The Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Dr. Kilolo Kijakazi, recently announced an increase in the fee cap for attorneys helping claimants. The former fee cap, set in 2009, was $6,000. It will be raised to $7,200 on November 30, 2022.
What a raise in the fee cap means for claimants:
• The fee for attorney services, set by the Social Security Administration, is the lesser of ¼ of past due benefits or the fee cap. Most claimants’ past due benefits are less than $24,000, and therefore will be unaffected. Those whose past-due benefits are greater than $24,000 will now pay a little bit more.
• It may be a little easier to find a lawyer, since the low fees for services has resulted in many lawyers leaving this area of law.
What a raise in the fee cap means for lawyers:
• Lawyers doing Social Security cases have not gotten a pay raise since 2009. With the cost of inflation, higher wage costs, and the lower rate of approval of claimants, it has been financially difficult for Social Security lawyers to keep going. While the fee cap would have to be raised to $8000 to make up for inflation between 2009 and 2022, this increase does help a little.
