Rose Law Offices

10/01/2025

What the Federal Government Shutdown Means to Social Security beneficiaries/applicants.

Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Dear Colleague,

Congress failed to reach an agreement on funding beginning October 1, 2025. As a result, the federal government is shut down until further notice. We recognize that your organization plays a critical role, and we want to provide you with information to help you guide the people you serve.
We want you to know that during the federal government shutdown, payments to all people who currently receive Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will continue with no change in payment dates. Your clients will still receive their payments on time.
To help manage their benefits and access important services, please encourage your clients to create an online my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. With a personal my Social Security account, your clients can view benefit estimates, request a proof of income letter, apply for benefits, request a replacement Social Security card or Medicare card, and much more. It’s easy, convenient, and secure.
Our local offices will remain open to the public but will provide reduced services. During this time, your clients can still:
Apply for benefits
Request an appeal
Change their address or direct deposit information
Report a death
Verify or change their citizenship status
Replace a lost or missing Social Security payment
Obtain a critical payment
Change a representative payee
Make a change in their living arrangement or income (SSI recipients only)
Obtain a new or replacement Social Security card
Hearings offices remain open to conduct hearings before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Please be aware that we may not be able to assist with all in-person service requests at this time. For example, we cannot provide proof of benefits letters, or update or correct earnings records. These in-person services will resume when the federal government is operating normally.
When the shutdown ends, we will post updates on our official social media accounts, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram. For more information on the government shutdown, visit www.ssa.gov/agency/shutdown.
Please share this information widely within your networks.
Sincerely,
Nick Perrine
Chief Communications Officer
[email protected]

Important Information About the Federal Government Shutdown Due to the Federal Government Shutdown, Social Security offices are open with reduced services. Hearings offices remain open to conduct hearings before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Social Security and Supplemental Security Income paym...

04/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/18shTwJiZz/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Social Security’s acting commissioner recently said out loud what many beneficiaries are thinking these days – the agency’s telephone customer service can “suck.”

07/26/2024

Two rule changes make it easier for older Americans to obtain Social Security disability benefits:

The two changes recognize the increasing difficulty older Americans face in this technologically advancing economy.

The first change pertains to the look-back period called “past relevant work” (PRW). Heretofore, the look back period was fifteen years for PRW. Beginning June, the look-back period is shortened to five years, recognizing how quickly the job market is changing, and the time limited notion “transferable skills.”

The second change pertains to persons age 55 or older, who have a limited eduction (meaning no high school diploma or GED), and who have one physical or mental impairment. These individuals will now qualify for disability benefits.

If you think you might qualify under these new rules, or know someone who might, feel free to give the Rose Law Offices a call or shoot us an email. We will be happy to discuss your situation with you at no charge.

05/02/2024

If you are on parole and violate the conditions of that parole, you will not receive your Social Security disability benefits for any month that you are in violation of your parole or probation.

04/30/2024

There is no law that says you must first apply for disability benefits on your own. Social Security Disability attorneys can handle the process for you, from the initial filing to settling any disputes that might arise.

04/25/2024

Did you know that many social security disability benefit rejections are based on either insufficient medical records or demonstration of work history? We can help ensure that you have all your paperwork in order.

04/23/2024

An experienced Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) attorney advocate can better enable you to secure benefits. Consider this: only 26 percent of first-time applicants receive approval. The remainder must wade through a lengthy appeals process. Your SSDI attorney can help you approach your request effectively from the start.

04/21/2024

Daffodils of Hope, the 8th Amendment

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on Monday, April 22nd, in one of the most important Supreme Court decisions in its history affecting cities and how people who are homeless are treated by local governments. The issue before the high court tomorrow is whether a city ordinance in Grants Pass, Oregon (a city comparable in size to Puyallup) can make it a crime for people who are homeless for sleeping or camping in public places within the city when there is no shelter space available.

A 2019 study found 602 people homeless in Grants Pass and another 1,045 individuals who were “precariously housed.” Meanwhile, the city has limited shelter space. At a 2013 city council meeting to discuss possible solutions to the city’s homelessness problem, the city council president suggested “mak[ing] it uncomfortable enough for [homeless people] in our city so they will want to move on down the road.” The city decided to increase enforcement of ordinances that bar the use of blankets, pillows, and even cardboard boxes while sleeping within the city.
The ordinances impose a $295 fine for initial violations. After two citations, police can issue an order that bans the individual from city property; a violation of that order exposes the individual to a conviction on criminal trespass charges, which carry penalties of up to 30 days in jail and a $1250 fine.

The main question before the nine justices of the US Supreme Court is whether such fines and penalties violate the 8th Amendment to the Constitution’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Laura Gutowski, a participant in the lawsuit, is 55 years old. She has been homelessness in Grants Pass for around three years, following the death of her husband in 2021. Laura’s sole source of income is her monthly Social Security disability check, which she receives due to her array of disabilities, including diabetes, degenerative joint disease in her knees, degenerative disk disease in her back, emphysema, and predictably, severe depression and anxiety.

Laura testified she was unable to afford today’s rental prices on her disability check. She first stayed in her car for about eight months, then slept in a tent under a gazebo at one of the city’s parks and now lives in a tent somewhere in the city until she is forced to move by the police. “I’m disabled so I need help moving to a different place each time.”

What will the Justices decide? Stay tuned.

04/18/2024

If you are having criminal legal problems, that can affect your eligibility for disability benefits from Social Security. If you are convicted of a crime, you cannot get benefits while you are in jail or confined for that crime.

04/16/2024

Social Security will periodically review your case to judge whether you remain disabled, depending on your potential for recovery. If medical improvement is “expected,” your case will be reviewed within six to 18 months; if “possible,” review occurs in three years; if “not expected,” review occurs in seven years.

04/11/2024

If you’ve recently learned that an injury you received will keep you from returning to your job or any other type of employment, it’s important to start the disability application process right away because of the length of time it can take to receive an approval.