2013 Brings Changes To Social Security System And Payments

January 21, 2013

The New Year has brought several significant changes to not only the way Social Security Disability benefits are being paid, but how much each recipient is set to receive as well. An article from The Logan Banner discussed some of these changes and how they will affect each citizen.

One of the changes that will probably be most recognized is the Cost-Of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) that took effect on January’s payments to recipients of Social Security, Social Security Disability, and Supplemental Security Income. Recipients saw an increase of 1.7 percent in their payments as of December 31, 2012, which bumped the average amount of each payment by a little more than $20.

Another major change was the amount of income workers are required to pay income tax on. Citizens are now required to pay the tax on any amount of money made that is under $113,700. This was a slight increase from the 2012 income ceiling of $110,100.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) also announced that it would be switching to paperless electronic payments of benefits beginning in March.

The Social Security Disability Lawyers at Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin have an understanding of how these changes may affect a person’s ability to have their claim for benefits approved and suggest discussing your legal options with an attorney if you have a claim you need to file or that has been denied in the past.