Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries occasionally learn they own a countable asset they weren’t aware of. For example, a beneficiary may discover that a relative had purchased stock for them and it has a cash value. Determining If an Unknown Asset is a Countable Asset In this type of situation, Social Security first determines if the SSI beneficiary has: ownership …
Caller-ID “Spoofing” Scheme Misuses Social Security Customer Service Number
Social Security has received numerous reports of questionable phone calls displaying their 1-800 number on a caller-ID screen. This may be a scam! If a person claiming to be from Social Security calls you and threatens you for information or promises a Social Security benefit approval or increase in exchange for information: Hang up. Don’t engage and don’t provide any …
Apply for Social Security Benefits Online
New at Social Security — you can now apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) online. This adds to the growing list of things you can do on Social Security’s website! What’s New You can submit a disability and SSI application together. This should speed up the process and allow you to start receiving benefits sooner. …
Foodshare at the Farmers’ Markets
Did you know that you can purchase produce at some Farmers’ Markets using FoodShare? Several Farmers’ Markets across Wisconsin are equipped with the technology to accept QUEST cards as payment, making it easier to purchase fresh and local food to prepare healthy meals. Some Farmer’ Markets even offer incentives to FoodShare recipients, such as matching the amount you spend on …
Continued Medicaid Eligibility Section 1619(b)
My name is Stephanie Drum, and I am a Work Incentives Benefits Specialist (WIBS) here at ERI (Employment Resources, Inc.). If you didn’t know already, I really like working with benefits. I unfairly have favorite work incentives, which is what I am writing about today. It’s one of the more unknown and misunderstood work incentives offered to Supplemental Security Income …
Medical Cessation Protection
An important work incentive for people who are receiving Social Security disability payments and participating in work rehabilitation programs can be a protection against benefits stopping due to a medical Continuing Disability Review (CDR). The Social Security Administration (SSA) is required to conduct periodic medical reviews of all Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability beneficiaries …
Motivational Interviewing
Many have heard the buzz about motivational interviewing (MI) and its success for the past several years. However, beyond the buzz, many still have questions about what MI is or isn’t as well as how to incorporate concepts of MI into everyday client interactions. What is MI is not: a way of tricking people into doing what you want them …
Technical Entitlement
Technical Entitlement This is a topic I had learned about many times. I had seen it happen from afar or noticed it as something that happened before I worked with a person. I even had Ron Konkol from Social Security tell me fascinating stories about how Technical Entitlement can cause problems for people’s Medicare records. So, when I first saw …
Medicare for End Stage Renal Disease
I recently encountered my first case of someone getting Medicare as an End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patient. The beneficiary had only been on SSDI for 11 months in his first period of eligibility, and I was surprised that he already had Medicare. I had heard about this possibility, but until I had to research it, I didn’t understand what …
RMA: Not Just About Income
Retrospective Monthly Accounting, or RMA, is the process that Social Security uses to calculate Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. Let’s start by reviewing what RMA is and how it works… Social Security uses the income that someone receives in a month to calculate the eligible SSI payment two months later. For example, the income received in June will be used …