Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is designed to help people who can no longer work due to injuries or disabilities. SSDI benefits are temporary for many, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) may terminate benefits with proper notice.
If the SSA intends to terminate your SSDI benefits, you should receive a written notice explaining the termination and when it will take effect. SSDI benefits might be stopped for numerous reasons, including your ability to perform substantial gainful activity or recovery from your medical condition. Notice of termination is required as it also contains information about how to appeal the termination. If you do not receive notice, your attorney can help you appeal the termination even if the window to do so has already closed. The SSA cannot terminate your SSDI benefits without informing you first. The first step to appealing the termination is to request a reconsideration. Depending on the outcome, we might have to press on further in our appeals.
Speak to our Arkansas disability termination lawyers to schedule a free case review by calling our offices at (479) 316-0438.
When SSDI Can Be Terminated in Arkansas
Your SSDI benefits might last for a long time, maybe indefinitely, if your injuries and disability are permanent. However, many SSDI recipients eventually recover or are able to work again, and the SSA may stop their benefits. If your benefits are going to be terminated, the SSA must send you written notice.
The SSA might terminate your benefits if you can perform substantial gainful activity. Substantial gainful activity is a certain dollar amount a person can earn through working. Exactly what this dollar amount is depends on the nature of your injuries and disability and is often adjusted for inflation. Talk to a lawyer about what the limit for substantial gainful activity is for your case.
Whether or not an SSDI recipient can perform substantial gainful activity is determined when their case is periodically revised. Generally, if you are expected to recover from your condition, you might be reviewed as soon as 6 to 18 months after you begin receiving benefits. If recovery is only possible but not necessarily expected, you might be reviewed every 3 years. If recovery is not expected in your case, you might be reviewed every 7 years.
The SSA might also terminate SSDI benefits if you have recovered from your medical condition and no longer need assistance. Unlike the above example, you do not necessarily have to show any substantial gainful activity to have benefits terminated if you make a full recovery.
Notice of the Termination of Your SSDI Benefits in Arkansas
The Social Security Administration should send you a written notice stating that your SSDI benefits will cease and why. Proper written notice is required, as it is accompanied by information about appealing or asking for a reconsideration. Not only that, but revoking benefits without any forewarning would be unethical, as recipients cannot work and rely on SSDI benefits to survive. If benefits are being terminated, recipients need to be notified ahead of time so they can make other arrangements or challenge the termination.
You might be in serious trouble if you do not receive a notice. People who are not properly notified might have the rug pulled out from under them and be left scrambling to figure out how to make ends meet and survive.
If you have received notice, termination of SSDI usually does not happen immediately. The SSA typically allows some time for SSDI recipients to appeal the decision to terminate. Your notice should contain information about how to appeal the decision to terminate and request a reconsideration. If you received notice, speak to a lawyer immediately. If the SSA recently reviewed your SSDI benefits and you have not heard back, you should call a lawyer.
What Happens if I Do Not Get the Notice Terminating My SSDI Benefits in Arkansas?
If you do not receive any notice from the SSA about stopping your SSDI benefits, they could be terminated without you knowing. There could be various reasons why you were not notified. Mistakes on the part of the SSA are not uncommon, and your case should be reconsidered in light of such errors.
One possibility is that notice was mailed out but sent to the wrong address. This could be due to a simple typo in your address or a mistake made by the postal service. Alternatively, if you recently moved to a new address, the SSA might have failed to update your information in their files and sent the notice to your old address. Another possible scenario is that no notice was ever generated. For whatever reason, the SSA might have completely failed to mail any notice to any address, leaving you blindsided when your benefits were terminated.
Suppose you were not notified of the termination. In that case, your ability to appeal or request a reconsideration of the termination may become difficult, as the window for those opportunities might be closed. There might be an extra level of scrutiny when you ask for reconsideration. The SSA will be suspicious as to why you did not receive notice. They are likely going to blame you rather than admit their mistake.
Our Arkansas disability termination attorneys can prove that the failure to send notice was due to the SSA’s mistake, not yours. The SSA might claim that you never informed them of your new address or provided the wrong address when you applied for benefits.
How to Prevent Your SSDI Benefits from Terminating in Arkansas
To prevent your SSDI benefits from being terminated, you can request a reconsideration before the termination is effective. Unfortunately, people not notified of the pending termination often miss the deadline to request a reconsideration. Even so, an attorney can help you bring the lack of notice to the attention of the SSA and fight for a reconsideration.
A reconsideration involves your case being reviewed by people who did not play a role in the original decision to terminate. During the reconsideration, we can emphasize that you were never notified of the decision to terminate. We might be able to persuade a disability hearing officer to give you more time or even reverse the termination.
If reconsideration does not work, we can formally appeal the decision and request a hearing before an administrative law judge. If the judge does not help us, we can take the matter further to an appeals council or even up to federal court. All the while, we can emphasize that you were unfairly blindsided and disadvantaged by the lack of notice.
Call Our Arkansas Disability Termination Lawyers for Help
Talk to our Farmington, AR disability termination attorneys to arrange a free case evaluation by calling our offices at (479) 316-0438.