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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Letters Sent After Approval of ALJ

Application for disability benefits undergoes various stages. It may either be denied or approved. In case of approval, claimant receives two letters.

A Notice of Decision and a Notice of Award are sent to the claimant in case of approval. The Notice of Approval is a letter from the judge while the Notice of Award comes from the social security office.

The Notice of Decision depicts either fully favorable or partially favorable decision. The difference has to do with the Date of Onset or the date when the disability is decided to have begun.

The Date of Onset is used to compute the past due benefits or back pay. A claimant may receive several hundred dollars in security back pay or several thousand depending on the date of onset. Moreover, this date is a good reason to have representation. Basing on the medical evidence, the claimant’s representative can argue for the most favorable onset date possible.

On the other hand, the Notice of Decision talks about the amount of benefit such as the monthly benefits, back pay benefits and commencement benefits.

Regarding back disability payment, it may take time to process depending on various factors such as the kind of disability the claimant is entitled to. Moreover, delay may be incurred in transferring the decision from the hearing office to the Social Security payment center.

Also, the Social Security may send a ticket to work to the claimant. While the letter means that the claimant is encouraged to go back to work, it does not mean though that the Social Security considers him as able to work.

If you find the topic interesting and you want to know more, you may engage the services of a disability benefits lawyer. A Social Security attorney may also be consulted if you want to file a claim.