The Danger Of Working “Off The Books”

People in all walks of life are eventually offered the opportunity to work without paying taxes at some point. In addition to being illegal, many have found out that this tactic can come back to hurt them in the long run.

Certain professions are more prone to paying “off the books” or “under the table” than others, including:

• Home health aides
• Waiters and waitresses
• Janitorial workers
• Mechanics

Individuals can easily conceal their income in the industries listed above; wages for these workers are so low that workers deem it necessary to avoid taxes in order to stay above water financially. And sometimes, it is not the worker who wants to work off the books. Some workers, who are grateful to have a job at all, feel it's necessary to work off the books because of pressure from their employers to do so.

The problem is that many people who have worked off the books throughout their 20s and 30s find themselves in trouble if they ever need to collect Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). If they are injured, and have not been paying Social Security or Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes regularly, they may find they are eligible to receive only a fraction of what a tax-paying claimant would receive. Or they may have difficulty receiving any SSDI benefits at all. This is also true with Workers’ Compensation Insurance.

When you receive your paycheck from an employer, you will notice, in addition to the usual federal and local income tax deductions, a series of other deductions, including a Social Security or FICA deduction. Think of this other deduction as an insurance policy premium. If you work and have these payments taken out over a period of time, you are guaranteeing that, if the time comes, you will receive the maximum benefits to commensurate with your years of premium payments and hard work.

  

Whatever the reason, the best advice is not to engage in the practice of “working off the books”. Report all your income “by the book,” thereby ensuring that you would be eligible to collect your maximum SSDI benefits in the future.  

Anselmo A. Alegria

aaa@alegriabarovicklaw.com

alegriabarovicklaw.com
914-761-1133

A Pair of Paperwork Powerhouses

A dedicated and capable support staff is the backbone of any great law office. At Alegria & Barovick LLP, we recognize the difference an excellent support staff make. While attorneys can handle the legal strategies employed, it is the support staff who keep things running smoothly and anticipate potential issues before they become real problems.

In our practice, we handle a great deal of Social Security Disability cases and these often require reviewing a client’s medical records to figure out whether he or she has already received certain care, or needs further treatment.

However, medical records can be very difficult to obtain. Depending on how old the medical records may be, they may be archived off-site from a hospital or doctor's office, which makes them difficult to track down. And if the records are too recent, they may not have been properly catalogued yet. Our staff are experts at finding records - and often go through Herculean efforts to locate them, which can mean the difference between a client receiving needed benefits or not.   

For example, we just handled a case involving a client who was being treated by a physician located near Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.

As a result of Hurricane Sandy last year, this doctor’s office had been damaged and his files were completely torn asunder. Our team worked tirelessly to locate an IT specialist capable of extracting data from the doctor’s waterlogged, salt-damaged hard drive, which revived our case; by presenting this evidence to the Administrative Law Judge at a disability hearing, we were able to prevail and get our client the disability benefits she deserved.     

Whether it’s taking on complicated tasks like forensic computing, coming in on the weekend or just being flexible, our support staff genuinely wants the best outcome for you and your case.

Does your Social Security Disability case need the help of a paperwork powerhouse? Combined with help of the help of the guy in the back office, who happens to be an experienced Social Security Disability attorney, our support staff will ensure that you’ll be in good hands. Call us at 914-761-1133 today!

Anselmo A. Alegria
aaa@alegriabarovicklaw.com
alegriabarovicklaw.com
914-761-1133

Social Security Disability Cases: Attorneys As Motivators

There are many workers eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) who, for various reasons, never proceed with all the steps necessary to receive their benefits. In addition to the physical suffering, being injured or disabled for a long time can take an emotional and financial toll on anyone, which is why it is important for people who are unable to work to consult with an attorney who handles Social Security cases. In our practice, we see clients everyday in these situations and part of our job is to help steer them back to a positive outlook about their futures as well as to make sure they receive all the financial benefits they are due.

We recently had a client who had an SSDI case that was three and a half years old. She had never gone for medical treatment, which caused her case to be continually deferred due to a lack of evidence. Once we stepped in, we convinced her to see doctors and collect her medical records. We were soon able to gather enough evidence to have her found disabled by the Social Security Administration and she was awarded a substantial amount of money, going back three and a half years. It was a very good outcome. In many ways we acted not only as attorneys but also as coaches. In the years since her injury, this client had fallen into depression and had given up. We were able to persuade her that her case was worth fighting for and improve her overall quality of life.

For Social Security benefit cases, we usually work on contingency, meaning that we only get paid if the client collects benefits. But in every case, we do our best to see that the disabled individual gets the medical help and emotional support he or she needs to move forward. Obviously getting all the financial benefits they are eligible for is an aspect of this recovery, but sometimes it is just one part of a broader goal. In a recent case, we were able to convince a client to get needed medical help and because of this, she regained her health enough to actually go back to work. Even though there was no financial reward for us, we were proud of this outcome.      

Anselmo A. Alegria
aaa@alegriabarovicklaw.com

alegriabarovicklaw.com
914-761-1133

Why We Need To Protect Social Security Disability Insurance From Sequestration Cuts

Due to our nation’s current deficit problems and the sequestration debate occurring in Congress, there has been some discussion about reforming the country’s Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. 

SSDI is a federal benefit program that provides monthly payments to workers who have become significantly disabled before reaching their retirement age, and who now need government support to help them pay their bills. 

While there may have to be budget cuts, it is very important that we protect and strengthen SSDI because its beneficiaries are hard-working Americans who can no longer work, through no fault of their own, and many would have nowhere to turn without these benefits.

