The Office of Personnel Management
(OPM) has posted updated figures
for the number of employees at Social Security.These figures do not
show the effects of reductions in overtime at Social Security.
- March 2013 63,777
- December 2012 64,538
- September 2012 65,113
- June 2012 65,282
- March 2012 65,257
- December 2011 65,911
- September 2011 67,136
- June 2011 67,773
- March 2011 68,700
- December 2010 70,270
- June 2010 69,600
- March 2010 66,863
- December 2009 67,486
- September 2009 67,632
- December 2008 63,733
- September 2008 63,990
- September 2007 62,407
- September 2006 63,647
- September 2005 66,147
- September 2004 65,258
- September 2003 64,903
- September 2002 64,648
- September 2001 65,377
- September 2000 64,521
10 comments:
At least in my component, we've had OT almost every weekend this year...ODAR.
Same in my hearing office. This is the most overtime we've had in more than three years.
Gee Charles, I think the reason for the decline is not "Since the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in January 2011" as you hope to imply. The number of employees should be expected to decline due to increasing automation, eServices, internet claims, etc. With so many people filing claims online, there should be a dramatic need for less staff. I remember the need to request files, photocopies of benefit checks, and mail stuff back and forth to a payment center to perform a variety of actions and the time, delays, difficulties, increased chance of error, etc. in doing so to provide service. And stuff would be misfiled or contained in multiple folders to add to the confusion. Sorting this all out justified more staff, but those days for the most part are gone. SSA can do a much better job today will less staff, and the tasks are easier to complete thanks to automation and online data. The question remains, are today's executives, managers, supervisors, and employees able to handle the job using the great tools and resources available to them? I see many applicants without one bit of CR training do an outstanding job filing for their retirement benefits. For those who do need help, we have the resources to help. The same exists for other workloads if we are willing to properly manage and hold those at all levels to be accountable to do their job. The problems we face are not due to the numbers of employees or available overtime. But that is another discussion.
I remember the days when you based actions on MBRs if they were less than 6 months old. Now, I don't trust one more than 3 or 4 days old. But, the rules were simpler then, too. Sure, retirement claims have been automated in large part, but disability claims are way more complicated. (The type of claim almost everyone here wants to talk about all of the time.) Workers' compensation is way more complicated than it used to be - especially when attorneys try to game the system with language in the lump sum settlement. (You know - clauses that say "For Social Security purposes only, this settlement represents payments of $3.21 per week over the next 1876 weeks of the worker's lifetime. Or allocating all of it to future medical expenses, but when you ask for documentation of expected expenses related to the recognized impairment or that they have reported the settlement to CMS - as required, all you hear is...) Add to that the complexity of dealing with "representatives" scattered across the country when the claimant lives 2 miles from the FO and the end result is that you are left with the most complicated cases to be dealt with by real people. Especially when you ask the rep for evidence of "anything" and are told to contact the claimant directly - they don't want to deal with anything except getting their fee. And the way the roles are growing, there are still many more of these cases for the dwindling number of employees to cope with. I'll have ny 42 years in soon - nad then it is good-bye. Another poster to add to the board already crowded with retirement party flyers.
The number of employees is adequate. Internal promotions and overtime have been plentiful in ODAR. Throwing anymore money at the problem will just create opportunities for further mismanagement at the top.
Of course there are enough employees numbers-wise. But the type of employees SSA is stuck with for 30+ years... well that is an entirely different story. We are losing the people who actually know and do the worka round here while the underperformers stay forever becuase they know they cant get it better anywhere else. Im sorry but no amount of automation can undo the damage of a bad employee and you can find them throughout management and nonmanagement alike.
It has nothing to do with Republican control of the House of Representatives. It has more to do with the budget and our country's fiscal outlook. We cannot continue to spend money that we don't have. Everybody of every political affiliation is responsible for this mess. Banks were responsible for lending money for mortgages that people could not afford and giving credit cards to college students with no source of income. Consumers were/are responsible for buying things they don't need. Our government is responsible for trying to be the world's police force and throwing money at puppet regimes whose citizens are trying to kill us. So, grow up, stop blaming others, and look in the mirror.
It's not about the Republicans, stupid, it's about the sequestration which Obama promised would not happen during his election debates... Take it where it belongs..
Is there a way to access those numbers publicly? I'm a bit new here and would like to see them myself from the OPM's website, but I'm having a heck of a time finding them.
ODAR is getting hires and OT, only because Sklar, et al do not want to have to answer to Coburn, et al in Congress when the backlog grows. Meanwhile the field offices/district offices are losing people left and right without replacements or OT.
Putting the money in ODAR might help for a bit, but eventually the s-storm in the field will work its way up to us and start adding to the backlog.
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