Blog
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You may have heard or read about the Donald Trump and conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation’s, plans for a second Trump presidency. If you haven’t, do a google search. There is some scary stuff in there, for sure. Some of it directly affects Social Security benefits. One of the major proposals involves gradually…
3+ weeks ago -
For as long as Attorney Crawforth has been practicing Social Security’s evaluation process has included Past Relevant Work for jobs going back 15 years. That will now change. For decisions dated June 22, 2024 or later the relevant time period is 5 years meaning only jobs in that time frame are evaluated.
3+ months ago
News
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Summer 2021 Newsletter STILL STANDING…AND PRACTICING I published the first issue of Social Security & You in Spring of 1993. Some years I’ve published more issues than others. The most recent issue was dated Spring 2019: over 2 years ago. The world was a much different place then. Especially for me. Read the full newsletter…
3+ years ago -
Spring 2019 Newsletter An Opioid Story I’ve changed his name. Let’s call him Gerald. He was a laborer. And by that I don’t mean that he just did physical work. He was a card-carrying member the Labor’s Union local. And that meant a lot to him. I represented him for Social Security disability and Michigan…
5+ years ago
SOCIAL SECURITY RAISES REPRESENTATIVE FEE CAP
Social Security uses what is called the “fee agreement process” to pay representatives who help Claimants. For those signing an appropriate fee agreement Social Security will approve the agreement and pay the representative up to 25% of a retroactive fee.
Since November 2022 that retroactive fee could not exceed $7,200. Sometime this fall the cap will be raised to $9,200. Future increases will be more regular and tied to the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA).
The Commissioner of the Social Security administration, Martin O’Malley, states the fee increase is necessary to incentivize representation. “Our programs can be complex and quality representation-from initial claims to appeals-helps people navigate the process.”, according to the Commissioner.
Social Security is experiencing growing backlogs. The average wait for an initial decision is 8 months, for a reconsideration, 7 months. The long term goal is to reduce the wait for both to 4 months. Representatives speed up the process by assisting in the gathering of medical evidence.
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Call today if you have questions about the Michigan Social Security Disability Attorney and Lawyer Services provided by William Crawforth.
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