Maryland Injury and Disability Law : Washington DC Metro Injury & Disability Lawyer & Attorney : Greenberg & Bederman : Accidents, Falls, Medical Malpractice : Maryland, DC, Virginia

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Social Security pays Award in Installments

After two years of waiting and scraping by with Interim Disability Assistance (IDA), Temporary Disability Assistance Program (TDAP), food stamps, a medical card, and some help from friends and family, your Social Security Income claim was finally granted. You received your fully favorable decision and now are primed to receive your retroactive benefits.

After some more anxious weeks (or months) of waiting, a check arrives in the mail. With much anticipation, you rip open the envelope to discover that the check is only for three months worth of benefits. Shaking with anger, you call your attorney simply to discover that the Social Security Administration was correct. What? Why?

The simple answer is that this is the law. In 2006, President Bush signed a bill (S. 1932, Deficit Reduction Act of 2005) which, according to the SSA website, “requires that past-due monthly SSI [social security income] benefits that exceed three times the maximum monthly benefit (Federal benefit rate plus State supplementary payment amount, if any) payable to the individual be paid in up to three installments, 6 months apart”. The law also limits the amount of the first two installments to three times the maximum monthly benefits.(The maximum amount for an individual in 2008 is $637.) In the third installment you can receive the balance due.

There is an exception. In certain cases you can receive an increase. If you have outstanding debt relating to food, clothing , shelter, or necessary medical needs, you can request an increase. In such a case, you should gather proof of the outstanding debt or necessary medical need and contact your local office about obtaining an increase.

To learn more about social security disability law issues please click social security disability law. To learn about our social security disability lawyer in Maryland, please click here.