A Fine Mess

     Social Security’s Office of Hearings Operations is now officially just “Hearings” according to a new memo. “Hearings” is divided into five “hubs.” These names sound like they’re trying too hard to sound new and different. Anyway, here are the heads of these “hubs”:

• Hope Grunberg, currently a National Hearing Center Administrative Law Judge, is now the Head of Hearings Hub A.

• Tanya Garrian, currently the Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge (RCALJ) for Northeast, is now the Head of Hearings Hub B.

• Michael Rodriguez, currently the RCALJ for Southeast, is now the Head of Hearings Hub C.

• Scott Kidd, currently the RCALJ for Mid-West/West, is now the Head of Hearings Hub D.

• Ray Souza, currently the RCALJ for Southwest, is now the Head of Hearings Hub E, in addition to his role as Acting Chief Administrative Law Judge

     The assignment of hearing offices to the “hubs” completely scrambles geography and reason. Tucson and Queens are in the same hub. Charleston, SC and Sacramento are in another. Macon, GA and Honolulu are in another. And, dare I say it, why are ALJs in charge of Hubs? These are management positions and, on the whole, management is not what ALJs excel at. Who will handle questions about leave and such like? Who will handle it if a Hearing Office roof leaks? How will anyone have enough knowledge about local personnel to handle assigning new Hearing Office Chief ALJs? 

     Down the road other people will have to unscramble this mess. 

NADE Newsletter

      The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), a professional organization of the personnel who make initial and reconsideration determinations on disability claims for the Social Security Administration, has posted its most recent newsletter, which includes summaries of presentations by agency brass at a conference.

Mody Nomination Advances

      The Senate Finance Committee has advanced the nomination of Arjun Mody to become Deputy Commissioner of Social Security but only by a vote of 14-13. The nomination now goes to the Senate floor.

Frank Bisignano Exhibiting The Candor And Integrity For Which He’s Known

From a letter to Congress from Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano:

… After just my first six months on the job, I am pleased to report we are delivering a dramatically better customer experience at SSA. … 

     In other news concerning the Commissioner, the Ranking Member of the House Social Security Subcommittee has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Bisignano’s conduct at his former employer, Fiserv. The SEC shouldn’t need a referral from Congressmen to investigate this one but in the Trump Administration no Trump appointee need fear any sort of federal investigation.

Trump Administration Drops Plan To Alter Grid Regs

      From the Washington Post:

The Social Security Administration has abandoned plans to block thousands of older Americans from qualifying for disability benefits after an uproar that reached senior officials in the Trump White House, according to people familiar with the decision.


The agency is also halting a plan to use modern labor market data to help judge whether disability claimants can work, a project that has cost the federal government more than $350 million so far. The new data would have replaced a long-outdated jobs database that until recently included obsolete occupations such as nut sorters and telephone quotation clerks. …

Jason Turkish — an attorney representing disabled people and co-founder of the advocacy group Alliance for America’s Promise — said SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano and other administration officials assured him in meetings over the past week that the proposal would not move forward. A former Social Security executive familiar with the disability program confirmed that Bisignano has scrapped the proposed rule. …

Working After Claiming Retirement Benefits

      From Who Works After Claiming Social Security?, a report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College:

The brief’s key findings are: ...

Our results show that about 40 percent of individuals work at some point after claiming, typically for several years and for non-trivial earnings.

Most of them are lower lifetime earners who claim around 62 and then work part time, so they may struggle to delay Social Security claiming.

The rest are higher earners who often work full time after claiming near the full retirement age, suggesting they may be able to further delay claiming. ...

 

Increasing Medicare Costs Eat Much Of Social Security COLA

     From USA Today:

It’s official. Medicare costs will eat up much of older Americans' Social Security cost-of-living increase next year.

The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient care, doctors' services, durable medical equipment and preventive service, will be $202.90 in 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said on Nov. 14. That's up $17.90, or nearly 9.7%, from $185.00 in 2025. ...

Seniors were the only ones who saw an increase in poverty in 2024. All other age groups saw a decrease or stayed the same. ... 

Social Security Increases Minimum Repayment Of Overpayments From $10 A Month To $50

      Per an issuance in Social Security’s manual made on October 1 but just now posted online.