Social Security Publishes Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Mental Disorders On Monday, September 26, the Social Security Administration published final rules, effective January 17, 2017, that revise medical criteria for evaluating mental disorders. This regulation is a comprehensive revision to the criteria for evaluating disability claims involving mental disorders. The final rule is the last step in a careful, deliberative process that engaged relevant stakeholders, including current disability beneficiaries and their family members, mental-health physicians and treatment providers, and advocacy groups for those with mental disorders. It also reflects information from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth edition, the mental health profession's current standard classification of mental disorders. In addition to reflecting comments from members of the public, the rule also reflects an intellectual disability report we commissioned from the National Academy of Sciences, and the expertise of disability policy experts, adjudicators, psychiatric professionals, and vocational experts who provided input at every phase of the rulemaking process. The publication of this final rule is an important cornerstone of our effort to secure today and tomorrow for members of the public with mental illness who are some of our most vulnerable beneficiaries. You can learn more about the revised criteria at https://www.federalregister.gov/public- inspection/current Children’s Benefits About 4.3 million children receive benefits from the nearly $2.6 billion Social Security distributes each month because one or both of their parents are disabled, retired, or deceased. Those dollars help to provide the necessities of life for family members and help make it possible for those children to complete high school. When a parent becomes disabled or dies, Social Security benefits help stabilize the family’s financial future. In fact, 98 of every 100 children could get benefits if a working parent dies. Your child can get benefits if they are your biological child, adopted child, or dependent stepchild. (Sometimes, your child could also be eligible for benefits on their grandparents’ earnings.) To get benefits, a child must have: - A parent who is disabled or retired and entitled to Social Security benefits; or - A parent who died after having worked long enough in a job where they paid Social Security taxes. In addition, the child must be: - Unmarried and; - Younger than age 18; or - 18-19 years old and a full-time student (no higher than grade 12); or - 18 or older and disabled. (The disability must have started before age 22.) For more information, go to: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf Solutions, Strategies, Answers Newsletter of the Social Security Administration Offices in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia counties August-September 2016 Issue #56 Welcome to the August-September 2016 edition of Solutions, Strategies, Answers, a newsletter produced by the 18 Social Security Administration Offices in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Transcript
Social Security Publishes Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Mental Disorders
On Monday, September 26, the Social Security Administration published final rules, effective January 17, 2017, that revise medical criteria for evaluating mental disorders. This regulation is a comprehensive revision to the criteria for evaluating disability claims involving mental disorders. The final rule is the last step in a careful, deliberative process that engaged relevant stakeholders, including current disability beneficiaries and their family members, mental-health physicians and treatment providers, and advocacy groups for those with mental disorders. It also reflects information from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth edition, the mental health profession's current standard classification of mental disorders. In addition to reflecting comments from members of the public, the rule also reflects an intellectual disability report we commissioned from the National Academy of Sciences, and the expertise of disability policy experts, adjudicators, psychiatric professionals, and vocational experts who provided input at every phase of the rulemaking process. The publication of this final rule is an important cornerstone of our effort to secure today and tomorrow for members of the public with mental illness who are some of our most vulnerable beneficiaries.
You can learn more about the revised criteria at https://www.federalregister.gov/public-
inspection/current
Children’s Benefits
About 4.3 million children receive benefits from the nearly $2.6 billion Social Security distributes each month because one or both of their parents are disabled, retired, or deceased. Those dollars help to provide the necessities of life for family members and help make it possible for those children to complete high school. When a parent becomes disabled or dies, Social Security benefits help stabilize the family’s financial future. In fact, 98 of every 100 children could get benefits if a working parent dies.
Your child can get benefits if they are your biological child, adopted child, or dependent stepchild. (Sometimes, your child could also be eligible for benefits on their grandparents’ earnings.) To get benefits, a child must have: - A parent who is disabled or retired and entitled to Social Security benefits; or - A parent who died after having worked long enough in a job where they paid Social Security taxes.
In addition, the child must be: - Unmarried and; - Younger than age 18; or - 18-19 years old and a full-time student (no higher than grade 12); or - 18 or older and disabled. (The disability must have started before age 22.)
For more information, go to:
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf
Solutions, Strategies, Answers Newsletter of the Social Security Administration Offices in
Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia counties
August-September 2016 Issue #56
Welcome to the August-September 2016 edition of
Solutions, Strategies, Answers, a newsletter produced by the 18 Social Security Administration Offices in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Social Security Joins the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15, and recognizes and celebrates the cultures and
contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
The contributions of Hispanics can be traced to before the origins of the United States with the discovery, exploration, and naming of many places in our nation, such as state names like California, Colorado, and Texas and city names like San Antonio, Santa Barbara, and Boca Raton. Hispanics play a crucial role in American life, influencing every facet of life, from language to our cultural development. One of the most important things, beside your own family relationship, is the ability to maintain the feeling of individuality. That includes your language. Social Security provides a website — www.segurosocial.gov — with a variety of publications and services in Spanish that are important to you and your family. We also offer a toll free number, 1-800-772-1213, which provides automated instructions for Spanish speakers. We also try to have employees available on the phone and in many of our offices who speak Spanish However, if you need an interpreter, you can go to www.segurosocial.gov/espanol/interpreter.htm to find out more about our free interpreter services. Learn more about the importance of Social Security to Hispanics, and how certain demographic characteristics of Hispanics compare with the entire population. Go to:
https://www.ssa.gov/people/hispanics/
More Security Means More Protection
On July 30, 2016, Social Security implemented a new layer of security, asking account holders to sign into their account using a one-time code sent via text message. The my Social Security service has always featured a robust verification and authentication process, and it remains safe and secure. This new, second layer of security, called “multifactor authentication,” requires more than a username and a password. The new process complies with the President’s Executive Order on Improving the Security of Consumer Financial Transactions. When you do access your account, we encourage you to sign up for the extra security text message option. However, although we highly recommend the extra security text message option, it will not be required. Current account holders are still able to access their secure account using only their username and password. If you are uncomfortable with texting, we will be creating an option where you will receive a code via email.
