Read our Latest Posts

SSA Resumes Hearing Request Dismissal Policy

Apr 2, 2021

Early in March Social Security made it be known that they would once again allow hearing requests to be dismissed out of hand if the claim is not made in a timely manner or if the claimant fails to appear for the scheduled hearing. This decision reverses the temporary...

BPQYs Lose IRS Records of Yearly Earnings

Mar 26, 2021

A significant change has been made to the Benefits Planning Query (BPQY) with the deletion of the 'IRS Recorded Earnings (Yearly)' section. The change has been caused by a new regulation that mandates that a fee must be charged to gain the IRS information. In an act...

Still Waiting on Your Stimulus Checks? Consider the Rebate Recovery Credit

Mar 19, 2021

The IRS have issued the second wave of stimulus checks, officially known as Economic Impact Payments (EIP), and are in the process of delivering a third in the amount of up to $1,400 to eligible individuals and families. If you feel you've missed out or didn't...

Social Security Seeking to ‘Slam the Scam’

Mar 3, 2021

As part of National Consumer Protection Week the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, Gail Ennis, has announced the second annual 'Slam the Scam' day, which is set for March 4. Whilst there's likely to be an absence of cake or fireworks to...

RELIEF Act 2021: A Shot in the Arm for Struggling Marylanders

Feb 18, 2021

Maryland's Governor Hogan has just signed into effect the RELIEF Act 2021 which will provide much needed extra financial assistance to local working residents who have limited incomes. The $1 billion plus package will be providing direct payments of $300 to...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »

Working Works: It’s Still National Disability Employment Awareness Month

One would like to imagine that it was a failing of this writer's observational powers rather than the lack of promotional ability of the organizers that, but for a fruitless quest for HP sauce* at a local Wegman’s I would not have known that this rapidly diminishing...

COLAs for 2027 Announced!

Social Security published its 2027 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) earlier this week. As is almost invariably the case monthly benefit payments will be higher, this year to the tune of 3.6%. For SSI recipients it means that the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) will rise...

Goodnight, Virginia: SSA Closes VCU’s National Training Center

It was announced last Monday that the WIPA National Training and Data Center, would be shut down with immediate effect. The NTC, which was under the auspices of Virginia Commonwealth University, has been a primary source of training, education and support of Work...

In Exile: Impending Medicaid Eligibility Denials for Non-Citizens

Emma Lazarus’ 1883 sonnet ‘The New Colossus’ was written in the same year that she established in New York the Society for the Improvement and Colonization of East European Jews; an organization designed to provide aid to refugees escaping antisemitic violence and...

Education Matters: Maintaining Child’s Benefits at 18

Much to the dismay of students and teachers, another summer vacation has come and gone and one must again spend those long hours in the classroom looking wistfully out of the window as someone whitters on about some nonsense or other. For a small but significant...

In The Loop: SSA Changes Policy on Re-routing Calls

As anyone who has been obliged to call Social Security knows, the wait time has been prohibitively long. In the last year of the Biden administration the average wait was 60 minutes, which was bad enough, but in 2025 under the present regime that had increased to a...

An August Occasion: Celebrating National ABLE Savings Day

This year August 14 marks, amongst other notable events, the 236th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Väräla which brought about an end to the Russo-Swedish War; exactly 124 years later the arrival of British Expeditionary Force in France saw the beginning of...

Priority Treatment: SSA Adds to the Compassionate Allowance List

A fresh press release from Social Security will provide some good news to potential beneficiaries who experience a range of disabilities. Fourteen relatively obscure conditions have been added to the agency’s Compassionate Allowance policy. The policy allows Social...

Won’t Get Food Again: SNAP Eligibility in Decline

Recent articles in The Atlantic and by NPR have highlighted the growing concern in the reduction in the number of food stamp beneficiaries over the past year. The current figure, as estimated by the Department of Agriculture, stands at around 37 million recipients,...

Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Social Security Adds New Features to MySSA Accounts

A recent press release from Social Security looked to encourage applicants who have found themselves having to appeal a denial to use a My Social Security account when working through that process. Evidently very keen on getting you on board, the agency has produced a...