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A closed period
exists when a claimant for disability benefits is found
to be ineligible for ongoing
benefits, but yet eligible to receive benefits
for a period of time in the past.
Example: An Administrative
Law Judge, after reviewing a claimant's medical evidence,
finds that the claimant's condition has significantly improved
since filing an Initial application. The claimant is subsequently
denied for ongoing benefits.
The evidence, however, also verifies that the claimant met
the disability criteria for
an thirteen month period, prior to this improvement.
As a result, the claimant is awarded past due benefits (ie
backpay) for a closed period, even though ongoing benefits
have been denied.
Note: If the claimant's
application, in this example, is for SSI, or supplemental
security income, the claimant is entitled to receive the
full thirteen months of benefits.
Unfortunately, however, if the claimant's application is
for social security disability benefits (also known as title
II, SSD, SSDI, and RSDI), the claimant is then subject to
the five month waiting period.
In other words, the SSD claimant receives only 8 months
of actual benefits despite being awarded the eleven month
closed period.
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