The taxpayers receiving benefits have already paid into the program.

Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes are taken out of a worker's paycheck along with the other state and federal taxes deducted. These FICA deductions specifically go towards paying for the Social Security program including SSDI. So when someone is injured and can no longer work, they are not asking for charity. In effect, throughout a worker's entire career, the deductions from his or her weekly paycheck were simply premiums funding this insurance policy.     

The taxpayers seeking SSDI benefits need them.

Only individuals who have been injured and are no longer able to work are eligible to receive benefits under SSDI. Substantial medical evidence must be submitted to prove the disability is real, and renders the workers who are applying for benefits unable to work. Because of their disabilities and their inability to earn a living anymore, many of these workers have no means of support and would literally be homeless without the help of these benefits.

Due to limited resources and a smothering backlog of applications, it already takes too long for workers to receive benefits after applying for them. It typically takes two years or more for workers to begin receiving SSDI benefits. The good news is that when they are approved for benefits, the payments are retroactive and are calculated from the date of of disability. 

Anselmo A. Alegria
aaa@alegriabarovick.com

http://alegriabarovicklaw.com/
914-761-1133

Don’t Suffer in Silence: How your medical record can make or break your claim

We are fortunate in this country that our government provides assistance to those members of society who are no longer able to work due to a disability. The federal government’s Social Security Disability program acts as a safety net for those individuals by providing:

• Monthly stipends for the disabled person;
• Monthly stipends for qualifying family members;
• Medical coverage under Medicare.

Getting approved for Social Security Disability benefits is a long and complex process, rarely taking less than a year, and often more than 2 years.

Unfortunately, it is a process often frustrated by the fact that many claimants do not get medical treatment. Perhaps they have given up or they’ve simply accepted their diminished physical capacity, but once a person stops going in for medical treatment no more medical records will be produced. No medical records means it is very difficult to prove the case to Social Security Administration.

For example, someone might have a disabling back condition for which they have gone to the doctor many times. When it turns out that nothing can be done except medication, they stop going to their doctor. They simply refill their prescriptions and go on like that for months, sometimes years - and there are no medical records  documenting that disability for that time period. Although they may be suffering, the person is suffering in silence because it’s not being documented in a doctor’s medical chart.

Social Security wants to see that a claimant is continuing his or her medical treatment because they want to see that he or she is at least trying to get better.

Often, in addition to physical disabilities, there is the added obstacle of a mental impairment. For instance, someone who is in excruciating pain every day may eventually fall into a severe depression. Depression, too, can be a disability under Social Security regulations - but there has to be a medical record of it. Sadly, the stigma associated with mental illness causes many people to forgo treatment. We encourage them to do so not only because it will help them get better, but it will also strengthen their case.

Our firm brings the extensive legal and medical expertise required to evaluate your claim. We have the litigation and courtroom experience necessary to pursue your claim successfully on your behalf. For more information, click here or call 888-743-1606.

Anselmo A. Alegria
aaa@alegriabarovicklaw.com
alegriabarovicklaw.com
914-761-1133

Social Security/Disability In The News

• U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin says Social Security benefits are among those that should by denied to illegal immigrants, according this article from the Kansas City Star.

• Most of us assume that because Social Security is a federal program, every state has Social Security coverage in place, and that the cost of one's benefits is deducted regularly from the paychecks of state residents.  However, if you live in Louisiana and are employed by the state, that assumption would be wrong.  According to Saturday's New Orleans Times-Picayne, Gov. Bobby Jindal is considering a plan that would give his state's workers the eqivalent of Social Security benefits.

• Of course, not everyone supports Social Security benefits, even though American citizens have paid into the system, and depended on their benefits for decades.  Former GOP presidential candidate and current Gov. of Texas, Rick Perry, calls it nothing but a "Ponzi scheme" that should be eliminated, according to Saturday's West Virginia Gazette-Mail. 

• One way to insure your receipt of SSI benefits without interruption is to sign up for e-payments, so that even if you are away from home, you can obtain your benefits.

• Americans living with disabilities will be reassured by a recent ruling from a Massachusetts federal court.  It ruled that even Netflix must comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, which means that the movie-streaming company may have to provide captioning in its products for its hearing-impaired audience, according to Boston.com.

• We leave you with a somber thought. What if social security/disability runs out of money? Yahoo Finance offers up some good advice, though many will be unable to take advantage of it. Some believe that social security/disability funds will run out in the near future.  Everyone acnkowledges that such benefits are not enough by themselves to support your retirement.  What is the answer?  Buy other forms of insurance, such as disability, now.

• As always, if you have questions about social security/disability benefits, we are glad to do our best to provide answers.

Anselmo A. Alegria 

aaa@alegriabarovicklaw.com
www.alegriabarovicklaw.com
914-761-1133

White Plains Law Firm Expands Due To Growing Social Security/Disability Practice

Lester & Alegria, LLP, a small but dynamic downtown White Plains law firm, has doubled in size to accommodate its burgeoning Social Security/Disability practice.  The new firm will be known as Lester Alegria Barovick & Wilson.  The four partners are all experienced litigators, who have worked in a variety of practice areas, including medical malpractice and personal injury, construction accidents and property damage, commercial litigation and trusts & estates.

While the new firm will be a general practice, ecompassing all these areas and more, the focus will be on helping clients navigate through the Social Security Administration rules, regulations and hearings, and enabling them to obtain the benefits they deserve.

Anselmo A. Alegria
aaa@alegriabarovicklaw.com
alegriabarovicklaw.com
914-761-1133