Thank you for contacting our office about your Social Security notice. See below for notice-specific instructions on what to do next.

Notice to Complete Function Report.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us of the function report request from Social Security. Do not submit this form to SSA until it is reviewed by our office. Please complete it to the best of your ability. When answering the questions focus on your restrictions and limitations. Please mail, fax or email the completed form to our office for review. Please contact us two days after sending the form to us to discuss the form before we submit it to SSA.

Read more about completing your function report>>

Notice to Attend a Consultative Examination.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us of your upcoming consultative examination. Be sure to attend the consultative examination as scheduled. To properly prepare, please read our client memo entitled Frequently Asked Questions About Consultative Examinations.

Read Frequently Asked Questions About Consultative Examinations>>

Notice to Complete Form 827.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us you were asked to sign an “Authorization to Disclose Information to SS” form SSA-827 Social Security must have at least one of these forms on file at all times to process your case. These forms are used if Social Security needs to request any records. Please sign, but do not date the forms, and mail them back to SSA in the enclosed envelope. You do not need to contact our office.

Notice of Denial.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us you received a denial notice. Sometimes, SSA fails to send our office copies of the notices as required. Please be advised, we need to appeal the denial notice within 60 days of the date on the denial notice. Our office will be contacting you within two days. If for any reason, you do not get a call, please call our office this week to be certain we have received a copy the denial notice and to provide information we need to complete the appeal. Please be sure to re-contact our office at least one week before the expiration of your appeal deadline just in case we need to talk with you prior to the final submission of your appeal.

Also, at this time, we want you to provide us with a medical update and inform us about any work attempts. Please use the online updates in the client section of our website or email or call our office.

Notice of Hearing.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us you received a notice of a hearing. In most cases, the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) contacts us to schedule your hearing and then we notify you of the date and time. Sometimes, however, the notice comes as a surprise and SSA has not contacted us. Please call us immediately if you get a notice of hearing.

Also, it is important we speak with you in order to prepare for the upcoming hearing. Please call our office to be certain we have received a copy of the hearing notice and to provide information we need to prepare for hearing. Please be sure to stay in regular contact with our office prior to your hearing. Prior to your hearing, please complete the following forms and send them into our office: medications form, recent medical treatment form, and work history form. Do not send these forms to SSA; return them to our office.

Also, at this time, we want you to provide us with a medical update and inform us about any work attempts. Please use the online updates in the client section of our website or email or call our office.

A good place to begin to get ready for your hearing is by reviewing the on-line information in our disability library under Your Social Security Hearing: Advice for your Social Security disability hearing>> Answers to 14 common questions>> The hearing>> Your testimony>> Lay witnesses>> and Vocational issues>>

“Acknowledgment” of Hearing.

There will be a paper sent to you with your Notice of Hearing that you must mark to indicate that you’ll be coming to the hearing. This paper is called an Acknowledgment of Notice of Hearing. Mark whether you can or cannot attend the hearing. If you are not sure whether you can attend the hearing do NOT send the acknowledgement back yet. If the notice states that it is form a hearing by video conferencing be sure to mark the box that states you decline hearing by video conferencing. We have handled many video hearings and it is our general experience that you will be better served to have an in person hearing before an ALJ. You may send the “acknowledgment” directly back to the judge. Our office does not have to see the form. But don’t send anything else to the Social Security Administration without having our office review it first.

Notice of Favorable Decision.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us you received a Favorable Decision. Congratulations! It is important for us to speak with you when you receive a favorable decision.Our office will be contacting you within two business days. If for any reason, you do not get a call, please call our office this week.

Notice of Award.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us you received a Notice of Award. This means you should be receiving your past due benefits very soon. Sometimes, SSA makes errors in the calculation of your benefits; therefore, it is important to confirm with our office that SSA properly calculated your benefits and withheld 25% of your past due benefits for attorney’s fees prior to spending any money sent to you by SSA. Please call our office when you receive a notice of award.

Notice for an Income and Resource Interview

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us you received a Notice for an Income and Resource Interview. This means you should be receiving your past due benefits very soon, but first Social Security needs to calculate your SSI benefits. SSA requires that SSI be paid first to preserve your past due entitlement to SSI and Medicaid. It is very important that you attend the income and resource interview otherwise the payment of your benefits may be delayed. Your should bring to the interview all documentation of any income and resources from the date you first applied for SSA to the present. Bring documentation of you income including documentation of earnings from work (pay stubs, tax returns, records from employer with breakdown of earnings by month, expenses necessary to help you work i.e. special transportation to and from work), workers’ compensation, personal injury settlements, long term disability, retirement, pensions, va disability, and any unearned income such as investment income. Bring documentation of your resources including your bank statements, life insurance policies, burial policies, investments or other property. Please call our office when you receive a notice of award.

Notice of a Continuing Disability Review.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us you received a CDR notice. The Social Security Administration is required periodically to review the cases of all people who are receiving disability benefits. Usually cases are reviewed every three years; but some cases are reviewed more often. Sometimes the decision will direct the Social Security Administration to conduct a review at a certain time> If you received a notice of a continuing disability review it means your case is being reviewed to ensure continued entitlement to benefits. You will be asked to complete a form about your medical treatment, any vocational training or work and how your condition has changed since the time you were found eligible for disability benefits. It is important you respond to this notice. Failure to respond to a CDR notice can result in the termination of your benefits.

If the Social Security Administration find that your disability has ceased, but you are still not able to work, you must appeal within ten days of the date you receive the notice in order to have your benefits continue during your appeal. So be sure to act quickly.

The very best thing you can do to try to make sure your benefits continue is to see your doctor. A lot of people with long-term chronic medical problems stop seeing their doctors because no treatment seems to help. This is a mistake for two reasons. First, it means that when the Social Security Administration conducts a review, no medical evidence will exist to show that your condition is the same as it was when you were first found disabled. Second, and perhaps even more importantly, doctors recommend that even healthy people after a certain age periodically have a thorough physical examination. This is even more important for people who already have chronic medical problems.

I Received a Notice of But I Am Unsure What It Means.

Thank you for contacting our office to inform us you received a notice. Sometimes SSA notices can be confusing. Please call us within 2-3 business days to discuss the notice you received. If you believe the notice is urgent, please call our office immediately.