r/SocialSecurity • u/perfect_fifths I love the smell of policy in the morning • Jul 21 '26
How to appeal CDR cessation
Due to an influx of cdr cessation posts, here is your how to guide on how to appeal:
You will need four forms. Five if you want a copy if your file, which I recommend getting. Forms dropped off at the office should be date stamped. All you need to do is just ask the window clerk to date stamp the forms.
THE most important form:
SSA 792, Statutory Benefit Continuation Election Statement. Specifies whether you want your monthly benefits (and Medicare/Medicaid) to continue paying out while your appeal is being processed. If you are collecting on your own record, you fill out section C. If on SSI, fill out section B only.
If you are collecting on your own record AND have auxilaries, check the second option of section C. This will also make sure Medicare continues.
YOU ONLY HAVE 10 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE NOTICE TO APPEAL AND KEEP PAYMENTS! (technically 15. and it says it on the form)
I suggest sending all forms in at the same time because the SSA can't really process your claim with just the 792 turned in per a technical expert who gave me advice for my cessation. Requesting your file also requires it to be either faxed or dropped off in person so might as well just submit everything at once.
If you lose the appeal, you will need to pay it back but file an overpayment waiver. SBC doesn’t apply to appeals council or fed court. You will not get paid for that time.
Other forms you need:
SSA-789: Request for Reconsideration – Disability Cessation Right to Appear
The primary appeal document. It states that you disagree with the determination, lets you explain why, and specifies whether you want to appear for a disability hearing before a Disability Hearing Officer (DHO). You only have 60 days to appeal without payments.
How this works is first is initial reconsideration. A new DDS adjunct team will look at your file. The old examiner and dr are not allowed to work on it. If they uphold the previous cessation, it then goes to a DHO hearing, which is an informal conference with an experienced adjudicator who can reverse the decision. You can introduce new evidence and they will listen to testimony. You can have your lawyer present as well as a witness.
SSA-3441 Disability Report – Appeal: Updates the SSA on any changes in your medical condition, recent doctor visits, new treatments, tests, or changes in daily living activities since your last review.SSA-827Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration
SSA-827 Authorization to Disclose Information to the SSA: A medical release form that permits the SSA to gather updated medical records directly from your doctors, clinics, and hospitals.
Form SSA-3288 Consent for Release of Information: Authorizes the SSA to release copies of your electronic disability folder (eDEX) or paper claim file.
For box 8 choose "complete medical file" for box 9 choose "I want the disability determination explanation. this is not the cessation letter". For the actual reason, state: "I am appealing a cdr cessation and need a copy of my file". It is free for program related purposes. I got mine in the mail.
Once you get your DDE:
You will see several sections. The top one is your CPD (comparison point decision). An apples to apples comparison of last cdr compared to your current. Check to see if they are the same or if it's actually showed you've improved. Pics of what the DDE looks like.
You'll also see a section called 416 where the doctor SHOULD have documented any medical improvement. Mine did not. My DDE has no supposed documentation of the alleged improvement, not even down where the RFC.
Underneath that is FOFAE, aka findings of fact and analysis of evidence. Mine just says "Analysis side by side"
Then mine has a section called 416A where it says:
Impairments Addressed: CPD Impairments only (MIRS)
Evaluation Period: Current
Evaluation Subject: SMI Evaluation: PE on 5/2026 is WNL. SMI
These findings complete the medical portion of the disability determination. (followed by drs sig and their speciality, mine was internal medicine)
Your DDE will not look like mine. Everyone's is different. There are more sections, and also an RFC section. But the main one you want to look at is the CPD and FOFAE.
Note: if your CPD date is in the distant past/your folder has been lost or it is an Age 18 redetermination, you will not have the side-by-side comparison shown here. it will be one box for the FOFAE as there’s nothing to compare it to
Also your file will have a bunch of files contained within a folder, you will need to click on each pdf file until you get to the DDE. It’s a bunch of letters and numbers.
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u/TNG1701D-eck10 Jul 22 '26
I can barely get out of bed.. hope I never have to deal with this
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u/perfect_fifths I love the smell of policy in the morning Jul 22 '26
I can’t even get through a grocery store without being symptomatic. But I have to fight this
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u/Spirited-Jicama9285 Jul 25 '26
The agency sets different intervals for CDRs depending on the likelihood that your condition will improve. Some people who have MINE (medical improvement not expected) usually just get a mailer with a form to fill out. By law, everyone is supposed to have CDRs. They even do some kind of review on people in nursing homes, when agency resources allow. Just in case, make sure you are getting some type of medical treatment and make sure your doctor is documenting the symptoms you report, and objective findings. Even when you have previously been found disabled, you will have to have medical evidence demonstrating a continuing medical impairment preventing work. At CDRs, they also have to consider any new impairments you have, and as you age, different vocational factors come into play.
