[Justagirl]

Hey all,

Just a question...my man and I are getting married in December, and I was wondering if anyone has encountered a substantial loss of disability benefits once joined? We were thinking about it the other day...does anyone file separately? Thanks in advance!

[qbounce]

When I WAS married (divorced 6 mo's now), we were filed jointly, and my long term disability and Social Security Benefits were based SOLELY on MY previous salary. It had NOTHING to do with my spouses. So, it shouldn't affect your disability benefits.

But, you can call your local Social Security office and pose the inquiry just to make absolutely sure. Believe me, they get questions like this all the time, and are VERY informative and easy to talk to.

[Hapahowlee]

Congratulations on your up coming nuptials.

When you are married, if your husband is receiving SSDI it won't matter how much you make. SSI is the one you have to worry about. When my husband began working again he called our local office and what a mess!!! He called 3 different times and received the same answer from 3 different people, which was it doesn't matter how much he makes during the first 9 months of working, but after that he can make $10,000 in 2006 and $12,000 in 2007. WRONG!!!!!! Soc. Sec. Admin. goes by what you make monthly, which means it also restricts how much you make per year and this is why we've had a pending appeal with SSA. Even though SSA should have in their computer system that my husband collects DISABILITY and he stated each time he called that he receives SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INCOME, they were giving him information for retirees.

If your fiance is not working and only collecting SSDI you have no worries. But if he works even part time, you need to watch how much income he makes each month (it still won't matter how much you make). There are things that can be written off such as medical supplies and any other special aids needed to go to work and also paid time off since those aren't hours actually worked. Also, copies of paycheck stubs have to be sent in to your local office and since my husband wasn't told this information, he threw all his away and we got a printout that makes no sense from the home office of his employer. I had to decode this printout and make a spreadsheet to show how much my husband actuallly made.

I would call the local office, the Baltimore office and look on the SSA website for any information you need. Document who you talked to about the info you receive. My documentation will help us in our case b/c SSA claims my husband owes $9,000 in overpayment and they actually stopped his payments for a few months to collect and I wrote and sent a certified letter to the local office and sent a copy to the Baltimore office. The local office never responded. In fact, the worker assigned to my husbands case would not even take or return a phone call even though my husband called everyday for 3 months. The Maryland office temporarily reinstated benefits until they could assess the evidence I sent. Three months after the reinstatement, someone from the local office (not the worker assigned to the case) called and told my husband he needed to come in and fill out forms he had already filled out. After 6 phone calls back and forth and a heads up from the SSA office worker, we got a hold of the actual case worker assigned to my husbands case and she said the other worker didn't know what she was doing, even though the other worker was following instructions given to her by the actual case worker who we were told puts the blame on other people all the time. Then 6 months down the line a letter came stating they were stopping payments again to collect and before they did, we called to request a formal hearing and the benefits were again temporarily reinstated. BTW, he was still listed as a retiree!!! So now we're waiting on SSA to give us a hearing date, but they are still working on 2007 cases. So I suggest you educate yourself as well as document and if your fiance/husband isn't able to handle dealing with SSA like my husband, have him make the initial call then put you on the line. This is what my husband does b/c I'm a bulldog that plays hardball, but no one will talk to you without your husbands permission first.

As far as filing taxes, we file jointly we get more money back.

[qbounce]

Wow Hapa,
I knew you were going through some problems, but not THIS much S@*T!!
Hope it gets resolved soon.

[allis53ca]

don't give the feds any reason to screw w/his benni's...if you "need" to get married, go exchange vows and have a ceremony and all the pretty shit...but the paper means nothing...a state stamp and notary don't make a marriage or make it work...if a marriage license is all you need, i have three slightly used ones you can choose from..one from okla, one from ariz. and one from ark., take your pick

don't give the feds any reason to screw w/his benni's...if you "need" to get married, go exchange vows and have a ceremony and all the pretty shit...but the paper means nothing...a state stamp and notary don't make a marriage or make it work...if a marriage license is all you need, i have three slightly used ones you can choose from..one from okla, one from ariz. and one from ark., take your pick

[Hapahowlee]

qbounce, on Jul 23 2008, 03:30 PM, said:

Wow Hapa,
I knew you were going through some problems, but not THIS much S@*T!!
Hope it gets resolved soon.

Yeah Q, I probably haven't given you half the info. Anyway, hey I've been meaning to get with you to ask some questions. I've actually been busy, but try to get to ya this weekend. Thanks always for your positive thoughts. HAPA

[Austyn]

In New Zealand where I live, when my partner and I get married he will lose ALL his invalid's benefit because it is means tested against my income, which is over the threshold.