Pages

Jan 25, 2018

Disability Insurance Trust Fund Reserves Increasing

     From the Office of Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration:

Disability Insurance
(Amounts in billions)
Calendar year Total income Total outgo Net increase
in asset reserves
Asset reserves at end
of calendar year
2013 $111.2 $143.4 $-32.2 $90.4
2014 114.9 145.1 -30.2 60.2
2015 118.6 146.6 -28.0 32.3
2016 160.0 145.9 14.1 46.3
2017 171.0 145.8 25.1 71.5

16 comments:

  1. Obviously, more employment since GOP gains in Congress and Trump's election. Economy coming out of dark times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Except job growth in 2017 were lowest in 5 years, wage growth in 2017 down and trade deficit highest in years. Truth vs perception.

      Delete
  2. @10:28

    It increased in 2016 as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The large increases in 2016 and 2017 are primarily due to the trust fund reallocation deal which took money out of the Retirement trust fund. This was only a 2 year transfer, so 2018 will go back down significantly.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thought the last reallocation was in 2015 and that we hadn't had another since then thus the 20% cut in 2034.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Obviously happening because SSA is denying so many people. Who even gets approved anymore? DDS approval rates are a pathetic 34 percent putting undue stress on ODAR

    ReplyDelete
  6. This blog is becoming way too partisan; lets stick to the facts folks, this is not about OBAMA VS TRUMP!

    The year 2034 is when OASI fund is projected to be insolvent, not SSDI. SSDI was projected after the 2016 transfer to be insolvent in 7 years creating a possible 21% cut to benefits. That date has been extended, due to better employment and a drop in SSDI applicants.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Funny, but the routine allocation of funds into the disability trust fund used to not be a partisan event. What has been proven in the past couple of years is that there is plenty of money to provide a very small safety net for the disabled in the wealthiest society on earth. Plenty of money for permanent war and massive tax cuts. Time to start working on being a decent, civilized country again and begin educating our children, caring for the elderly and disabled, making healthcare more available and promoting the arts and humanities. Hope these goals can become non-partisan.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How is the SSA able to transfer a qualified disabled worker from SSDI TO SSI? We have many disabled injured workers that this has happened to/ Cutting our benefits by at least 500.00 a month. Now that is fraud by those in the SSA! Something inherently wrong with this. One woman was arbitrarily cut off of SSDI after 3 years with no SSA DR. report, no nothing to substantiate the stopping of her SSI, plus the SSA from Chicago Il., office stated she owed 3,000.00, this too has happened to other injured workers who had no choice BUT to file for SSA & Medicare that we have to pay out of the SSI pithy amount, she had to wait 10 years and then put on SSI. She of course never got her retro pay because she went from SSDI to SSI, because of someone in charge of her the SSA's file and the congress person staffer worked together on her SSA/Medicare filings for SSDI and then went to SSI/ I too want to know, how is it that disabled injured workers go from SSDI TO SSI but have to pay Medicare when anyone one else gets Medicaid or Medic-cal, which others in those programs get for free! Anyone have an aswer to this. There is something inherently wrong with the SSDI program when it comes to totally disabled injured workers but doen't happen to anyone else when it comes to wily coyote ways of getting SSA/Medicare benefits. and if totally disabled disabled injured workers are not getting SSDI, then who does get that benefit? Just asking what has become an apparent giant fraud on those who worked full quarters , got injured on the job and getting screwed far too many times by both the employer and the SSA & Medicare and only getting SSI & having to pay for their medical care via Medicare which is of course is very limited for their needs of on the job injuries.'

    ReplyDelete
  9. The information is encouraging -- claims are down, the economy is improved. But, the delay in the timely processing of hearing level claims for about 1 million claimants is part of the more positive outlook for the DI Trust as well. It wouldn't look quite as rosy if they were processing those claims in a timely way instead of taking 605 days.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Essentially, they have improved the bottom line at the expense of claimants. Justice delayed is justice denied.

    ReplyDelete
  11. A denial by the system is not a denial of justice.

    ReplyDelete
  12. 4:29 PM. How many people die every year waiting 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years for a hearing and decision. You don't call that justice denied? Oh, I am sure you will argue DDS gave them a "decision." If the system has become unfair to claimants, then they have been denied justice. If the system is consistently denying people who cannot work, then its fairness is questionable. Currently, this system cares more about denying as many as possible than it does making the right decision. I have read too many comments from claimants who were denied by ALJs and I have had too much lip service from doctors who seem afraid to help anyone to believe this is not systemic. I think a major reason applications are down is because people have seen how others have been treated... They don't believe that they can win...

    ReplyDelete
  13. When I was in business I used to tell my people in order to win we needed to sell more, for more and spend less. The SSA is being forced by budgetary constraints and GOP ideology to deny more applicants, while culling out more on the rolls through mandatory compliance funding. Its being done through the funding they are getting from a GOP lead congress for day to day operations. Its no wonder the reserves are growing but at what cost? When some ten thousand folks a year die while waiting for an ALJ hearing that is disturbing to say the least. They take the money out of workers paychecks for insurance against disability and then deliver results like this. Its pathetic.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I should point one thing that is not often considered: The sheer amount of stress that this process puts on the claimants. And when you KNOW you can't really work, that stress is amplified. The additional stress alone makes these delays/unfair denials unconscionable! As for the stress put on Congress to come up with the money, I am about as concerned about that as I am about the stress on Nasser for having to listen to his victims!

    ReplyDelete