Biggs Leaving

An e-mail from the Commissioner of Social Security:

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 4:00 PM
Subject: COMMISSIONER'S BROADCAST--01/08/08

A Message To All SSA And DDS Employees

Subject: Dr. Andrew Biggs

I want to let you know that our Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, Dr. Andrew Biggs, has informed me he soon will be leaving the agency to pursue an exciting job opportunity.

Dr. Biggs will become Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), a prominent Washington think tank, where he will continue his research work on Social Security.

Before his appointment as the Deputy Commissioner, Dr. Biggs served as Associate Commissioner for Retirement Policy as well as Deputy Commissioner for Policy. During his nearly five years at SSA, he has done much to improve the public's understanding of the complexities of the programs we administer. In particular, he has led the Office of Policy's research agenda, which covers all areas of the Social Security program and how it interacts with the economy and affects the well-being of the people we serve.

In addition to being the Secretary to the Social Security Board of Trustees, Dr. Biggs was a member of the Trustees Working Group, which undertakes the staff-level preparation of the annual Trustees Report. Dr. Biggs also has been an important advisor to the President on retirement policy.

On a personal level, let me say what a pleasure it has been to work with Andrew during my time here. Not only is he an intelligent and thoughtful public servant, Andrew is also an extremely nice guy who handles the many challenges of his job with professionalism, grace and humor.

Andrew plans to leave SSA in early February and start at AEI in March. Please join me in wishing him all the best in the future.

Michael J. Astrue

Commissioner

Congress did not defund Biggs' job, but he leaves voluntarily shortly after the appropriations bill passes. Interesting.