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Total and Permanent Disability Discharge: True Student Loan Forgiveness

Feb 13, 2018

In 2015 the Student Aid Bill of Rights included plans to make paying for higher education easier for more Americans. As part of that plan the Department of Education teamed up with the Social Security Administration to identify Social Security beneficiaries who would...

A Few Words on Social Security’s Acronyms

Feb 7, 2018

Many of us have now heard of the story of the aged aunt who means to send ‘lots of love’ but instead ‘laughs out loud’ at the news of the death of a loved one. The LOL snafu has hopefully finally been universally resolved but there is no denying that the acronym...

Those Golden Years: Earned Income and Retirement Benefits

Jan 31, 2018

As we enter our sixties there hovers on the near horizon both the haven and the challenge of retirement. For all of us, current SSI/SSDI beneficiaries or not, there are also some quite novel regulations with regard to how Social Security treats us and our earned...

Maryland Employment Network Website Has Arrived!

Jan 23, 2018

We are delighted to be able to announce the launch of the new Maryland Employment Network (MD-EN) website! Job seekers, this new-look site will help you learn all about MD-EN, their team of vocational rehabilitation partners, and how they can work with you to achieve...

Reporting Earnings to Social Security: Common Myths Debunked

Jan 17, 2018

The sight of any letter from Social Security often causes your average SSI or SSDI recipient, from fear of what lies within, to want to cast the offending item, unopened, into the nearest recycling bin. Although there are some quite innocuous reasons why Social...

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Spread the Word: Social Security Promotes ‘Slam the Scam’ 2026

National Consumer Protection week, which has been sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission since 1998, is soon to be upon us. It runs from March 1 to 7 and is designed to spread awareness and provide information to us, the consumers, on how to best safeguard our own...

Cold Comfort: The Scope of Maryland Energy Assistance Programs

The recent cold snap has brought with its rock-heavy snow and breathtakingly icy winds the reminder of how lucky the majority of us are to have warm homes in which we can hide away until the temperatures rise again. Of course, not all of us can rely on such comforts,...

SNAP Tackles Pop: States Ban Food Stamp Purchases of Soda and Candy

There have always been restrictions on what you can buy with food stamps, now dubbed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (a godsend to sub-editors everywhere). The simple, if perhaps occasionally dubious, pleasures that alcoholic beverages provide...

2026’s 1619(b) Thresholds Are Out!

Unlike many annual changes in the benefits world, which are announced on a fairly rigid schedule, recent history has shown that we can never quite be sure when the new thresholds for 1619(b) are going to be announced. Fortunately, this year there hasn’t been much of a...

Health Check: Changes to Medicaid in Maryland

The new year is an obvious time to make changes if that’s what you’re going to do and it might seem that if things are going to be different for Medicaid beneficiaries now would be the time to learn what’s new. Oddly enough, even though there are changes afoot,...

What’s New? Update on 2026 Benefits Changes

Now that we have to admit that the holidays are truly over and we're embedded in the new year, for better or for worse, it's worth having a quick look over the new annual figures that will affect those of us who receive federal benefits. By now everyone who receives...

Happy Holidays from MDBCN to You!

Another year comes to another close and although we can hardly look back on 12 months of love, peace, and harmony we can always hope for that in the future. Whatever may come to pass, we at the Maryland Benefits Counseling Network will continue to endeavor to keep you...

Getting Better: ABLE Changes for 2026

Back in 2022 Congress passed a bill that is about to go into effect. The ABLE Age Adjustment Act decreed that as of January 2026 the age threshold for Achieving Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts would increase from 26 to 46. The ABLE Act has been around for more...

A Bitter Pill: Medicare Costs in 2026

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the 2026 premium and deductible figures. It’s a familiar story, as those costs are up again. The standard Medicare Part B premium will raise eyebrows and blood pressure as it increases by $17.90 a...

From the Horse’s Mouth: SSA Commissioner Delivers 2025 Fiscal Report

Gues what? It’s all good. On November 20 Frank Bisignano, Social Security’s Commissioner, published his letter to Congress detailing the agency’s achievements in 2025. The letter, which you can read in full here (Commissioner Letter to Congress: Year in Review) begins...