Most people in New Jersey who apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits consider their struggle ended when they receive a favorable decision from the Social Security Administration approving their application. However, the awarding of SSD benefits means that a spouse or child of the recipient may be eligible for benefits based upon the original recipient's work and medical record. Obtaining SSD benefits for family members can significantly increase the total amount of monthly payments received by the disabled person and his or her family.
Obtaining SSDI benefits for a spouse or family members
Understanding the differences between SSDI and SSI benefits
Many people in New Jersey and elsewhere receive financial assistance under either the Social Security Disability Insurance ("SSDI") program or the Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") program. The differences between the two plans are fairly obvious to beneficiaries, but persons who are not receiving benefits often misunderstand the purpose and eligibility requirements of the two plans.
Disability appeals take more than a year in New Jersey
Filing an application for Social Security Disability Insurance is a process that requires you to hurry up and wait. Once you send in the application, you have to wait on a decision. In order to make your case, you have to fill out the paperwork and present supporting evidence that shows you have a disability.
Supreme Court hears case regarding ERISA claims deadline
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) affects employees in New Jersey and all across the country by setting regulations on the management of employer-sponsored retirement plans. If a member of a retirement plan subject to ERISA believes that the plan's sponsors have violated their fiduciary duties to members of the plan, the member can bring a lawsuit in federal court to challenge the actions. Like most federal statutes, ERISA provides a deadline within which such lawsuits must be filed. For violations of the fiduciary provisions of the law, such claims must be filed within three years after the employee acquires "actual knowledge" of the violation. The meaning of this phrase was argued before the Supreme Court in a case heard last week.
Lawsuit alleges fiduciary breaches under ERISA
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act may be one of the most complex federal statutes that affects the rights of everyday workers. The Act was passed in 1985 to protect the contributions and benefits that workers make to retirement plans offered by employers and to ensure that the workers' benefits are not wasted by improper management.
