The Social Security Administration (SSA) is giving people who have their SSI benefits suspended or reduced more time to appeal, in recognition of the hurdles and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Extra fees for passengers who took more than two minutes to get into cars discriminated against people who needed to fold up wheelchairs or required more time to reach vehicles, a lawsuit says.
People with disabilities are more likely to lack adequate nutrition and they find it hard to get nutritional help — or even recognition — from the federal government’s SNAP (food stamp) program.
If you are considering serving as a trustee for a special needs trust, know what is expected of you before taking on this role.
A new series of guides and informational toolkits help people with IDD and their caregivers adopt practices to protect them and their communities from the spread of COVID-19.
When the SSA closed its offices at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it failed to provide practical ways for people with disabilities to demonstrate their eligibility or challenge its decisions, according to a class-action lawsuit.
Rising inflation due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic means that in 2022, Social Security disability benefits will go up 5.9 percent, the sharpest upsurge since 1983.
As a handy checklist from a professor and tax expert makes clear, tax benefits for parents of children with special needs have changed due to recent federal legislation.
Taking its first look at the program in decades, a Senate subcommittee heard sometimes searing testimony that Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) is in desperate need of updating
Pandemic-related financial assistance will no longer affect an individual’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or the benefit amount, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced.
Is your family prepared for nature’s wrath and other disasters? A new guide has tips on how to ensure people with disabilities have everything they need in an emergency—well ahead of time.
The appeals process after being denied Social Security disabilities benefits is a long and winding road, but worth navigating. Here’s what is involved, at every level.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case disputing how much states can recoup from Medicaid recipients' settlements in personal injury cases. The decision has the potential to affect anyone who receives government assistance with their medical care following a disabling injury that resu...
An exception to the SECURE Act's otherwise stringent rules about distributions from inherited IRAs potentially changes longstanding advice about leaving retirement funds to a special needs trust.
A special needs trust is set up to provide money for the care and support of the beneficiary with special needs. A trustee is then named or appointed to manage the trust's assets and act in the best interests of the beneficiary. The duty a trustee owes to a beneficiary is a fiduciary duty which i...
The American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, makes health coverage bought through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) vastly more affordable for millions of Americans, at least for two years, and also assists those who need temporary coverage after losing their jobs. ...
When the Social Security Administration (SSA) approves applicants for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, it imposes a five-month waiting period between the onset of the applicant's disability and when they can begin receiving benefits. Now, thanks to legislation enacted at the ...
About 10 percent of children in foster care are entitled to Social Security payments, either through a physical or mental disability, or because their parents have died — but states are taking the money instead. Even though the payments belong to the children under federal law, at least 36 states...
Parents or other family members establishing a special needs trust for their child often want to name a professional — usually a bank, trust company, attorney, certified public accountant or non-profit — as one of the trustees of the trust in order to take advantage of that individual's experienc...
How do cities stack up for people with disabilities seeking the best place to live? Which provide the most accessible sidewalks, transportation, entertainment, and parks? Which score high for low-cost housing, jobs, public hospitals, affordable home attendants, or a plentiful supply of doctors, t...
A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that fixes a flaw in earlier legislation and would finally allow all veterans to allocate pension payments to their survivors with special needs without fear that the payments will jeopardize the survivor's receipt of other gov...
The Biden administration has announced relief for hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities who had their federal student loan debt reinstated because they failed to submit the proper paperwork during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, advocates are urging the administration make another ch...
Remember how satisfying it was setting up a trust for your child with special needs? You named a trustee and a successor trustee, signed the paperwork, and paid the legal bills, and then you rested easy at night knowing you had put a plan in place for your child. Done! Well, not exactly. Because ...
Retirement plans often make up a significant portion of the assets of parents of children with special needs, or of individuals who have become disabled as adults. In such cases, the question arises as to whether the retirement plan can be put into a special needs trust. The answer, as with many...
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Social Security Administration (SSA) closed all 1,200 of its field offices to in-person appointments, as well as suspended numerous other services. One distressing result is that the number of new Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients hit its low...
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