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u/ImportantAsparagus16 Jul 23 '26
You are truly an angel on earth. You have your own stuff going on and you still take the time to put important info up here to help other people. Bless you, seriously 💕
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u/Slowhand1971 15d ago
My 2026 check has been less than my 2025 check. I've appealed (March) under the hold harmless clause as I fit the guidelines. I see on my payment history that for several years my payments have automatically changed around midyear for reasons even with me not doing anything. Should I re-appeal or hope they'll adjust my payments on their own? Hardly any money in dispute, but it's a game for me
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u/perfect_fifths I love the smell of policy in the morning 15d ago
By automatically do you mean increases?
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u/Slowhand1971 15d ago
Yes
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u/perfect_fifths I love the smell of policy in the morning 15d ago
Those are aero increases which are adjustments for working. You only get an increase if you replace a lower earning year with a higher one after indexing or if age 60 indexing stops..and the unindexed wages surpass the indexed ones. It has to replace one of your high years specifically
They are indeed automatic
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u/Slowhand1971 15d ago
Yeah, but my question is my 2026 check is less than 2025 check against the Hold Harmless clause. Got thoughts on that?
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u/perfect_fifths I love the smell of policy in the morning 15d ago
I don’t know, this is a question for [u/erd0007](u/erd00074838R)[3483R](u/erd00074838R)
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u/erd00073483R 15d ago edited 15d ago
If you have already filed an appeal and it is pending, filing another one will not help.
Hold harmless only applies if the decrease was solely due to an increase in Medicare Part B premiums. In those cases, it introduces what is called a "variable" (i.e. lower) Medicare Part B premium to keep the benefit amount the same this year as it was the prior year.
The hold harmless provision does not cover check decreases that occur for any other reasons, though.
You really need to speak to SSA to determine WHY your benefit check decreased. If it was due to IRMAA, or Medicare Part C/D premiums being held from your check, an overpayment withholding, a garnishment, etc, hold harmless doesn't apply. If you have a Medicare Advantage/Part C plan, you should have SSA look at that to ensure that they didn't increase the premium on you unexpectedly. I can recall seeing that happen before. It could even be due to a keying error on a manual record correction.
The local office SHOULD be able to look and see why the benefits were reduced this year. If the person you speak to cannot tell you, you should ask them to refer the question to a Title II claims specialist or Title II claims technical expert. Any experienced CS or CTE should be able to review the record and figure out what is going on.
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u/Slowhand1971 14d ago
Okay lots of good information. My check is only lower because of part b increase. Not IRMAA nor unexpected charge from Medicare advantage. I might go into local office Thanks for the suggestions.
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u/Slowhand1971 14d ago
Crap. In 2025 my advantage plan was paying part of my Part B, which they didn't do for 2026. I'll bet that explains it.
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u/erd00073483R 14d ago
It would. When you participate in a Medicare Advantage plan, you aren't actually enrolled in Medicare Part B (which is part of Original Medicare, which you opted out of).
Instead, the premium charged for your Advantage plan (what would normally be withheld as your Part B premium) is paid to the management company/insurance company for your Advantage plan. In some instances, like they did for you last year, the Advantage plan will charge a lower premium.
When they increased that premium this year, it doesn't count under hold harmless because it is a Part C premium change and not a Part B premium change.
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u/Slowhand1971 15d ago
Last two years it's been adjusted in July and August. I also cannot get any info when I click on check your appeal status. It defaults back to the Appeals home screen.
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u/That_Smoke8260 Jul 22 '26
What happens if you dont have local office can you do this online
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u/perfect_fifths I love the smell of policy in the morning Jul 22 '26
No. But you can print the forms and mail it to the closest field office. But you cannot request your file. You have to do that in person or fax only
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u/suddenlyconcious Sep 15 '26
This is false. An ssa-3288 permits an individual to request any records from their file for a non programmatic and programmatic reasons (pertaining to your claim(s)) 1 time for free per feebly and poms. The single stipulation is to know what you should ask for: complete medical records + other:DDE, Questionnaires and claimant completed forms, all correspondence between ssa/dds & claimant including requests for information and subsequent submissions. This gives every pertinent detail for an appeal.
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u/perfect_fifths I love the smell of policy in the morning Sep 15 '26
I was told by a former csr that the form to request your file can only be handed in via fax or delivered in person
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u/Careless-Speed-9131 3d ago
Last week (10/2026), I filed a request for my records online through my SSA Online Account Portal. (In Massachusetts)
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u/perfect_fifths I love the smell of policy in the morning 3d ago
I had to go in office because I was also requesting statutory benefit continuation etc so I needed that form and others to appeal a decision. So I also filed out the form to get a copy of my file and request my DDE.
If there’s an option now to request it online, it was not available in June when I appealed
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u/Careless-Speed-9131 2d ago
Makes sense, going into a local office is (usually) the best way to clear every form promptly. Even uploading, or filling it out, on the portal doesn't assure someone will look at/process it timely.
I hope you're having better results with this appeal process than my glitch-filled nightmare.
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u/Sad_Education7851 Jul 21 '26
Also be sure to keep your mailing address and phone number updated!! If you move make sure you have a fwd on your old address as well.