When President Donald Trump took office back in January, he promised taxpayers that he would significantly reduce the amount of money the United States government pays out for Social Security Disability benefits. By the time July 2017 rolled around, his newly proposed budget reflected a reduction in disability payments by as much as $72 billion.
One healthcare watchdog group, Marketwatch, notes that, in order to amass a cut that deep, it’s inevitable that certain retroactive benefits will be cut. They note that it’s also likely that more stringent eligibility requirements will have to be met in order for recipients to continue receiving aid. They caution Social Security disability recipients that, if the budget gets passed, as many as a million of them may lose their aid.
While the passing of this new budget poses a real threat, there are other disqualifying actions that individuals take on an everyday basis that could result in them either having their payments reduced or withdrawn.
Debt collectors, in general, are unable to garnish any of your Social Security benefits to meet your financial obligation to them. However, if your debtor is the U.S. government, as is the case if you’ve taken out federal student loans, then you’re expected to continue paying on them or otherwise risk 15 of your benefit check being garnished.
This is one of the reasons that it’s important that, if you’re receiving Social Security disability, you should make contact with your loan service company right away if you can no longer afford your payments.
In disclosing your disability to them, you may be eligible to have your entire debt written off. In other instances, Alternatively, you may be able to receive a temporarily forbearance or have a modified repayment plan implemented.
Another common reason individuals either have their disability payments docked or removed altogether from them is when because they discontinue paying court-ordered child or spousal support. If you do, then you risk having 65 percent of your benefits withheld.
Social Security Disability benefits could also be either greatly reduced or removed completely if you were to begin earning too much income, not pay your taxes, begin receiving a government pension, divorce or remarry.
If you’ve been denied benefits or have been threatened with them being greatly reduced, then a Belleville, Illinois, Social Security Disability attorney may be able to provide guidance in your legal matter.
Source: Money & Career CheatSheet, “10 main reasons why the government might decide to cut your social security,” Megan Elliott, Sep. 14, 2017