Posts Tagged ‘social security benefits’

                Paul had sustained a serious back injury while working and had been on Workers’ Compensation for over one year. Despite several operations, Paul’s back was not better and to return to work at any type of gainful employment seemed unlikely. After Paul’s injury,  he had developed other problems involving his shoulder as well as heart issues.

ISSUE:          Paul was wondering whether he could apply for Social Security since he was already receiving Workers’ Compensation benefits.

ANSWER:     Yes. Social Security is a Federal program that provides benefits for the disabled and Workers’ Compensation is a state program. Social Security uses a different standard and will take into consideration all of Paul’s problems regardless of whether they are work related or not. Thus his heart condition and his shoulder condition will also be considered in determining whether Paul is entitled to Social Security benefits.

            If Paul is deemed eligible back to the date of his work injury for Social Security, Paul will entitled to Medicare coverage on his non-work related medical bills as well. Paul’s monthly Social Security check will be less since Paul is collecting State Workers’ Compensation benefits as the Federal Government gets a credit to a certain extent for those benefits.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive.  Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column. 

Sam and Alice had been married for forty five years when Sam passed away. Sam was collecting Social Security retirement benefits at the time of his death.

ISSUE: Alice had been a housewife all her life and had never paid Social Security taxes. Alice wanted to know whether or not she would be entitled to continue to receive the Social Security benefits that her husband Sam was receiving before his death.

ANSWER: Yes. Alice would be able to receive the benefits. But the amount that she will receive will depend upon her age. If she is already at retirement age, and in this case retirement age for Alice would be sixty five years old, she will get 100% of her deceased husband’s benefit. A widow or widower between sixty years old and full retirement would receive a reduced amount though.

Normally, Social Security is considered an “earned benefit” and in order to collect it, a worker must pay into the system for at least ten years. Alice, being the spouse of an eligible worker, is one of the exceptions. Only legal residents though can collect Social Security benefits.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.

Paul moved to Hawley from New Jersey and was collecting old age Social Security benefits as well as a union pension. Paul decided to get a part-time job working in the electronics department at a local store.

Paul suffered an injury to his back while assisting a customer with a large television.

ISSUE: Can Paul collect Workers’ Compensation benefits even though he was collecting Social Security retirement benefits as well as a pension?

ANSWER: Yes. Because Paul is able to be both on Social Security retirement and earn a certain amount of money it is considered a fact that he has an earning power. Because Paul was hurt in the scope and course of his employment he will be entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits as long as he cannot return to the job market making as much as he was making at the time of his work injury.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.

Mick and Keith worked at Charlie’s Furniture Store and were carrying a large box to load in a truck. Mick lost his footing and his grip on the box, causing poor Keith to assume most of the 200-pound weight. Keith felt a pop in his lower back and sure enough, ended up causing serious damage to three different discs. Keith would end up going on workers’ compensation for what looked like an extended period of time, especially in light of the multiple operations he had to undergo.

Issue: Despite the fact that Keith was only 28, would he be able to apply for Social Security despite the fact that he was already receiving Workers’ Compensation?

Answer: Yes. An individual can collect federal social security at the same time he is receiving state Workers’ Compensation benefits. Most times though, the Social Security benefits will be reduced dollar-for dollar by what the individual is receiving in state benefits. On most occasions the individual will be receiving, with the combination of both programs, approximately 80% of his pre-injury gross wage.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.

In Maxim Crane Works v. W.C.A.B. (Solano),931 A.2d 816 (Pa.Cmwlth.2007), the Court addressed the applicability of a retroactive offset of the Claimant’s workers’ compensation wage loss benefits based upon his concurrent receipt of Social Security “old age” benefits. Section 204(a) of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (“the Act”), 77 P.S. § 71(a), provides that fifty percent of the benefits commonly characterized as “old age” benefits under the Social Security Act (49 Stat. 620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) shall be credited against the amount of the workers’ compensation payments provided that the Social Security benefits were received after the compensable injury. The offset shall not apply if old age Social Security benefits were received prior to the compensable injury per the provisions of Section 204(a) of the Act.
The Claimant, Solano, was injured on October 10, 2000. On June 6, 2005, Claimant received Form LIBC-756 “Employee’s Report of Benefits for Offsets” from the employer. Claimant completed the form and confirmed his receipt of old age Social Security benefits. On August 3, 2005, Claimant received Form LIBC-761 “Notice of Workers’ Compensation Benefit Offset”, notifying him that the employer was taking a credit that would offset his weekly workers’ compensation benefits, and that a credit from 14 months of prior old age Social Security benefits would also be recouped, reducing his weekly workers’ compensation benefits to zero for a period of 25.75 weeks. On August 16, 2005, Claimant filed the Petition to Review alleging that the offset was calculated in error.
In deciding the case, the Commonwealth Court has held that while the Claimant owed a duty to report receipt of old age Social Security benefits, the regulations placed the initial duty upon the employer or insurer to notify claimant of the reporting requirements and to provide the Claimant with the proper forms. Therefore, the employer was only entitled to an offset for old age Social Security benefits as of the date that claimant received the form notifying him of his duty to report his Social Security benefits. The Court further noted that the equitable doctrine of laches applied so as to disallow a retrospective offset for workers’ compensation claimant’s receipt of old age Social Security benefits. The employer had an obligation to notify claimant of claimant’s reporting requirements under the Workers’ Compensation Act in order for employer to secure an offset. However, the employer did not notify claimant of the reporting requirements until nearly five years after Claimant’s work injury and over two years after Claimant had begun receiving workers’ compensation benefits. In essence, the Court held that the employer could not sit on their rights and expect to recoup a retroactive overpayment.

Thomas P. Cummings, Esq.
Dougherty, Leventhal & Price
75 Glenmaura National Blvd.
Moosic, PA 18507
(570) 347-1011
[email protected]