Approved and then Denied

[Kellyps]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington, DC



I applied for SSI for both of my son's that have Autism, now the bottom line is the first child was approved but is being denied because I make to much money, but after the bills are all paid, I live off of maybe $200-350 a month with five in the household three of them being my children and I am the sole income. I sent them everything, paystubs and all the bills that I have coming in, but again approved and then soon to be denied, can I appeal, would it be feasible or a waste of time?

 

[Isis1]

You were approved because it was found your son is in fact disabled. Your were denied because you make too much money under their low income guidelines. You may need to look into downsizing.

 

[Onderzoek]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington, DC



I applied for SSI for both of my son's that have Autism, now the bottom line is the first child was approved but is being denied because I make to much money, but after the bills are all paid, I live off of maybe $200-350 a month with five in the household three of them being my children and I am the sole income. I sent them everything, paystubs and all the bills that I have coming in, but again approved and then soon to be denied, can I appeal, would it be feasible or a waste of time?

Well, you really don't live on $200-$350 a month, you live on the amount of money you get before your bills are paid. If money is being used to pay your bills, then that is money you are living on. You don't say how much your bills are, but it is really immaterial since SSI is not higher for people who spend more money, for whatever reason. So sending in bills doesn't do anything about whether or not your sons qualify for SSI.

Is the claim on your second son still pending? The computation for counting parental income for one eligible child is different than the computation for counting parental income for two eligible children, so it is possible that if both are found disabled that you may no longer have excess income.

Here's the link for the chapter that explains the terms and formulas. Not light reading.

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0501320000

 

[Kellyps]

Reply to Onderzoek

Yes, my second child case is still pending, it is in the hands of thier doctor's to prove that he is disable.

I also understand that they approved him for being diabled, but I sent all of what was required including my paystubs and I am not sure why they did not deny me from the beginning. I don't need approval for them to tell me he is disable, the doctor's told me that. I guess to me approving that my son is disable makes no difference if you are not going to approve me because of my income and you had this information from day one, to heck with sending it through to get approval, I hope you understand my point, if they would have just done it in the very beginning then I would not have jumped through hoops to get them what they wanted just to say we believe you when you say he is disable, let's be honest, I only needed them to if I was getting the SSI for my son, that is it.

At any case, I am still trying to figure out should I appeal, from what you are saying, you think I should wait to get the verdict from my last son's case and then appeal correct? Thanks.

 

[Onderzoek]

I am not telling you to appeal now if you want to. But since he was denied due to excess income and you agree that the income was counted correctly (see your denial letter) then you don't have a disagreement with the facts, you have a disagreement with the regulation that sets the income limit. And neither your local office nor an administrative law judge can change the income limit or the formula. So an appeal on that issue may make you feel better since a second person is looking at it, but if the numbers are correct, then the excess income decision will be correct.

Your office took a claim from you because you said you wanted to file one. It is possible that in a multiple deeming case (two eligibles) that your income is not too high so there was no reason to deny the claim the day it was taken. Or, when you filed the claim, you gave an estimate of your income that was somewhat lower than the actual. SSI counts gross income and people often think about net income. Hard to say. You may want to contact the claims rep who denied the claim to find out if both sons are found disabled will it make a difference.

 

[SteelCity1981]

Like other people stated they look at your earned income not anything else. If you are making too much, then SSI simply won't be approved regardless of how little money you end up having after paying bills each month.

You're prob wasting your time appealing if your earned income hasn't changed to meet the SSI income limits, because like Onderzoek stated if you agreed that the income you earned was correct and if that is the case then you don't have any disagreements to base it on.

 

[Onderzoek]

Another point I would like to make that is if your income is not low enough today, income can go up or down and that can change SSI benefits every month. So if you do manage to qualify one month, you need to report your wages EVERY MONTH so the correct payment can be determined. SSI eligibility is determined on a monthly basis and can change every month.