Back in sept of 09,, I had started to apply for SSD, and even went so far as getting Binder and Binder to represent me, during the following months I received a lot of paperwork from SS, questionarres and such,, and my doctors received there paperwork as well,, I felt good enough to go back to work and worked up till Xmas eve of 09,, and am still off work on STD,,
Now I got a call well over two months ago from Binder and Binder asking me what exactly was my last day of work,, and I told him and he said we need to readjust your last day of work and I should expect to hear nothing from SS at least till May or June,, which I tottaly expected anyway, So last Saturday I went to the Post Office and there was a letter from SS saying I was awarded benefits,, first I was glad and suprised..in hte letter it said I was getting back pay for Feb of 10,, and would receive a monthly benefits,,
My problem is,, the dates just dont make sense,, approved in three months?.. backpay to only Feb,, so I called Binder and Binder,, they first said Congrats, but wehn I questioned the timing and dates,, since I havent been off work for at least 5months,, they said we will get back to you,, I call every day at least three times but they never get back to me
I was told to not contact SS,,and when they deposit my money this week,, i will set it aside,, if I am not eligable for this benefit,, I dont want to harm my chances of staying on it,, even if it means being off it till i am eligable,, I dontknow what to do about my employment,, I am making co pays for my health insurance at the present time,,they belive I will eventually come back to work,, but I cant,, so I need guidance from some of the good SS people on here as to what I need to do,, its a struggle, my kitchen table is covered with papers,, SS papers,, Std PAPERS,, LTD papers,, its a mess,, and everyt day the paperwork just seems to get bigger andnot smaller,, thank you for reading my story

My understanding is that if you get long term disability benefits they will deduct your SDD allotment from the premium and give you the difference. Lets say your LTD payment was $100 and SDD was $70. LTD would pay you $30.
As for the Feb. 10 date, it seems odd but I don't understand why Binder doesn't want you to contact SSA especially since you're not getting any answers. You don't have to divulge anything to SSA when you call just ask for an explanation of the date chosen for back benefits to start. I have not heard good things about Binder and Binder so it doesn't surprise me thay don't respond.

thank you trudi,, i think I will call SSA,,

I did call the SSA yesterday,,I got a very nice girl who looked into my case,, she said my original filing date was sept of 09,, I told her,, I continued to work on and off up to dec of 09,,
She asked some questions and said my date of filing shouldhave beenonthe letter,, I told her it wasent,,, I told her I tried to call my local office,, and she said there hard to get ahold of since they have such a big caseload and few staffers,, anyway,, she said she didnt think me working was going to be a problem,, and that if it was,, it wo0uld come up for review, and in your case that would be in 5 to 7 years,, sionce the SS doctors felt my condition was progressive,, I asked her over and over and over,, is there aprobem with me taking the monthly check,, she said,, NO,, it is not a problem,,
Later I got a call from Binder and Binder,, (she said they were still looking into the matter,, ),, i told her what I did,, and told her I told SS that I had worked, she said,, you should not have said that,, I told her,, Look,, I;m not going to lie about it,, so we ended that conversation with her saying that if it becomes a issue,, to contact them,, so we will see

Congratulations. I agree with you, honesty is always the best policy.

What is the effective date on the contract with B&B? It seems to me that you did all the work. If you had to fill out all the forms why are they now saying not to get in touch with SS.
Some people have been mixed up in the system. So be careful your not under another persons name or SS#. Social Security makes mistakes, (did I spill the beans).
First I would read over this contract with B&B. Was there any clauses about time being of essence? Get back to me when you can.

If you make an appointment with SS it takes maybe (depending on where you live) 20 minutes up to 2 hours wait. Find out if B&B filed any paper work with SS asking for backpay, did you get copies? If it was me I'd tell B&B to take a hike. (That's just me) Be careful if you sign anything from B&B from this point on. You might want to talk with your bank. Did you sign to begin with? Let me know. Was there any consideration? OK enough for now I have answered the first 5 or six threads. Let me give somebody else a turn.

How much could Binder and Binder be getting paid anyway? There is no backpay here? This is the least of your problems.

Yes, you have to notify SS you've worked but first I'd write a letter to my attorney about the situation. You need to document this mess and phone calls won't help. I've learned the hard way that advice/info you receive from the 800# is unreliable.

Binder and Binder could end up with up to $6,000 that's a pretty good chunk of change for not doing anything. I do agree with you on the 800 number they just keep whatever information the local office has. I found that each time I called I get a different answer from different people. Always try to keep in touch with your case worker and if they don't call back ask for a supervisor.

Has there been a recent change in the law? Attorney's fees are regulated for disability claims. My attorney would even take cases until after a 1st denial so backpay would accumulate. When I received my Partially Favorable decision it was 25% of the backpay with a cap at $5000 and change.