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When I meet a new client, I often learn that the client had filed a previous Social Security disability or SSI claim that was denied, but not ever appealed. It happens quite a bit. Depending of the timing, that previous claim can often be reopened. When a claim is reopened, it is like it was appealed in the first place and remains pending.

Reopening is governed by 20 C.F.R. 404.988.

A denied claim may be reopened within 12 months for any reason. The 12 month period runs from the date of the initial denial of the prior claim.

If there is good cause, a prior disability claim can be reopened within 4 years. An SSI claim can be reopened within 2 years for good cause. In most cases, "new and material" evidence is the basis for a finding of good cause.

Let's look at an example of reopening.Continue Reading Reopening a Prior Claim

Your onset date is the date your disability began. The date represents a confluence of when you were not working at SGA and when you had a medically determinable impairment that is expected to last a year or more.

The “alleged” onset date is selected at the time of filing a disability claim. Once you…

As discussed in the previous post, step 4 of Social Security’s sequential evaluation process is a determination of your ability to return to your past relevant work. Your “past relevant work” is work you have performed in the past 15 years at the SGA level.

All Social Security does at this step is compare your…

If you have worked at the SGA level at any time since the alleged onset date of your Social Security disability claim, it can be problematic for your claim. You must have a 12 month period of disability (or a condition which is expected to result in death) to qualify for Social Security disability. That…

Your PIA is your "Primary Insurance Amount." That is the Social Security term for the amount of your monthly benefit, should you retire or become disabled.

Your PIA depends on how much you have paid into the system. Social Security has a complicated formula to calculate it. In general, sporadic workers may have a disability…

One of the items an administrative law judge may consider when deciding your disability case is whether or not you were steadlily employed prior to applying for disability. All else being equal, a disability claimant with a twenty year work record tends to be looked at more favorably than a person with the same impairments…

Your date last insured (DLI) can be an important date for your Social Security disability claim. Social Security disability is an insurance program, and a portion of the FICA payroll taxes withheld from every paycheck pays the disability premium. However, if you stop working, you stop paying the premium. Eventually, your disability insurance will lapse.…