puppy,don't know if you read a thread i posted here a few weeks ago or not but i will explain it again for you to help you out...i have been collecting ssdi benefits for some mental health issues and back problems since 1996.about 2 years ago i took a part-time job working for a friend of mine who owns a catering company close by to where i live..i was working about 20 hours a week part-time earning roughly about $700.00 per month which is below the SGA guidlines of what you can earn and still keep your benefits which for (2011) is $1000.00 a month i think.anyway,about 9 month's into my job my disibility case was reviewed by social security.(i think me working might have triggered the review)...i filled out the forms that they sent me in the mail and i was sent to one of their doctors as part of the (cdr) continueing disibility reveiw.about 3 weeks afterwards i recieved a letter in the mail from social security giveing me their decision about my cdr review.the letter said...we have reviewed your disibility case and find that you are no longer disabled under our rules and your ssdi benefits are being terminated.the letter went on to say that since i was able to hold a job for the better part of 9 month's while receiving ssdi benefits that's my health has improved to the point where i can be self-suportive and can no longer be considered disabled under social security rules.as i mentioned in a previous post about this subject i mentioned that while social security says that you can work up to a certain amount and still recieve benefits they can and will use any work you do against you..if they see that you can hold a job for several month's and beyond they will say that your condition can't be that severe and they will stop benefits..iam appealing my case so hopefully i can get the benefits back.hope this helps you out...gilbert....

Thank you so much for taking the time to rewrite that information for me, as I did not see you original post. Reading that makes me realize how greatly any work whatsoever affects a person's claim or benefits. I am so sorry that happened to you.... it's just not right!! My doctor wrote a letter today stating that I can no longer be working. Well that gets me past step one if I start a new claim or if I'm lucky enough to get a remand hearing then at least at that point the ALJ can move past step one, although I'm sure at that point they would try to change my onset date.

I just wish I knew if I will be able to get a remand hearing. Again, would anyone please read my judge's errors in my appeal briefing and tell me if you think there is enough error to get a remand. Please anyone... I put a new post listing the appeal and errors.

I started working on an answer for you yesterday. If you want a technical response perhaps someone can provide it more quickly than I can... I got exhausted and had a bad day today. I'll finish it if you want, but it won't be till next week.

Gilbert is correct, any work can be a trigger for review. Any work above $720 starts counting towards TWP... Some people claim staying under $500 a month is safe. Some attorneys warn their clients to perform no PT work to be safe. On the other hand, there are people that do work PT and continue to collect benefits. They seem to be reviewed much more frequently and much more closely though.

I think you have a good chance for a remand. I'm not certain I agree with everything your attorney cited, but that delves into a long response I'm not up to providing.

Assuming you'll be granted a remand, can you hold out 18 months to let's say 3 years before you can again address your case before an ALJ? I would have given up backpay to get a faster approval--luckily I didn't have to be forced with your decision.

Read up on your state UI rules. Hopefully you can collect unemployment until you get a decision.

LIT Love, thanks for taking your time (again) to try to help me I would love to hear all that you have to say but totally understand if you don't have the time or energy... so whenever or if ever you can, I am receptive to all opinions. I too would give up the back pay to ensure a quicker hearing but I am getting the distinct impression from my lawyer that the remand will most likely get me back to a hearing quicker, although I do often question that. If I were to start a new claim and this time not be working at all, at least I know it will be roughly 2 years before I get to a hearing. It is the not knowing that is killing me. And even worse, it could potentially be 2 years for the Appeal Council to deny me and then starting over at that point Talk about feeling cornered.

Also, she already sent in the appeal with the briefly so does that mean I'm totally committed. I suppose there must be a way to retract the appeal. I have spent the last month playing a mental game of "what if's". My work situation & environment is different than lets say if I were working in an office setting, and there are many variables to the situation so I am reluctant to just walk away. I feel like I'm playing a game of Russian Roulette

It's more the energy and pain than the time. And I try to do as much of the typing as possible left handed, but I'm not coordinated enough to do linking with my left. Etc. Perhaps you should start concentrating on documenting your disability for either the remand or the new application? There's lots of work you could be doing to keep your mind from spinning over things that are beyond your control.

I was thinking if you put together a very solid new application, perhaps you could get approved within 6 months. 1/3 of cases do. Remember this is hypothetical--I don't know your illness or it's severity or your functional limitations. If you can get approved before an ALJ, then you should be able to get approved with a new application as well.

There are certainly other forums that are busier than this one is at the moment. You might try to get additional feedback. You could also research older thread here and send pm's to those that have given advise that has impressed you.

Do you have a copy of the NOLO book on SSDI? Look at all the stickies on this forum. Do you have a Listed Impairment/s?

If you can wait things out financially, and if you can collect UI, then waiting for a remand is probably worth the gamble.

There is no easy answer. Do I think the ALJ has a reversible error when I look at similar rulings? Yes. But, her treatment of your PT work also seems consistent with both other ALJs and has been used to terminate others benefits as well.

