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S THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 13, 2019 CONFRONT | FROM PAGE 7 Page 17 intendents. “We will also be taking part in by Jim Miller How to Get Social Security Disability Benefits When You Can’t Work Dear Savvy Senior, What do I need to do to get Social Security disability benefits? I’m 60 years old and have some health problems that won’t allow me to work, but I’ve read that getting disability benefits is difficult. Laid Up Lenny Dear Lenny, Getting Social Security disability benefits when you’re unable to work can be challenging. Last year, more than 2 million people applied for Social Security disability benefits, but two-thirds of them were denied, because most applicants fail to prove that they’re disabled and can’t work. Here are some steps you can take that can help improve your odds. Get Informed The first thing you need to find out is if your health problem qualifies you for Social Security disability benefits. You generally will be eligible only if you have a health problem that is expected to prevent you from working in your current line of work (or any other line of work that you have been in over the past 15 years) for at least a year or result in death. There is no such thing as a partial disability benefit. If you’re fit enough to work part-time, your application will be denied. You also need not apply if you still are working with the intention of quitting if your application is approved, because if you’re working your application will be denied. Your skill set and age are factors too. Your application will be denied if your work history suggests that you have the skills to perform a less physically demanding job that your disability does not prevent you from doing. To help you determine if you are disabled, visit SSA.gov/planners/disability/qualify.html and go through the five questions Social Security uses to determine disability. How to Apply If you believe you have a claim, your next step is to gather up your personal, financial and medical information so you can be prepared and organized for the application process. You can apply either online at SSA.gov/applyfordisability or call 800-772-1213 to make an appointment to apply at your local Social Security office, or to set up an appointment for someone to take your claim over the phone. The whole process lasts about an hour. If you schedule an appointment, a “Disability Starter Kit” that will help you get ready for your interview will be mailed to you. If you apply online, the kit is available at SSA.gov/disability/disability_starter_kits.htm. It takes three to five months from the initial application to receive either an award or denial of benefits. The only exception is if you have a chronic illness that qualifies you for a “compassionate allowance” (see SSA.gov/compassionateallowances), which fast tracks cases within weeks. If Social Security denies your initial application, you can appeal the decision, and you’ll be happy to know that roughly half of all cases that go through a round or two of appeals end with benefits being awarded. But the bad news is with backlog of around 800,000 people currently waiting for a hearing, it can take 12 to 24 months for you to get one. Get Help You can hire a representative to help you with your Social Security disability claim. By law, representatives can charge only 25 percent of past-due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000 if they win your case. It’s probably worth hiring someone at the start of the application process if your disability is something difficult to prove such as chronic pain. If, however, your disability is obvious, it might be worth initially working without a representative to avoid paying the fee. You can always hire a representative later if your initial application and first appeal are denied. To find a representative, check with the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR.org, 845-682-1881) or National Association of Disability Representatives (NADR.org, 800-747-6131). Or, if you’re low-income, contact the Legal Services Corporation (LSC.gov/find-legal-aid) for free assistance. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. a couple of recruiting fairs and programs to augment the diversity of our teachers and staff,” said Oteri. School principals and administrators plan to participate in DESE’s Diversity Network, which offers workshops on topics such as recruiting a diverse workforce and targeted and bias-free hiring. “The program is designed to put us in a position to reach more candidates of color,” said Oteri. Malden schools are in their second year of Harvard’s Reimagining Integration: Diverse and Equitable Schools (RIDES) program. Led by Dr. Darnisa Amante, RIDES shows teachers and administrators how to evaluate their specific school culture, establish their school’s identity and pinpoint areas of concern. The program focuses on creating a sense of inclusion for students that allows them to appreciate their own and other cultures. That sense of inclusion creates a safe foundation that allows a school community to work together to identify and “dismantle” racism. Amante will lead a town hall meeting on RIDES sometime this fall for staff, students, parents and members of the community. As for ongoing antiracism training for teachers, the district’s next professional development day will offer a series