We recently decided to eliminate our current procedures for questioning corporate officers’ and self-employed individuals’ allegations of retirement. We have found that, over the long term, questioning retirement allegations has made no significant difference in Trust Fund outlays. By eliminating our questionable retirement procedures, we will reduce the public burden, save our scarce administrative resources, and increase the efficiency of the retirement determination process.
Since we are eliminating our current procedures for questioning corporate officers’ and self-employed individuals’ retirement allegations, the SSRs that relate to those procedures are no longer needed. Therefore, we are rescinding SSR 66-18c and SSR 91-1c as obsolete.
This is an open invitation to fraud. Self employed individuals between 62 and full retirement age can make completely transparent arrangements to pretend to be retired while continuing to work full time. Social Security will give them early retirement benefits without any questions. However, if you are an employee, forget it. You either retire for real or suffer major reductions in any early retirement benefits. I know it's been almost impossible to police this but completely giving up!
This, while regrettable, is long overdue. As a CR, I spent hours and days fully developing QR cases, only to have my findings overturned at the recon level at the PSC. Big waste of time, and I can tell you that CRs have been routinely blowing off QR development for years because of this.
ReplyDeleteThose working while "retired" would still be giving up the higher benefit amount that comes with retiring at a later age correct?
ReplyDeleteThis seems more like an IRS problem to me. If they are working but not claiming anything (to make it look like they are retired), then it's tax evasion. Of course, if you want to talk about an agency that really raised the white flag...
ReplyDeleteIRS cuts back on audits of large companies
I.R.S. More Likely to Audit the Poor and Not the Rich
(older article, but fun read)
Why should there be an earnings test for people under FRA? What makes people FRA or older special to not have to worry about the earnings test. One of the biggest waste of time is dividing up benefits that were reduced for the family max when a parent works. Just pay the freaking money.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I did more reading on the IRS thing. Seems they're getting their house back in order recently, notably by Targetting Rich Taxpayers: Audit Rates Up 80%. Maybe the IRS might have the resources to deal with this after all.
ReplyDeleteFraud = yes.
ReplyDeleteThe original social contract in enacting the Social Security Act, during the earlier great depression, was that grandpa would give up his job (retire) and son would get the job that became available, in turn the newly employed son would contribute to the fund and grandpa would draw benefits -- to state it simply. Over the years, this social contract has become muddled, so the old people are being made to work until they drop and younger members of society again are not being able to find open jobs. There are more factors in the ecomony, but this basic social contract and factor should not to totally ignored today.
It is common in QR cases to see the worker allege that a spouse has "taken over" the worker's former duties, so income is now reported under the spouse's SSN instead of the worker's. This seems like "buying" quarters of coverage for insured status on the part of the spouse. Does anyone out there know how this issue will be handled?
ReplyDeleteIt won't be, any more than it is now. This has been going on forever, and even though it's blatantly fraudulent, the effort to disallow QCs isn't worth the time and effort--upon appeal, the PSC routinely rejects the FOs determination anyway.
ReplyDelete