Question about SSI

[daughtersrus]

My DD turned 18yo in July. She is severely disabled due to a rare genetic disease.

I called SS the last week of June to ask about how to apply for SSI for DD since she would be 18 about 1 week later. The man on the phone asked about parent income...I gave him the info but told him that I knew that it was over the limit and I was asking about what to do since DD would be 18yo.

We got a letter in the mail saying that someone would call us on her birthday to take the application. That went fine. There was a bit of a wait for Shriners Hospital to get the medical records to them. SS finally got all of the records a few weeks ago. We got a letter last week saying that DD was approved and that they would be calling us to finalize everything. That call was yesterday.

The lady on the phone started asking about pay stubs, income...for DH and myself. I explained to her that I knew that DD wouldn't qualify until she had turned 18yo. DD's birthday is the first week of July so her payments should have started Aug. The lady on the phone said that DD will be getting a check but only for Sept and Oct. She said that because I called in June and DD doesn't qualify based on parent income, that she is penalized one month and won't get anything for Aug. She got quite huffy with me and said that she doesn't make the decision that the law says that if you apply too soon and don't qualify, there is this penalty but the reps that answer the phone are not allowed to tell you about that penalty.

I called back the 800# and the rep that answered said that they are instructed to tell parents to apply 30 days before their child's 18th birthday. She said that the only thing that we can do is appeal once we get the paper check in the mail.

Has this happened to anyone else or do you know what law the lady was talking about?

Thanks!

 

[dvc one day]

Not sure if i can answer your specific question, but I will tell you what I know.

My understanding is that with SSI (also with SSDI), people are frequently denied payment, sometimes multiple times. I was injured a few months after my 18th birthday, and I believe I did not receive a check for a many months after I first applied.

I think this is one of the many situations where people trying to take advantage of the system make it frustrating for everyone else. The SSA seems to not trust anyone who applies which makes the denial/rejection rate very high.

All I can suggest is to appeal and be persistent.

 

[Kay1]

That's a new one to me. When I applied, they set up an appointment at a local office. A mistake was made and my son's paperwork was delayed by 6 months. Finally, it was all straightened out and he was paid from the time we applied.

I ended up visiting the local office more than once to settle things and you may need to do that. It's easier to figure these things out face-to-face. One reason they may be asking about your income, mortgage, etcetera, is to decide what your daughters monthly check will be. That part is extremely important and I suggest you do some research as that is a very complicated issue.

Google: SSI fair share, SSI charge rent, SSI amount of check. You can also PM me, though I'm no expert.

Good luck.

 

[camper06]

My DD turned 18yo in July. She is severely disabled due to a rare genetic disease.

I called SS the last week of June to ask about how to apply for SSI for DD since she would be 18 about 1 week later. The man on the phone asked about parent income...I gave him the info but told him that I knew that it was over the limit and I was asking about what to do since DD would be 18yo.

We got a letter in the mail saying that someone would call us on her birthday to take the application. That went fine. There was a bit of a wait for Shriners Hospital to get the medical records to them. SS finally got all of the records a few weeks ago. We got a letter last week saying that DD was approved and that they would be calling us to finalize everything. That call was yesterday.

The lady on the phone started asking about pay stubs, income...for DH and myself. I explained to her that I knew that DD wouldn't qualify until she had turned 18yo. DD's birthday is the first week of July so her payments should have started Aug. The lady on the phone said that DD will be getting a check but only for Sept and Oct. She said that because I called in June and DD doesn't qualify based on parent income, that she is penalized one month and won't get anything for Aug. She got quite huffy with me and said that she doesn't make the decision that the law says that if you apply too soon and don't qualify, there is this penalty but the reps that answer the phone are not allowed to tell you about that penalty.

I called back the 800# and the rep that answered said that they are instructed to tell parents to apply 30 days before their child's 18th birthday. She said that the only thing that we can do is appeal once we get the paper check in the mail.

Has this happened to anyone else or do you know what law the lady was talking about?

Thanks!

I can answer your question. It is correct that her first payment would be for September. But the "penalty" information is not correct. For the month of July, she is not eligible for payment due to parental income (parents income counts for the whole month even though her birthday was during July). Then August would be her eligibility month (month where she meets all requirements, but no payment is due). The eligibility month applies to EVERYBODY who applies for SSI. It is not a penalty, it is the way the program was set up. A person must maintain all aspects of eligibility for one full month before a payment is made. So she would be due a payment for September, with the payment coming on the 1st of the month (except if its a weekend or holiday, then it would come the day before).

Hope this helps!!

 

[FortForever]

SSI runs two months behind. Her July payment would be September's check, her August payment would be October's check, etc.

 

[SueM in MN]

I would personally not go thru the effort to make an appeal for just one month. If it was more, yes, but you have to consider your time and effort that would go into an appeal to decide whether it would 'cost' you more to just accept the one month 'penalty' or go thru all thw work of appeal.

The person on the phone did not answer correctly using the word 'penalty', but I think adult children who were disabled from birth are a situation that gets very mixed up with all the definitions of when a disability began (for people who were disabled recently).

We did not apply for DD for SSI until after her 18th birthday, mostly so we would avoid getting caught up in the minor child with a disability questions that tend to muddy the water.

This is one of the things the SS website answers about eligibility:
Social Security pays retirement, disability, and survivor benefits the month following the month in which you earned the benefit. For example, if you earned a benefit in May, we will pay the benefit in June.

And here is where you will find the information:

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/8/~/when-benefits-are-paid

This talks about when the first payment is made - it is about retirement, but the general idea is the same, although when the person is considered disabled is less clear cut than age. We were told the date our DD was considered disabled as an adult for SSI would not be the month she turned 18, but the month after. So, her first check was for the month after that birthday.
This is different than adults who become disabled as adults - they have a 6 month waiting period.

Since you were born on the second day of the month, your first month of entitlement will be the month you were born, August. To receive retirement benefits, you must be at least age 62 for the entire month. Since you were born on August 2, you legally attain your age on August 1; therefore, you are eligible for benefits for August because you are considered 62 for the entire month. However, you will receive your first benefit check in September. Social Security benefits are paid in the month following the month for which they are due.

And this is where you will find it.
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/ans...2LzEvdGltZS8xMzU5NDYzNDM4L3NpZC9sU0E0NXdobA==