of equity workshops that will focus on implicit bias and assumptions about race, equity and accountability. Malden High students will examine their own biases and attitudes on race through the Anti-Defamation League’s World of Difference program, which includes workshops on the effects of name-calling and bullying. The program also helps students develop skills to be allies for one another. “It’s a peer-leader program and it’s very effective,” said Oteri. The district is also incorporating more resources into the curriculum and adding more books to school libraries that will focus on the histories and cultures of the city’s different ethnic groups. “We are taking a number of steps in that direction and we’re really proud of that,” said Oteri. Although Oteri would be among the first to admit that more needs to be done to address bias and ensure equity, he said it’s a complex problem that will take time to resolve. “Eradicating centuries of racism is an ongoing issue,” he said. “And it’s difficult because racism manifests itself in different ways.” He does, however, want students, parents and members of the community to know that Malden schools are working on it. Q ualified retirement plans and IRA’s are not subject to probate upon death so long as there is a named beneficiary. Beneficiary designation rules are very liberal, providing IRA owners with many options when it comes to naming a beneficiary. Any individual and entity can be named a beneficiary. For example, a charity, an estate or a Trust can be named a beneficiary of an IRA. While the account owner is still alive, he or she cannot transfer the IRA to a Trust without generating taxable income on the amount transferred. An IRA owner might wish to name a Trust as a beneficiary in order to limit access on the part of a beneficiary of the Trust. In a sense, the IRA owner continues to control the distributions by naming a Trustee of the Trust to manage all of its assets. You would only name a Trust as a beneficiary for non-tax reasons as you will not be in a more favorable tax situation by doing so. For example, you might have a son or a daughter that is a spendthrift or has a substance abuse problem. The Trust must be drafted as a “look-through” or “seethrough” Trust. The IRS will “look through” the Trust and treat the Trust’s beneficiaries as the IRA’s direct beneficiary, although theTrust becomes the direct owner of the Inherited IRA. This allows the heirs to take advantage of favorable minimum distribution rules that apply to individual designated beneficiaries (e.g. those beneficiaries that have a life expectancy). To qualify as a look-through Trust, the Trust must meet all of the following requirements: It must be a valid Trust under state law It must be irrevocable upon the death of theIRA account owner. A revocable Trust will not be able to take advantage of the “stretch” IRA provisions Individual beneficiaries must be identifiable from the Trust document itself Designating A Trust As An Ira Beneficiary Required Trust documentation must have been provided to the IRA custodian no later than October 31st of the year following the IRA account owner’s death by the Trustee. In addition to the above requirements, only individuals may be considered “designated beneficiaries” by the IRS for purposes of taking advantage of the “stretch” IRA provisions. An estate or charitable organization may not be a designated beneficiary as they have no life expectancy. Therefore, they cannot take advantage of the “stretch” IRA provisions. It is also wise to make sure the IRA custodian permits naming a Trust as a beneficiary.A properly drafted lookthrough Trust is deemed a non-spousal beneficiary and thus must follow post-death RMD (Require Minimum Distribution) rules. This is the case even if the spouse is the sole beneficiary of the Trust. The Trust was the actual beneficiary, not the spouse. Upon the IRA owner’s death, only the RMD needs to be paid to the Trust, not the entire IRA account balance. Bypassing the Trust as a beneficiary is not allowed. Once the RMD is made to the Trust, then the Trustee will make distributions to Trust beneficiaries based upon the terms of the Trust itself. The Trust is the actual owner of the “Inherited IRA” account. Taxable distributions occur only when there are IRA distributions to the Trust from the Inherited IRA account based upon the RMD rules. Generally, the oldest beneficiary (i.e. the one with the shortest life expectancy among the beneficiaries) will be used to determine the amount of the RMD. Then the RMD paid to the Trust is distributed to the Trust beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of the Trust. Keep in mind that you may draft a Trust so as to create separate subtrusts for the benefit of each Trust beneficiary. This way, the RMD’s will be based upon each of the sub-Trust beneficiary’s life expectancy and there would be multiple RMD calculations. This provides for better “stretch” IRA planning. You would name each separate sub-trust as a beneficiary of the original IRA account. If the Trust fails to qualify as a look-through Trust, then the entire Inherited IRA account must be distributed to the Trust within 5 years after the original IRA owner’s death. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, registered investment advisor, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation.

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