI?

For Social Security Disability purposes, to be considered "disabled" a person must have a medical, psychological, or psychiatric impairment and it must be severe enough that it keeps the person from working and earning above a certain amount, for at least one year. 

Your medical records must indicate the presence of an impairment, or several impairments, either physical or mental in nature.  It also means that the disability must be bad enough to keep you from working.  Or, if you can still work, it must prevent you from earning more than $900.00 each month (gross, before taxes). This amount is called the "SGA", which stands for "substantial gainful activity". 

Please note that the disability doesn't have to actually last one year...you're fine if your doctor projects that the disability will last at least that long. 

Local Discussion on Hospice

In my role as Court-appointed conservator for incapacitated individuals who have no interested family members, I have had the unpleasant duty of attending to end-of-life arrangements for many clients.  One service that often proves to be invaluable in these situations is hospice. 

On Thursday, November 13th from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Buckingham Estates will host “The Final Journey: Understanding Hospice" with Katie Collette of the Visiting Nurse and Health Services of Connecticut Inc. Come join a discussion on how hospice programs enhance quality of life during the final months and emphasize the strengths of the entire family.

Buckingham Estates is located at 1824 Manchester Road, Glastonbury, CT.

For information, call 860-647-1695 or click here. 

Where President-Elect Obama Stands on Social Security

Whether you agree with Barak Obama on the issues or not, I have to say that his election victory yesterday was deeply inspiring.  I'm proud that our country, which did not allow people of color to sit on certain seats in a bus a mere 70 years ago, managed to elect an African-American to be its President.  Last night we made a tremendous statement to the world, and the international reaction to the election is absolutely fascinating. 

Well, now that we know who will be leading our country for the next four years, this post offers a simple summary of where our new president stands on a few of the big-ticket items when it comes to Social Security.  I will cover Obama's stance on other topics of interest to seniors in future posts.

Privatization.  Obama clearly is not in favor of privatizing Social Security.  Here is a statement he made in June: “Well let me be clear.  Privatizing Social Security was a bad idea when George W. Bush proposed it. It's a bad idea today. It would eventually cut guaranteed benefits by up to 50 percent. It would cost a trillion dollars that we don't have to implement on the front end, permanently elevating our debt. And most of all, it would gamble the retirement plans of millions of Americans on the stock market. That's why I stood up against this plan in the Senate, and that's why I won't stand for it as President.”

Social Security Payroll Tax.  Obama seems intent on reforming the Social Security payroll tax.  Specifically, he's interested on removing the current cap on payroll taxes, which currently exempts all income above the first $102,000 you earn.  Here's Obama in October of 2007: “Social Security is not in crisis; it is a fundamentally sound system, but it does have a problem, long-term. We've got 78 million baby boomers, who are going to be retiring over the next couple of decades. That means more retirees, fewer workers to support those retirees. We are going to have to do something about it. The best idea is to lift the cap on the payroll tax, potentially exempting middle-class folks, but making sure that the wealthy are paying more of their fair share, a little bit more.”

Raising the Retirement Age vs. Cutting Benefits.  Obama wants to do neither.  His website says: “Obama will protect Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries alike. And he does not believe it is necessary or fair to hardworking seniors to raise the retirement age.”  On Meet the Press in November 2007, he said “I believe that cutting benefits is not the right answer; and that raising the retirement age is not the best option.”