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IS THE WRONG "ONSET DATE" COSTING YOU $THOUSANDS ON YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY CLAIM?

When you file for Social Security disability benefits, the application asks you when you first became unable to work.  Technically, they are asking when you first became unable to work at "substantial gainful activity" or SGA.  That means basically a full-time job OR earning at least $1,260 per month in gross wages (before tax).

This date that you put on your application becomes the "Alleged Onset Date" or AOD.  It is vitally important because it controls when your disability pay starts and the total amount of your back pay.

The onset date also controls when you become eligible for Medicare.

The AOD also controls when your children or dependents begin to receive monthly payments!

Putting the wrong date can cost you thousands and thousands of dollars. You want to take the claim back as far as you can.  However, you must not have been working at SGA level on the date of your alleged onset.  Generally, you cannot have worked at SGA level after the alleged onset date, because it shows that you were not disabled the whole time you claim.

General rules about Alleged Onset Date (AOD):

  • Take the date back as far in the past as you under the rules (below).
  • You can only collect for up to 12 months prior to date of application.
  • So, if your application was filed on 4/1/20, no need to try to go back to 2016 on the AOD.  But you may go back 12 months.
  • You must not have been working at SGA on the date of your AOD.
Many claimants just let Social Security use the Application Date as their Alleged Onset Date (AOD).  In most cases, the actual disability began long BEFORE the date the application was filed.  There should be some months of back payment due when the case settles, but if you put the wrong AOD on your application, you may give up the back pay.

EXAMPLE:  Let's assume that your monthly benefit is $2,000.  Let's assume you had to quit work due to a disability on March 1, 2019.  However, you didn't get around to filing an application until April, 2020.  You should qualify for onset of disability on March 1, 2019.  They will subtract the 5 months waiting period, so your first payment would begin in August, 2019.  So, the back-pay due for the period between August 2020 and April 2019 is $18,000.  

If you put the date of application (April 2020) as your onset date, you gave up the $18,000 in back pay.  Bad, bad, costly mistake.

If you have children/dependents, it will cost you more $$$ in lost dependent payments.  So, instead of losing $18,000 you may lose $24,000, $30,000 or even more.

DOES SOCIAL SECURITY LOOK OUT FOR YOU?

No.  It is not Social Security's job to look out for you to be sure you get all that's coming to you.  You do that yourself.  Or your attorney does.  But Social Security is NOT your advocate.  They are happy to let you settle for less money.

Suppose I owe you $18,000.  I'm due to repay you on a certain date.  On that date, you come to me and say, "Hey, you owe me $18,000 but I'm willing to take $500 and call it square."  Will you take the offer?  Yes, most likely.  So will Social Security.

You might, accidentally, get a very conscientious employee at Social Security who tells you, "Hey wait a minute.  I think you are settling for too little money because of your Alleged Onset Date!"  But, probably not.

Social Security's attitude is generally, "We're going broke.  We need to save all the money we can to delay bankruptcy for as long as possible."

And they may not even do it on purpose.  They may simply overlook that you've chosen the wrong onset date.  Works for you, works for them!

The attorney's fee on the above case would be $4,444.  But if you got $18,000 that you otherwise would have lost, are you better off?  Yep, any way you figure it.  $18,000 minus $4,444 still leaves you $13, 556.  

So, fixing that one mistake made you $13,556, even after you pay the attorney's fee.  

You say, "Hey, what if the attorney didn't get the $18,000 in back pay?  I'd still be out $4,444 in legal fees.

Incorrect.  The attorney fee is 25% of the back pay collected.  If you don't collect the extra $18,000, the attorney's fee is $0.

SOCIAL SECURITY DOES NOT ADVOCATE FOR YOU.  THAT'S YOUR JOB, OR THE JOB OF YOUR ATTORNEY!  

ONSET DATE, MATTERS, FOLKS! 

______________
Sponsored By
The Forsythe Firm
7027 Old Madison Pike, Suite 108
Huntsville, AL 35806
PHONE (256) 799-0297





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