Good day! You can file your Social Security claims and appeals on your own or, if you wish, hire an attorney or representative. This decision is totally personal and voluntary. Today we will explain our hiring process, who pays the fees and the responsibilities of the representative whom you hired.
Before continuing, I will clarify the difference between a helper and a representative. A helper can be any friend, partner, or close family member that you want to accompany you during your interviews or help you get documentation for your case. We will not provide any information about your case to your assistant unless you accompany this person and authorize us to release it.
On the other hand, a representative is someone you officially hire to handle your case with Social Security and does not necessarily have to be an attorney. If you voluntarily decide to hire an attorney or representative, both of you must complete and sign the special form SSA-1696, accessible in the ‘Forms’ section of www.segurosocial.gov. They can mail or fax it to their local Social Security office, whose contact information is available after entering the zip code of your residence in www.ssa.gov/locator/.
Also, in early March, Social Security introduced a new service in which our claimants and their representatives can complete, sign, and submit these forms electronically without having to meet in person to sign them. For details on this process, access https://secure.ssa.gov/ssa1696/front-end/.
Once hired, your attorney or representative will have access to your file. Remember to maintain close and continuous communication with your representative to find out the status of your claim, make sure that the appeals were filed on time, and request their help in obtaining some evidence such as medical records, etc. Regardless of whether or not you hired a representative, Social Security will apply the same laws and require the same evidence to evaluate your case.
Both you and your representative have the responsibility to provide us with correct information. As we know, it is illegal to knowingly and intentionally provide false information. If you do, you could face criminal proceedings.
Who pays the fees? Social Security does not provide additional money to pay attorney or representative fees. Therefore, out of your possible retroactive benefits, you would pay for these services. If you decide to hire an attorney or representative, both of you must also sign a Fee Agreement — Fee Agreement — and send it to Social Security.
You can hire this person during any stage of your case: initial, reconsideration or administrative hearing. I clarify that an appeal is a continuation of your initial case, where we will consider all the documentation in your file and any additional evidence. For this reason, regardless of the stage in which you hire him, we will always compute the fees as if he had represented you since you filed your initial case.
Currently, your representative will only charge fees if we approve your Social Security case and if you are entitled to collect retroactive benefits. This can collect 25% of your retroactive benefits up to a maximum of $ 6,000.00. If we deny your claim or you are not entitled to retroactive benefits, we are NOT able to pay a fee. In these situations, you do not have to pay a fee unless Social Security authorizes it in writing. However, your representative may charge you, without our approval, for expenses that your representative paid for out-of-pocket, such as the cost of obtaining your medical records.
If attorneys or representatives wish to have their fees deducted directly from the retroactive benefits of their clients, they must register in the Attorneys and Representatives section at https://www.ssa.gov/representation/. If they are not attorneys, they must meet certain requirements and take an exam so that we can deduct the fees from their client’s benefits. If your representative is NOT an attorney and has NOT registered with us, Social Security must authorize the amount of fees and you must pay them directly, as we would not be authorized to automatically deduct that money from your retroactive benefits.
Attorneys and representatives must file all appeals and forms to update their clients’ medical information ONLY online at www.segurosocial.gov so that we can authorize the discount of fees to the benefits of your clients. These appeals cannot be submitted on paper.
For more information, access our publication ‘Your right to representation’ at www.segurosocial.gov.
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