What You Should Know About Back Benefits
Disability benefits do not start right away. The government determines your "onset date" - the date your disability began - but it waits until the sixth full month after the onset date to start paying your benefits.
It often takes a long time for a Social Security Disability application to be approved. In fact, the time may even be as long as a year or two if you need to appeal your case. So, even though you should have received benefits after the first six months, you may not receive them for longer than that.
What happens to the benefits that should have been accruing? The government does not forget about them. The Social Security Administration keeps track of these "back benefits" and distributes them to you when it begins paying your benefits.
It is important not to wait too long before applying for SSD. The government only calculates back benefits one year from the date you file your claim. If you file too long after your onset date, you will not receive all possible benefits.
Back Benefits and Attorneys Fees
In Social Security Disability cases, attorney fees are regulated by the government. The government allows lawyers to take a percentage (up to one quarter) of your back benefits in payment for handling your case. The government limits this amount, so your lawyer can collect no more than $6,000 in fees for handling your claim, in addition to certain expenses.
Attorneys fees are not taken until you have won your case. This means that you do not need any money to hire a Social Security Disability attorney, and it means that you will owe your attorney no fees if you do not win your case.
Contact an Attorney
To get real answers about the back benefits that you are owed, talk with attorney Cynthia Berger about your Social Security Disability claim. Contact Cynthia Berger and her support staff at our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, law office.
