What the hell happened to all of my old (Prior) Social Security Applications and why can’t I go back to the old application date?
Oh, I know you know about this one. You get ready for a hearing and you are told that they are going to look at your case from a particular date of application but you KNOW that you have filed a few times before and YOU want to know WHY are they NOT considering those old applications. And why is this important? It’s because you KNOW that you’ve been disabled for a while and you think they need to understand so they don’t cut out your benefits. Will, let me get YOU right so get ready to read!!
Ok, ok, I’m sure quite a few of you have heard me give a break down of different things relating to Social Security but today, I have go over a topic that I get asked THOUSANDS of time. It’s really weird from a technical standpoint so I’m going to break it down into two parts. Part I is titled LEGAL talk and this is where I will discuss the various standards that Social Security relies on to make their determination. Part II is titled BEAT talk and this is the part where I will discuss how people tend to get into this situation and the little things that you do that may impact your ability to get your old application reopened.
PART I - LEGAL talk
If you get denied on your application and you refile, you may be able to request your prior file be re-opened. However, for purposes of my discussion, I’m going to give you a hypothetical scenario so you can see how this work. In the course of the discussion, I will rely on references 20 CFR 404.988, 20 CFR 404.989, 20 CFR 416.1488, and 20 CFR 416.1489.
HYPO: Let’s say that you filed an application on JANUARY 1, 2006 and you got your initial denial on MAY 1, 2006. Here’s what may happen if you re-file again on the below listed dates:
1) RE-FILE DATE DECEMBER 31, 2006 (It should be able to re-open automatically)
The regulations provide that if you re-file a new application, for any reason within 12 months from the date of the notice of the initial determination, it can be re-opened automatically (either by requesting it or SSA may do it by themselves). So under the example I just provided you, since you filed a new application within the 12 month window from MAY 1, 2006, you can re-open your JANUARY 1, 2006 application.
2) RE-FILE DATE JUNE 1, 2009 (Depends on your type of case and it depends on your reason for asking)
Here’s the point where you need to know what kind of case you have. If you have a case under Title II (which is Disability Insurance Benefits), you can request a re-opening because your reapplication occurred within 4 years of the May 1, 2006 determination (4 years from your initial determination in this hypothetical). However, under Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income), you only have 2 years from that date to ask. Since you were denied on May 1, 2006, you had up until May 1, 2008 to file a new application and ask for the old one to be re-opened. Since you re-filed on June 1, 2009, you are not within the window. Now, remember what I said in point #1. Within 12 months of the initial determination, you can ask for it to be re-opened for any reason. Beyond that 12 months (but within the window, DIB within 4 years and for SSI within 2 years), you gotta have a good reason. And here is what they consider:
(1) New and material evidence is furnished;
New meaning something that relates to the period of time to explain WHY you didn’t re-apply right away and it must be relevant (MATERIAL) to your case.
(2) A clerical error in the computation or recomputation of benefits was made; or
(3) The evidence that was considered in making the determination or decision clearly shows on its face that an error was made.
3) RE-FILED because you found out and realized that someone was using your information and SSA applied their information to you.
You can RE-FILE and ask for a Reopening, for any time if,
(1) It was obtained by fraud or similar fault ;
(2) Another person files a claim on the same earnings record and allowance of the claim adversely affects your claim;
(3) A person previously determined to be dead, and on whose earnings record your entitlement is based, is later found to be alive;
(4) Your claim was denied because you did not prove that a person died, and the death is later established—
(i) By a presumption of death; or
(ii) By location or identification of his or her body
PART II BEAT Talk
Alright, now that we got the legal MUMBO jumbo part out of the way, let me get down to the DIRTY and tell you why it is sometimes difficult to get your old applications re-opened:
1) Your last application is so long ago that there is NO way they are going to re-open it.
The one thing I wanted to make clear is that there are timelines for requesting your old applications to be re-opened. I’m sorry if you applied in 1994 and you have been out of work the entire time. However, if you can’t show that there was some fraud involved or someone used your information or something else as referred to above, SSA is NOT going to go ALL the way back to 1994 if you reapplied beyond the SSI (2 year) and DIB (4 year) window.
2) You were in prison during the time between your current applications and your new one.
Now, in theory, if you’re within the period of time, you could request a re-opening. Let’s say under the hypo I provided, you were denied on May 1, 2006, you went to prison on May 30, 2006 and you didn’t get out until November 1, 2007. So you reapplied that day and you want to go back to May 1, 2006. Of course, you got a good reason. You were in prison. You way have a good reason but (under the regulations), they can’t pay you for any time you were in prison. Now, if you have DIB claim where you are indicating that you were disabled up to a year before the application, you may want to request the re-opening. However, if you have an SSI claim, you can only get paid from the date of the application so why would they re-open that old application?
3) “I didn’t know I could appeal”.
I have heard this one a MILLION times. Now, let’s get real. Unless you have a cognitive problem or you have a low IQ or you were under some type of extreme emotional or physical situation, you are probably NOT going to get ANY sympathy from Social Security for the “I didn’t know I could appeal” reason. Those decisions that SSA generate are SO detailed that they explain two or three times about your RIGHT to appeal.
4) “I was going through some things” (You better be specific, dammit, and it better be good and you better have proof).
Now, let’s be honest here. You are going to have some situations where you are in a devastating circumstance. Your loved one died. You went through traumatic divorce. Something of that nature. In some instances, SSA may be sympathetic. However, SSA is not dumb. They are going to want SOMETHING to demonstrate that you did go through what you went through to support your assertion.
5) You were working.
And this is another one I’ve seen. people, the FIRST step of the SSA process is “Are you performing a Substantial Gainful activity?”. In other words, are you working? Say (like under the HYPO), you applied on Jan. 1, 2006. You were denied on May 1, 2006. You went back to work. Now, it’s not that simple. If you only worked a few weeks or you tried a month here and a month there with no success, you might get some sympathy (depending on your reason for not working). However, if you went back to work on May 2, 2006 and worked until June 2008 and you earned $14000 a year but now you’re saying that you were struggling and so you can’t do it, you might get the hoochie lips from SSA. Why? Did i mention that you earned $14000 a year? and OH, SSA knows that you earned $14,000 so if you can’t explain how you worked under some special set of circumstances, you are probably not going to get that old application re-opened.
I I know that so many people find themselves reapplying for disability benefits so I wanted to make sure that I took the opportunity give some insight into how this situation works so you can understand why your old applications may or may not be affected.
-
Brought to you by:
