52 Card Project 2021: Week 1: Betrayal

[pegkerr]

So here's the first card, which I created digitally.

The central image should be entirely familiar to anyone who has paid any attention to the news this week.

I have overlaid it with a text excerpt of a letter received this week from the Social Security office, informing me that I was not going to be getting the Social Security Survivor benefits I had applied for as Rob's widow, and I was told I was eligible for: I was just above the income threshold for receiving them. Since this represented about a third of the income I was expecting to receive until I had reached full retirement age, this really bites.

Betrayal



Click here to read about the 52 card project and see the year's gallery.

Comments

[quadong]

Is Social Security one of our cruel programs in which if you earn $1 too much, you suddenly lose $20,000 of benefits? Or does it taper off gradually like it ought to?

[pegkerr]

Yeah, it looks like that (the former)--but what the guy told me when I called on the phone was a little muddled. He admitted he was new. I am trying to reach an attorney for advice. I have 60 days to file an appeal. It may be hopeless, though. Investigating.

[queenbookwench]

This is an incredibly powerful card & image, Peg!

[aome]

WTF??? You just lost half your income due to your job and you STILL don't qualify for Rob's Social Security? Can you appeal this?? That's outrageous.

[pegkerr]

The clerk who processed my application is apparently rather new at this and I think that he didn't clearly explain it. I qualified last year because I applied in August, and they start counting income at the time you apply, and I didn't make $18240 before the end of the year.

This year, my monthly gross is above the monthly ceiling limit of $1580 (of course, my net is pitiful, because I'm now paying through the nose for health insurance). My accountant was bluntly discouraging about my chances of prevailing: "If you have been earning over $1,580/month, then you don’t qualify, and fighting it won’t help you. I recommend trying to resolve this directly with the SSA before you spend money on an attorney. There is nothing they can do if you don’t qualify under the rules. Not understanding the rules will not be considered a reason for relief. I have seen this process many times and I have never seen anyone succeed."