Public Benefits

Because of their disability, a person receiving SSI may not have worked long enough to qualify for SSDI benefits, but may begin receiving SSDI benefits if a parent retires, becomes disabled, or passes away.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently issued an Emergency Message to all personnel requiring workers to specifically inform Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applicants or beneficiaries of the reasons a special needs trust has been rejected by the agency.

My daughter's first-party special needs trust was paying for several services that weren't covered by Medicaid.  I know that if my daughter dies, the state has the right to recover funds from my daughter's trust for Medicaid services that it...

Here are a couple of tricks for determining the type of disability benefit someone is receiving, short of finding the disability award letter or contacting the Social Security Administration directly.

The budget deal signed by President Obama increases funding for the Social Security disability trust fund but also makes several small but important changes to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program.

If you’re currently receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you may want to protect your income by setting up a special needs trust. Receiving financial gifts could jeopardize other related benefits.

Parents giving gifts to children will sometimes provide nothing to the child with special needs while giving substantial amounts to the child’s siblings. This planning strategy can lead to trouble, as a recent Wisconsin case highlights.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) both allow working beneficiaries to deduct certain work-related expenses from their countable income, making it easier to qualify for benefits or, in the case of SSI, to receive a larger...

A recent Massachusetts case illustrates why trustees of special needs trusts have to be very careful before making distributions for people receiving public benefits.