President Recommends 8% Budget Increase For Social Security

From the White House:

• $12.5 billion for SSA [Social Security Administration], an increase of $930 million, or 8 percent, above the 2010 enacted level.
  • Includes resources to increase staffing in 2011 and allow SSA to provide services faster with a focus on key service delivery areas, such as processing initial retirement and disability claims, and disability appeals.
  • Funds targeted to lower the initial disability claims backlog below 1 million by processing more than 3 million claims and lower the appeals hearing backlog.

Significantly Increase Program Integrity Efforts

• $796 million for SSA program integrity, including a 9 percent increase in the level of medical Continuing Disability Reviews over the prior year. SSA’s program integrity efforts are part of a strong framework for making sure the government is spending tax dollars efficiently and that benefits are paid only to those beneficiaries who are eligible and are paid in correct amounts. ...

Highlights of this department’s goals are:

• By 2012, SSA will achieve an online filing rate of 50 percent for retirement applications.
• SSA will work towards achieving the agency’s long-term outcomes of lowering the disability backlogs and accurately processing claims. In 2011, SSA’s will process 3.317 million out of a universe of 4.316 million initial disability claims and 799,000 out of a universe of 1.456 million hearing requests.
• SSA will improve program integrity efforts by minimizing improper payments and strengthening the agency’s efforts to protect program dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse. In 2011, SSA’s will process 359,800 out of a total of approximately 2 million medical continuing disability reviews, an increase of 9.4 percent over 2010.