You can access your account by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount
Social Security Covers an Estimated 170 Million Workers
♦ 51% of the workforce in private industry
has no private pension coverage.
♦ 31% of workers report that they and/or their spouse have no savings set aside specifically for retirement.
Social Security Launches GeoMaps Social Security announces the launch of geospatial mapping at our new initiative, GeoMaps, which complements our Open Government and Open Data Initiatives. For several years, we have published a significant amount of data on Data.gov, but we know people learn and receive information in different ways. Our geospatial maps will provide the public, and other interested parties, with a deeper understanding of our programs through geographic representations, increasing the transparency of our agency data. At our map gallery, users can view geospatial maps on the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits by State, and the Help America Vote Verification Transaction by State map. These maps let you view large amounts of our data in a quick, geographic visualization. You can also download the data, and mesh it with your own data to create other maps. Social Security is now one of many organizations (e.g. federal, state, local, universities) participating in GeoPlatform, a site managed by the Federal Geographic Data Community and chaired by the Department of the Interior. See Social Security’s new mapping features by visiting our Open Government Map Gallery, and on GeoPlatform.gov. If there are other types of maps you would like published, you can submit your idea to us. As more geospatial maps become available, we will add them to the Open Government Map Gallery.
Go to: https://www.ssa.gov/open/geospatial.html
http://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-launches-
geomaps/#more-1873
When and How We Pay Your Benefits Social Security pays benefits monthly. The Social Security
Act requires that a person meet all entitlement
requirements throughout a month in order to be eligible
for benefits for that month. When you receive a benefit,
it represents payment for the prior month. For example,
you would receive your July benefit in August.
Generally, the day of the month you receive your benefit
payment depends on the birth date of the person for
whose earnings record you receive benefits. For example,
if you get benefits as a retired worker, we base your
benefit payment date on your birth date. If you receive
benefits based on your spouse’s work, we base your
benefit payment date on your spouse’s birth date.
If you receive both Social Security and SSI benefits,
your Social Security payment will arrive on the third of
the month and your SSI payment will arrive on the first
of the month.
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10077.pdf
SHOULD I SIGN UP FOR MEDICARE PART B IF I HAVE VETERANS’ BENEFITS?
Signing up for Medicare Part B may provide you with additional service and location options.
If you do not sign up for Part B when you are first eligible, then you may have to wait to sign up, which will delay your coverage, and you may also have to pay a late
enrollment penalty for as long as you have Medicare Part B.
Special Notice Option for the Blind or Visually Impaired
Your Choices for Receiving Information
from Social Security At times, Social Security needs to contact you with important information. There are different ways to receive information from us, if you are blind or have a visual impairment and
- you have applied for or receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, or
- you are the representative payee for someone who has applied for or receives Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
You can choose to receive notices from us in one of the following ways. Just let us know which you prefer. Your choices for receiving notices are:
1) Standard print notice by first-class mail; 2) Standard print notice by certified mail; 3) Standard print notice by first-class mail and a
follow-up telephone call; 4) Braille notice and a standard print notice by first-
class mail; 5) Microsoft Word file on a data compact disc (CD)
and a standard print notice by first-class mail; 6) Audio CD and a standard print notice by first-
class mail; or 7) Large print (18-point size) notice and a standard
print notice by first-class mail. To select or change the way you wish to receive information from Social Security, go to our secure Internet application:
Request for Special Notice Option
If you already have requested notices in one of the seven formats, but you need us to provide a particular Social Security document in your preferred format, please contact us.
https://www.ssa.gov/people/blind/
Disability Is Unpredictable and Can Happen To Anyone at Any Age
Today, 56 million Americans, or 1-in-5, live with disabilities. Thirty-eight million disabled Americans, or 1-in-10, live with severe disabilities.
Disability is something many Americans, especially younger people, think can only affect the lives of other people. Tragically, thousands of young people are seriously injured or killed, often as the result of traumatic events. Many serious medical conditions, such as cancer or mental illness, can affect the young as well as the elderly.
The sobering fact for 20-year-olds insured for disability benefits is that more than 1-in-4 of them becomes disabled before reaching retirement age. As a result, they may need to rely on the Social Security disability benefits for income support.
Our disability benefits provide a critical source of financial support to people when they need it most.
https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityfacts/facts.html
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