Even Business Paper Reports On Social Security Backlogs

The Charleston [SC] Business Journal is reporting on Social Security's backlogs in hearing appeals of disability claims. Here is an excerpt:

Severely ill or injured U.S. workers, like [Don] Longest [the claimant whose story is used to illustrate the article], who file Social Security disability claims must wait a while before their checks arrive. Cutbacks in Social Security Administration personnel have produced a backlog, forcing claimants to wait from 18 months to two years to receive money from Social Security disability benefits, said North Charleston-based disability benefits attorney Robertson Wendt Jr. ...

Longest is one of nearly 136,000 disabled S.C. workers who are Social Security beneficiaries. His case is typical of disabled workers who have faced or currently are facing financial ruin because of the claims backlog, Wendt said.

“People are losing things like their houses and cars because they have to wait up to two years to get their money,” Wendt said.

In Charleston, the average processing time for Social Security disability claims is 507 days, compared with 524 days in Columbia and 594 days in Greenville, according to a report from the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives.