Recently, we took in a claimant who was previously represented by of course, a non-attorney, who she and her guardian thought was an attorney because they went to a law firm. See our previous blogs on how to check and hire an actual attorney. In this claim the non-attorney failed to recognize the issue of retroactivity to Adult “Child Disability Benefits” where SSA did not pay nor award back benefits in the thousands of dollars the claimant was duly entitled.
In general, Adult “Child Disability Benefits” retroactivity is determined in the following manner:
If the wage earner (the parent in this claim) is disabled, the application for adult-childhood disability could pay 12 months before the date of application but not before the wage earner’s onset (disability) date. 20 CFR §§ 404.620(a), 404.621(a)(1). If the wage earner is deceased or retired, the application for adult-childhood disability could pay 6 months before the date of application but not before the wage earner’s retirement entitlement date, in this case the “full retirement” date, age 65, considering the wage earner’s DOB which is in 1946. 20 CFR § 404.621(a)(2).
Also a key consideration is the calculation of the benefit amount:
If the wage earner is alive, the disabled adult child is entitled to 50% of the wage earner’s primary insurance amount (monthly benefit), subject to the family maximum. If the wage earner is deceased 75% of the wage earner’s primary insurance amount (monthly benefit), subject to the family maximum. 20 CFR § § 404.353, 404.304, 404.403.
As always we recommend that you find an experienced attorney in the matters above to represent you in your Social Security claim. The key considerations are the difference in obtaining thousands of dollars in benefits rightly owed. Just because you received an Award from SSA does not mean that its correct. In this case there was only 60 days to appeal the Award and the non-attorney failed to recognize the error. A second opinion from an actual attorney made all the difference. For more information please contact us at 813-657-9175.