I'm not sure it'll give you more concrete answers anyway. It'll just show you that it could go either way. Maybe I'll try to post part of the work I've already done?

just wanted to add a few comments to my previous post above...testing one's ability to work while collecting ssdi benefits such as maybe working for a few weeks or a month will not trigger a cdr review because social security expects you to try to see if you can work..it's when you start working for several month's and beyond that will trigger a review and question if your condition is still "severe" enough to be considered disabled under social security rules.

I should have said, PT work when you're nearing a CDR, will often trigger the long form CDR, or after receiving the Short Form you'll then have to later fill out the long form.

There are various complex formulas that can cause triggers.

Making small amounts for short periods, that are clearly failed work attempts, is a different scenario. The fact that Puppy was showing she worked consistently, even though it was PT, was likely why the ALJ ruled her capable of SGA.

Gilbert, were any of your months over $720? How many if so? TY!

LIT Love what you said is actually something I was just telling my sister yesterday. What I will do is pretend I'm starting a new application and make sure every little detail is the best it can possibly be. My lawyer put in the appeal, in several places, that I would qualify as fully disabled under step 3 and again at step 5. I know the neuro doctor whom I have seen filled out the RFC and my lawyer said it was 100% supportive of my claim. If I remember correctly, he said I would need to work no longer than 2 hour shifts, with breaks every 15 or so minutes (not sure exactly on that one), and that I would be expected to miss at least 6 days of work per month. I will have to look that up... but before my hearing, my lawyer said we have his total support. I have had 5 back surgeries, 2 lumbar fusions, and also suffer from major depression, GAD, and OCD. I have motor impairment and weakness, left footdrop, numbness, and positive straight leg raise on testing... Those are all things the SSDI doctor at the hearing stated when the judge asked for his input. I did not have a vocational expert at my hearing. My judge did not ask me one question about my physical or mental health. She asked me 3 times about when my long term employer (whom I no longer work for) started to accommodate my work by letting me work from home. I told her that I was not sure of the exact date but she just kept asking (which my lawyer said baffled her as well). I feel like I waited for 2 years for that day and I blew it because I seriously lost control of my emotions. everytime I tried to talk the tears would come and by the time I gained composure, it was on to the next question. I am not usually like that and do not know where all the emotions came from; probably had something to do with the fact that I was extremely uncomfortable after waiting nearly 3 hours in a waiting room. Needless to say, I was very mad at myself. I got in the car afterwards and my head was spinning, thinking what the heck was that all about, the craziest experience of my life and not at all what I expected. I really don't think I was at all prepared, as everyone kept tell me "you will be approved" and I guess I kind of was looking at the hearing like just a formality, another step.... oh, how I was wrong. My lawyer told me after the hearing... "I think you have a very good chance, a very strong case, and it is not everyday that the judge sees a woman your age with so many surgeries, etc... She also noted that the judge "was definitely not herself during my hearing"... perhaps because my hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. and it did not start until nearly 1 p.m. due to the case prior having many issues with the woman having the need to keep taking breaks. I feel like I got the brunt of the judge's stress that day.

I hate to keep asking you all for help but if you could give me information on what steps I should start to take in order to make a really strong application if I start over that would be so helpful and so appreciated. I am thankful I found this site and have found people who actually seem to care and know what they are talking about.

I do not have the book you are talking about but have seen it on-line. Is it worth my money to invest in it? or any other books? Like I said, the lawyer with a lot of info on his site, Gordon Gates I believe, is just around the corner from me. I wonder if he would give me a 2nd opinion.

You mentioned some other groups where there is more activity regarding the SSDI issues.. could you tell me what they are. I had joined another group a year or two ago but that site does not seem to have nearly the input that I have been receiving here.

The NOLO book is well worth it IMO. Check your library, they may have a copy.

Whomever made you overly confident didn't do you any favors. Was your attorney one of those people? It is shocking some of the people that are turned down. There's a Vet on ssdanswers.com that has been denied at the ALJ level, that submitted an incredibly thorough application that has severe mental and physical disabilities. There are other people that seem easily approved, and so it can be confusing. Your education, age, and former work all make a difference.

Check out Gridrules.net. Someone that is 50 or 55 has a lower standard for approval. Those of us that have sedentary jobs and become disabled when we're young are considered much more likely to adapt to our disabilities and continue working...

Just reading through the links posted in the "useful sites" links will keep you busy for a long while.

It's sounds as if you were working more hours than your docs RFC claimed you could. Is that correct?

Has your employer been notified that your doc says you can no longer work?

Sorry. I've got to go before I flare...

hit lit-love,for the 9 month's up until the time i was reveiwed by social security i averaged about $700.00 per month working part-time.there were a few times when i worked some more extra hours which brought my earnings up to about maybe $800.00 per month which was still below the SGA guidlines of what you can earn and still keep your benefits.i hope that people on this forum who are collecting ssdi benefits and maybe thinking about working while collecting ssdi benefits will give it some serious thought before makeing any work attempts that might trigger a CDR review such as the case with me.gil...