Due to the fact that the Social Security Administration (SSA) denies the majority of disability claims, applicants must follow a four-step appeals process in order to receive financial support. Social Security disability reconsideration is the first step in the appeals procedure. If your disability claim was refused, you should get familiar with the disability reconsideration process.

Reconsideration, as the initial step following a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) denial, proceeds in the same manner as the initial SSDI claim. You appeal to the same SSA medical review panel that conducted the initial review of your application. The primary distinction between the first claim and the disability reconsideration appeal is that the SSA assigns different members of its medical review panel to evaluate your disability appeal.

As with the first application, the Social Security Administration refuses the majority of disability reconsideration appeals. By following a few simple guidelines, you can significantly increase your chances of having your initial SSDI denial reversed at the first step of the appeals process.

1. Maintain Accurate Paperwork

The first advice for successfully appealing a disability review is to file the proper paperwork. To have your appeal assessed by the SSA, you must submit the following three forms.

Form SSA-561: Reconsideration Request

Report on Disability Reconsideration

Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration

The Reconsideration Report is the document that contains fresh information about your initial claim, whereas the Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration is a medical release form.

2. Submit Additional Corroboration

The SSA refuses SSDI claims for a variety of reasons, one of which being a lack of evidence. Providing additional data to the SSA during the disability reconsideration process is critical to obtaining approval of your appeal. Without additional medical proof, Disability Determination Services (DDS) cannot overrule the initial SSDI denial. Additionally, you should ensure that DDS has access to all of your medical records, which your physician makes available through online document uploading.

3. Submit Your Appeal in a Timely Manner

If you get a denial letter from the Social Security Administration for SSDI benefits, you have 60 days from the date mentioned on the denial letter to file a disability appeal. If you do not file for reconsideration within the 60-day period, you will have to restart the SSDI claim procedure. The 60-day deadline for filing a disability reconsideration appeal does not mean you should submit the proper papers on day 59. The quicker you file a disability appeal, the sooner the Social Security Administration will make a decision on your claim.

Acting quickly increases your chances of having your appeal approved by the Social Security Administration.

4. Consult a Social Security lawyer

Due to the fact that a reconsideration appeal follows the same review process as an initial SSDI claim, your odds of having your disability appeal approved by the SSA are slim. Indeed, according to a study provided by the Social Security Administration, the government refused 87% of all claims heard during the initial stage of the appeals procedure in 2018. Hiring a state-licensed Social Security attorney is one of the most efficient strategies to increase your chances during reconsideration.

Your attorney will understand how to bolster your case by submitting more persuasive documentation from both your physician and employer. Additionally, hiring a lawyer guarantees that you petition for reconsideration well in advance of the 60-day deadline.

To increase your chances of winning a disability appeal, schedule a free case evaluation with a Social Security attorney now.

If you’re in the state of California, make sure to get in contact with a California disability attorney for your disability case. For social security offices in San Diego, visit here.

If you are an adult for whom the golden years are beginning to appear on the horizon, you may be wondering what will become of social security in the future. You would certainly not be alone in your concerns. The majority of people born after 1970 have spent their lives hearing that Social Security will go extinct before they get a chance to reap the benefits. While it is true that SS has its challenges, its future may not be as dire as popular culture depicts.

How Did it Start?

The Social Security Act became US law in 1935, the brainchild of President Franklin Roosevelt. Its development was influenced by the Great Depression, which so disproportionately impacted the disabled and elderly that Roosevelt and his cabinet felt the need to create a stabilizing economic system that would protect the country’s most vulnerable citizens. Thus, the tax-funded social security system was born.

How Does it Work?

Social Security is funded by taxpayers, who contribute (involuntarily) a portion of the first $128,000 dollars of their earnings into the Social Security trust. When retirees reach a certain age, they become eligible to apply for benefits. The amount distributed is calculated using the average income from your most profitable thirty-five years and your life expectancy. Because your monthly payments are distributed according to estimated longevity, the longer you delay applying, the more you can collect monthly Social Security benefits. When SS was initiated, there were far more working taxpayers than there were SS beneficiaries, so the fund continued to grow for many decades. However, beginning in the 1980s, that trend began to reverse, as the life expectancy of Americans began to climb and birth rates simultaneously dropped, leaving fewer workers to supply the funds needed for a growing retired population.

Could it Disappear?

Though changes will need to be made, Social Security is not expected to disappear. Current projections predict that the trust will run dry in 2037 if the SS administration does nothing to prevent it. That does not necessarily mean that SS will disappear, it means that new methods for funding the system will need to be developed. Sustainability of the SS system has been a long-term project for the administration, and it is confident that alterations to the current taxation model will generate the revenue necessary to continue SS beyond the 2037 wall. Future retirees should prepare for one likely possibility, however; a shortfall of expected funds could force the SSA to reduce benefits or advance the age of application. So, while SS is probably going to be around for our retirement, it may only provide fifty to seventy percent of what we were expecting, and the age of retirement with full benefits could be bumped as high as seventy years. Successful retirement planning should take these risks into account, and you would be wise not to stake your future on SS benefits alone.