For as long as I have been in practice, I have advised my clients that if they received an unfavorable hearing decision, they could file an appeal with the Appeals Council and, at the same time, file a new claim for benefits.

As of July 28, 2011, this “double filing” option is no longer available.

SSA has issued a “ruling” called SSR 11-1p which says in part:

Under the new procedures we are adopting in this Ruling, generally you will no longer be allowed to have two claims for the same type of benefits pending at the same time. If you want to file a new disability claim under the same title and of the same type as a disability claim pending at any level of administrative review, you will have to choose between pursuing your administrative review rights on the pending disability claim or declining to pursue further administrative review and filing a new application.

Social Security concluded that this new rule was needed because of the administrative complications of coordinating appeals with new claims. Continue reading →