Social Media and Your SSD Benefits.

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1. How Your SSD Benefits can be Affected by What You Post on Social Media.

REVIEWED BY

C. William Kenny

January 01, 2024

Board certified by National Board of Trial Advocacy

How Your SSD Benefits can be Affected by What You Post on Social Media.

Social Security, in its budget request to Congress last year, said it would look into expanding the use of social media networks in disability determinations, partly to help identify fraud.

Social media has become one of the most popular means of interaction today. This includes, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to name a few. However, posting on social media can harm your Social Security Disability benefits.

Why is this the case? It has been reported that the Trump administration has been working on a proposal to use social media, like Facebook and Twitter, to help identify people who claim Social Security Disability benefits without being disabled.

For example, if a person claimed benefits because of a leg injury but was shown running a race in a photograph posted on Facebook, that could be used as evidence that the injury was not disabling. However, the photo could be from the past and prior to the claimant’s injury which may not be made clear online. This is why certain posts can be negative to your claim.

This could affect people receiving benefits and applying for benefits.

If you are considering applying for either SSD or SSI benefits, do not delay. Contact an experienced Social Security Disability Attorney to find out how.

If you become disabled and will be unable to work or your disability is life threatening, do not hesitate to apply. The process for receiving these monthly payments and benefits can take a long time. It is important that you begin the application process early so that you can begin receiving benefits as soon as possible.

Call the Social Security Disability attorneys at Berger and Green at 412-661-1400 for a free no obligation consultation to discuss your claim.

Source: NY Times, “On Disability and on Facebook? Uncle Sam Wants to Watch What You Post”