Missed the Social Security appeal deadline? How to prove good cause and protect your benefits

Anytime you disagree with a Social Security decision, you have the right to appeal. Generally, the Social Security Administration only gives you 60 days to file your appeal.

However, life can be hectic, things can slip through the cracks, and people miss deadlines. In the case of Social Security you can send in a “good cause statement” along with your appeal form says Dr. Ed Weir, a former SSA manager if you’ve missed your deadline.

Showing good cause for missing Social Security appeal deadline

Recently on his @MyGovExpert podcast, Weir was asked: “Can I still appeal my SSDI reinstatement if it’s been much longer than 60 days? I’ve been too unwell to appeal it. They said my extended period of eligibility is over.”

“Yes, you’re talking about a good cause statement,” he replied, adding, “Just do it.”

If you are in the first step of the appeal process, you will need to download a SSA 561 form; Request for Reconsideration.

In the case of this person’s situation, seeking an extended period of eligibility, Weir warns that the space on the SSA 561 form is quite small for arguing one’s case for why the SSA decision should be overturned as there are only three lines. The former SSA official says that you should write on the front of the form “See attached” and then “legibly” write your argument for why you should be reinstated on another sheet of paper and add it to the 561 form.

Then, since you are sending it past the deadline, add another piece of paper with your “good cause statement,” that explains why you did not file your appeal within the allotted 60 days.

He gives examples of issues that people may have had like, “’I did or I didn’t get the letter and I just found out about it’, or ‘I got the letter but it went to the wrong address’, or ‘I was sick [and] I wasn’t able to do it’.”

“I’ve never denied a good cause letter,” Weir says, adding that while at the SSA he received thousands upon thousands. He says he might’ve denied one if it had been received three years late and the person just said that they hadn’t felt like making the appeal when they should’ve.

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