Trustworthy Social Security Lawyers Clear Up Confusion on Benefits

Social Security benefits have been the solution people at the age of 65 and above sees to make ends meet for their household since they no longer have the capability to keep on working. What if a family member who has been reaping Social Security disability benefits live long enough to reach the eligible retirement age, would that entail another round of processes or, worse, reduction or total cancellation of benefits?

A lot of information has been made available about Social Security benefits people can acquire once they reach the age of 65, but little is known about their disability benefits. One thing for certain about this is that the process of getting approval is quite a challenge because of strict qualifications, and you might need the help of a reliable Social Security lawyer to have a better chance of approval. Also, acquiring disability benefits will not only aid the disabled person, but also his immediate family, and once the person receiving benefits reaches the retirement age, he might start to worry about the financial support he is getting.

However, you need not fear about no longer receiving disability benefits, for disabled people who are at the retirement age will automatically have their disability benefits converted to retirement benefits, and there will be no need to apply or to notify the Social Security Administration. The usual 35-year work history rules will be bypassed, in which they will only look into the work history prior to the disability, and the beneficiary will simply get the same amount he usually receives as he did under disability.

On the other hand, if the beneficiary doesn’t want to acquire his retirement benefits just yet, he can contact the SSA to ask them to suspend his benefits for the time being. This way, the beneficiary could earn delayed retirement credits worth 8 percent for every year their benefits are postponed beyond the full retirement age of 70. This won’t affect the benefits received by your family members, but it can increase the overall retirement benefit by up to 32 percent, thus increasing the survivor benefit for the remaining spouse.

Taking care of a disabled person requires a lot of attention, not to mention a lot of financial sacrifices just to give him the care he deserves. If the fear of not getting or reduced benefits once a person reaches retirement age is worrying you, talking to trustworthy Social Security lawyers, like those from Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law, can help you ease your mind and let you know the right steps to take.

(Source: Being a traffic cop at the intersection of disability and Social Security benefits, Investment News)