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SeniorLAW Helpline - 877 PA SR LAW (1-877-727-7529) The statewide toll-free SeniorLAW Helpline - 877 PA SR LAW (877-727-7529) - provides free legal advice, information and referrals by telephone for all Pennsylvania seniors 60 and over.
By: SeniorLAW Center (Philadelphia)
Benefits Eligibility Screening Tool (B.E.S.T.)
(Separate Website)
The Social Security Adminisitration's Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST) is an online tool that you can use to find out if you could be eligible for benefits from any of the programs Social Security administers. This tool will give you eligibility information based on answers you give on the online form.
By: Social Security Administration
GovBenefits.gov
(Separate Website)
GovBenefits.gov is a free, online confidential tool that helps you find government benefits you may be eligible to receive.
By: GovBenefits.gov, a partnership of many Federal agencies and organizations
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Benefits Check Up for Seniors (55+)
(Separate Website)
BenefitsCheckUp is a comprehensive online service to screen for federal, state and some local private and public benefits for older adults (ages 55 and over). BenefitsCheckUp also provides a detailed description of the programs, including the local addresses and phone numbers where to apply.
By: National Council on the Aging
Information from the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Information on the Supplemental Security Income program.
By: Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc.
Other Formats:
PDF File
What is SSI?
(Separate Website)
Information on the SSI Program.
By: Community Legal Services
Social Security and SSI: A basic comparison
PowerPoint Presentation outlining the similarities and differences between the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs.
By: Community Legal Services
Other Formats:
PDF File
Applying for SSI
(Separate Website)
Information applying for SSI benefits.
By: Community Legal Services
Are you disabled? Apply for SSI.
(Separate Website)
Information on applying for Supplemental Security Income
By: Community Legal Services
If Your Application is Denied
(Separate Website)
Information about what to do when you SSI application is denied.
By: Community Legal Services
Companion to SSI: Medicaid
(Separate Website)
Information on Medicaid
By: Community Legal Services
Past Due Benefits
(Separate Website)
Information on past due benefits received when SSI benefits are granted.
By: Community Legal Services
What Happens to my SSI, SSDI, and Health Care if I Work? [PDF]
(Separate Website)
Information on how returning to work will impact the income received from SSI or SSDI and how the work will impact the healthcare received from Medical Assistance or Medicare.
By: Pennsylvania Health Law Project
What To Do When You Miss A Deadline With Social Security [PFD]
(Separate Website)
Overview of important steps to take if you miss a deadline in a Social Security matter.
By: Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance
Important Information on Preparing for Your Child's SSI Reconsideration Hearing [PDF]
(Separate Website)
Important information for parents and representative payees when preparing for a child's SSI Reconsideration Hearing.
By: Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance
How to Prepare for a SSI and Social Security Disability Evaluation [PDF]
(Separate Website)
Sometimes SSA will require an evaluation by one of their doctors. This handout provides information on how to prepare for the evaluation.
By: Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance
Guide for doctors and medical professionals on completing the Employability Assessment Form (EAF)
(Separate Website)
Inofrmation for medical professionals completing an Employability Assessment Form
By: Community Legal Services
What to Do If You Have a SSI or Social Security Overpayment [PDF]
(Separate Website)
Information on what you can do when Social Security tells you they paid you too much money. This includes how to appeal, how and why to ask for a waiver of the overpayment, and what social security can do to try and recover money from you.
By: Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance
Attention Parents and SSI Representative Payees [PDF]
(Separate Website)
A checklist for representative payees and parents of children who receive SSI.
By: Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance
Representative Payees [PDF]
(Separate Website)
Information on what a representative payee is, their responsibilities, when social security can require one, how to change your payee, and other similar matters.
By: Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance
What Benefits Can I Get If I Am Caring for Someone Else’s Child?
(Separate Website)
Information on rights of kinship caregivers.
By: Community Legal Services
Rules on Dedicated Funds [PDF]
(Separate Website)
Information for parents of children receiving SSI regarding when a dedicated bank account must be set up for the money and the rules regarding such accounts.
By: Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance
Special Needs Trust
An overview of what a Special Needs Trust is, who needs one, and how to get one.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Immigrants' Rights to Public Benefits in Pennsylvania
(Separate Website)
Information on the rights of immigrants to receive different types of public benefits.
By: Community Legal Services
Limited Income? Ideas for Stretching Your Dollars
(Separate Website)
This packet provides many ideas to northwestern PA residents on how to stretch your limited dollars, focusing on 8 areas of your life: Food, Clothing, Housing, Utilities, Money, Medical, Education, and Children.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Impact of Criminal Record on Public Benefits in Pennsylvania
(Separate Website)
Chart of eligibility for public benefits for people with criminal records.
By: Community Legal Services
Public Benefits Consequences of Criminal Convictions in Pennsylvania
(Separate Website)
Information on the effect of a conviction on your ability to obtain and continue to receive public benefits.
By: Community Legal Services
What Benefits Can I Get With a Criminal Record?
(Separate Website)
Information on eligibility for public benefits if you have a criminal record.
By: Community Legal Services
When Can My Employer Pay Me Less Than the Minimum Wage? - A Fact Sheet for Social Security Beneficiaries
(Separate Website)
This Fact Sheet will explain the right of Social Security beneficiaries returning to work, like all employees, to be paid the minimum wage, unless your employer gets special certification to pay you less than the minimum wage. It also explains other rights that you have as an employee regardless of your rate of pay.
By: Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania
Working and Keeping Your Medical Assistance (Medicaid) Benefits: A Fact Sheet for Social Security Beneficiaries
(Separate Website)
This Fact Sheet will explain three ways to keep your Medical Assistance benefits if you return to work, including ways to keep coverage even if you are no longer receiving SSI.
By: Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania
Did Social Security Stop Your Benefits Because You Had an Arrest Warrant?
(Separate Website)
Information on a class action lawsuit (Martinez) settlement that says: (1) Social Security cannot deny or stop benefits because of most outstanding arrest warrants; (2) Social Security must stop collecting overpayments based on most outstanding warrants; (3) For 80,000 people, Social Security must pay back all benefits that they didn?t pay or that they collected as overpayments, which may total over $500 million dollars.
By: National Senior Citizens Law Center
Benefits For Children With Disabilities
(Separate Website)
This booklet is written primarily for the parents and caregivers of children with disabilities and adults disabled since childhood. It illustrates the kinds of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits a child with a disability might be eligible for and explains how SSA evaluates disability claims for children.
By: Social Security Administration
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Adobe Acrobat Reader required. (If you are using a screen reader that does not support PDF format, copy the PDF link, and use the Access Adobe online form to convert this file to HMTL text.)
PALawHELP.org is provided as a public service by the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Legal Services Corporation.
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