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Oct 2, 2009

Claims Surge

From Bloomberg:

Applications for Social Security benefits rose almost 50 percent more than expected this year because of the recession, according to the federal retirement program.

“We are seeing a significant increase in both retirement and disability applications as a result of the recession,” said Mark Lassiter, a Social Security spokesman. ...

The Social Security Administration had projected an increase of 315,000 applicants for the 12 months ending Sept. 30 partly because the first baby boomers -- those born right after World War II -- are starting to retire.

The actual increase was higher. Agency statistics show that 2.57 million people requested benefits, up from the 2.10 million applications received during the previous 12 months. That’s an increase of 465,000, or 47 percent higher than the expected rise.

Many people with disabilities who had previously been able to work sought Social Security payments because they lost their jobs, said Paul Van de Water, a former Social Security Administration policy official. He is now a senior fellow at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington research group....

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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:41 PM, October 02, 2009

    "Many people with disabilities who had previously been able to work sought Social Security payments because they lost their jobs"

    Would these people be approved depending on circumstances of work or worked in?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:23 PM, October 02, 2009

    There a lot of people who have a qualifying medical condition who continue to work because they feel they have to, and may even be receiving special considerations or other kinds of breaks from their employers to keep working. But, when laid off they have no other choice but to file for disability. I have interviewed people who were barely able to function but forced themselves to continue working because they could not afford to lose their income while waiting for a disaiblity decision. Once they are laid off, if is unlikely they would ever get hired again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nancy Ortiz11:00 PM, October 02, 2009

    A#2 is right. I know plenty of these people right around here in SWGA. No job, no insurance and there you have it. It's always been this way. Last time it was this bad was in the late Reagan administration. However, this recession is worse than the previous downturns. No surprise to us FO types and those who represent our claimants. Odd how top staff in CO always seem surprised when receipts go up.

    You'll notice that some financial writers are suggesting that the Trust Fund will go belly up or somehow SS payments will cause the deficit to skyrocket. Not true. For those interested in a good explanation of why the $2.5 trillion Trust Fund is solvent, check out the Social Security Articles by Bruce Webb on the AngryBear blog http://bruceweb.blogspot.com/2008/08/angry-bear-social-security-series.html

    Webb's explanations of how the Trust Fund works is the best I have read. I recommend it highly.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:01 AM, October 03, 2009

    Yeah, surprise, surprise! I started with the agency in 1975 and there is always an uptick in claims during economic downturns. Local offices experience local upticks whenever a large area employer shuts down. Folks laid off in their 60s often presume no one would hire them and when the media constantly hammers away at how bad it is many don't even bother to look.

    ReplyDelete