like a whoopie cushion on the electric chair

[carlyinrome]

I spent two grueling years living on nothing, burning through my slim savings, jumping hoop after hoop, filling out reams of paperwork, giving depositions and seeing doctors and not being able to afford my meds or anything else, and finally I was approved for social security benefits while I am too sick to work. They told me I was guaranteed full benefits through 2018.

Today I got a letter from the SSA saying that I have 15 days to verify my income from working so they can determine whether I am still eligible for benefits. I thought, okay, no problem, I only made $250 this year, easy. But when I looked at the forms, I realized they require complete employment information from the day I first filed for short term disability benefits, September 15, 2014.

If I fail to submit complete documentation by the deadline, my benefits can be immediately canceled.

They want so much meticulously detailed information. They want exact dates and complete company profiles. They want weekly pay stubs for the past three years. I don't have them. No one gives out paper pay stubs anymore; they're all sent electronically to company emails that I no longer have access to because I stopped working--which the SSA must know already, because they legally designated me unable to work less than a year ago.

I am crushed and panicked and crying and angry and frustrated and desperate and sick. I don't know how I'm going to get the documentation they want. I have all my tax documents, of course, but the SSA's instructions are explicit in saying they want everything week by week, so W-2s won't cut it. Three years. That is 156 weeks to account for in depth, and did I mention that I am disabled and doing this kind of thing is extremely difficult or actually impossible for me. I don't know what to do. I don't understand.

Comments

[book_lover]

My (unasked for) advice is to go to the SSA local office and talk to your case worker there. When you applied for benefits, you were assigned a case worker - that is the person who should have been in touch with you from your local office. If you don't have one, go there and demand one, and don't leave until you get one. Ask someone to go with you for support. If they didn't assign a caseworker to you, they were remiss in their duties to the public. Make sure you tell them that. Don't leave until you see someone with whom you can discuss your case. It's possible that your caseworker left that office, in which case he or she should've sent you a letter or called you to let you know who would be taking over your case. If they give you a hard time, tell them you want to speak to a supervisor. Make a big stink. This is why you should bring someone else along with you - someone who can back you up, or support you when you're getting tired. Do this ASAP, before you have to respond. Bring as much documentation as you can. Explain your situation. The person you will speak to may have other solutions for your missing documentation. In any case, they have to hear your case and look at your documents.

Good luck! Don't get discouraged. Let your anger motivate you. Jeez, I'm getting enraged just reading about your situation. You need so much help and would benefit from so many services that you aren't getting.

Also, the SSA local office should have literature available on how to appeal your case, and what your rights are as a customer. It can be worth reading.

[elucidate_this]

This is exactly the advice I came to give. Another option is to find a non-profit that offers social security advocacy and see if they can assign you someone to help.

[book_lover]

I suggested that perhaps a peer advocacy agency for people with mental health issues would be helpful, but I reported my finds to lauramoon, and there were none available in her area. Perhaps another type of non-profit agency would prove more fruitful. However, generally the people who advocate for social security applicants are lawyers, and they charge a fee, payable when you receive your retroactive benefit check. That's why I suggested a peer agency, because they can have a lot of experience in this issue, having been through it themselves, or being trained in social security advocacy, and they don't charge for services.

I worked as a peer advocate for 5 years, and we all took a social security benefit training, which really came in handy when I had to apply and was turned down the first time. It helps to have letters from supervisors or coworkers who can attest to your unfitness to work, but I don't think lauramoon has access to those people.

Lauramoon, correct me if I'm wrong on any of this, please?

[elucidate_this]

Sounds like you know more than me! Lauramoon is in good hands.

[book_lover]

I live in NYC, so I know the laws, services, and agencies available here, but I don't know anything about the area where Lauramoon is living, and what's available there. Often these agencies are tiny and operate on a shoestring budget, so they may not have websites, or at least not websites that are easily found. Also, a lot depends on the funding for such services in that city, county, and state, and I know Lauramoon's state didn't take the Medicaid expansion offered to states under the Affordable Care Act, so consequently a lot of funds that they would have been able to access are not available. One more example of how poor folks and people with disabilities get screwed over by the government. Color me disillusioned!

In conclusion, if you know more about services/agencies/laws in her area, you could probably help her more than I can.

[elucidate_this]

I live in MA and, sadly, all my knowledge is there. You are right that the helpful agencies may not have websites, I didn't think of that but as I spool through my mental list of agencies around here, most don't have websites, or are programs that you have to be parts of other programs to access which is equally unhelpful. And ugh, I get so frustrated that some states didn't take the expansion. Everything is terrible.

Sorry I can't be more help lauramoon and sorry that we are taking up so much real estate when really only the first comment helped.

[book_lover]

What elucidate_this said!

[carlyinrome]

I really appreciate you trying to help, no matter how many comments you leave. :) Thank you.

[book_lover]

Oh, gods, your frustration is palpable! I really wish I was near you, so I could go with you to these things, so you would at least have support and an advocate. It makes me so angry, what you've been going through for so long. It's like they're torturing you. :(

[carlyinrome]

I appreciate everything you've said, and all the ways you're trying to help. Thank you.

[carlyinrome]

I cannot locate any peer or nonprofit groups in my area. I contacted my lawyer today, but I was mostly just confused by what he had to say, and I definitely cannot afford to hire him, as I have no big retroactive coming; I received that last year when my appeal was successful and I was deemed fully eligible. My lawyer said that he thought my file had been flagged because I had earnings reported after my initial claim for short-term disability, but what they've listed as "employment" is the PTO I had accrued when I left my job, and the short-term disability payments from the insurance company, neither of which involved me working, and there's nowhere on the forms they've sent to explain that.

[carlyinrome]

Thank you for the advice; I didn't even know there was such a thing. Unfortunately, when I search the internet for such an organization near me, nothing relevant comes up. It's like they want you to fail.

[carlyinrome]

Thanks for the advice. If I have a caseworker, no one's ever told me about it; I am further frustrated that I don't know which office I should visit. The last time I needed to speak to someone, I went to two buildings on recommendations from SSA workers, and both times it was completely the wrong place. It took hours, and for nothing.

I'm sorry, I'm just really upset and overwhelmed. It's so confusing and difficult to manage through all this red tape and forms and different offices and departments, and I'm on the verge of tears just thinking about it.

[book_lover]

Stupid question: Have you tried their website?

Here it is: https://www.ssa.gov/agency/contact/

You can get the 800 number there, and if click on "Find an Office," you can put in your zip code, and it should tell you the SSA office for your area. You can double check by calling the 800 number.

Also, you can do some things online, and you can email them and explain your situation in detail, including the things they were supposed to do and didn't. You can also register a complaint.

If you've already tried this, sorry for bringing it up again. If not, let me know how it goes.