Legal matters

 by: Jinky C. Mesias

The supplemental security income is one benefit that can be considered as pro-poor benefit. But like any other Social Security Benefits, there are some requirements needed in order to qualify for the supplemental security income and these are as follows: a) must be living in the United States or the Northern Mariana Islands, b) must be a citizen of United States or is legally living in the United States, c) must be age 65 or above doesn’t matter if blind or disabled and must meet the required base level of income.

The required base level of income for supplemental security income depends on whether or not the recipient works. Another big factor is the state where the recipient lives since there are states that offer a much higher supplemental security income as well as higher income limits than the provided national standard. The basic asset test for individuals is $2000 and $3000 for married couples. Nevertheless, not all properties owned are included in the basic asset test in fact the primary residence as well as most personal belongings are exempted.

When filing for supplemental security income one should not expect that the processing of the claim would be quick since supplemental security income is also one of the benefits that really takes quite a long time to process and always ends up in disapproval of applications.

The fact is, it’s never been easy having a claim approved by the Social Security and agreeing with everything the Social Security Administration decides on, especially in terms of the benefits to be given to its members is another thing.

The Social Security Administration usually delivers bad news through written notices containing the decision regarding the eligibility of a member to receive benefits. Most often the content of the notice is about the denial or the disapproval of a claim for benefits. And if ever a member does not agree with the decision he or she can always contest it by appealing his or her case to the Administrative Law Judge who handles all cases pertaining to Social Security. The Administrative Law Judge will base his or her verdict on the weight of the evidences presented by the claimant and then after a thorough examination of all the evidence will the Administrative Law Judge decides on the case.

And to further increase the chance of winning a Social Security case it is pertinent for the appealing member to hire the services of a competent Social Security Attorney.