From David Weaver writing for The Hill:
… The start-up administrative costs of the Social Security Fairness Act [which eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset] are plausibly about $200 million. When Congress was considering the full-year continuing resolution in March, it simply chose not to provide the Social Security Administration with sufficient funding to implement the law. As a result, Congress has created a zero-sum environment at the agency: additional service to one group means less service to another.
In the months since enactment of the SSFA, the Social Security Administration has taken an additional 146,000 new benefit applications related to the new law. That means 146,000 other Americans did not have their applications considered. Additionally, the agency has had to field 450,000 calls (6,000-7,000 per day) from the public requiring agency staff to explain the new law and resolve benefit problems. That means 450,000 other Americans did not get their Social Security problems resolved.Most alarmingly, the agency’s automation efforts for retroactive payments fell short. Social Security indicated that automation would result in these payments being deposited in bank accounts “by the end of March.” After its automation runs in March, however, there were still 500,000 to 700,000 cases to be processed. These will have to be handled manually over time. …The Social Security Administration plans to prioritize this manual workload, but all that means is that up to 700,000 other Americans in the agency’s very large payment backlog will not have their benefit payments processed. …
19 comments:
Why do WEP and GPO recipient’s get to cut in front of the line? Thousands have waited for their disability payments for years and they are asked to wait longer? Whose looking out for those applicants that were awarded disability benefits?
@11:26 WEP/GPO affected disabled and retirees have waited years too, it's not a separate category, it's disabled and/or retired folks who had their benefits reduced.
As to why they are getting priority over others, I imagine cause it's an acute issue. Not always true but often, tackling a smaller subset (WEP/GPO payments) of the whole (payment backlog) is a reasonable way to do it if the smaller subset's problems can be solved more efficiently than average. It's pretty similar logic applied to expedited treatment of cases.
Because these are. It disability payments for the most part and are retirement benefits
Because these are NOT disability payments that are awaiting approval of their disability case and instead are retirement payments
Amid a wave of reported disruptions to
Social Security services, California
Attorney General Rob Bonta has
launched a new online portal for
residents to report issues related to
accessing their benefits.
"Your Social Security benefits should
not be impacted by President Trump
and Elon Musk's cuts to federal funding
and programs,
» Bonta said in a
statement Tuesday.
"If you experience
any disruptions to your Social Security
benefits, I want to know."
No one wins. PC is going to get burdened with these and other workloads. You think you waited long before? Ha.
Love the golden state
It’s also being done by Arizona and Michigan AG’s for a lawsuit against this administration. Congressional’s are useless but contacting these three state websites will make a bigger difference. Hopefully, claimants are aware that these websites are available in these three states.
Updated states involved in a lawsuit against this administration.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in fighting back against the unlawful layoffs and chaotic mismanagement at the Social Security Administration (SSA) that has threatened Americans’ ability to access their Social Security benefits. Attorney General James and the coalition filed an amicus brief in American Association of People with Disabilities v. Dudek seeking to block the staff layoffs implemented by Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The attorneys general assert that the staffing cuts jeopardize continued Social Security payments for millions of Americans.
“Millions of New Yorkers rely on Social Security benefits to ensure they can put food on the table, keep a roof over their head, and access quality health care,” said Attorney General James. “Elon Musk, DOGE, and the administration are yet again launching an attack on our most vulnerable communities. My office is standing up to defend everyday Americans’ ability to access the Social Security benefits they depend on.”
Many Americans rely on Social Security benefits to meet their most basic needs, including food, shelter, and health care. Social Security is also the pathway to eligibility for a number of other vital safety net programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Nearly nine out of 10 people aged 65 and older were receiving a Social Security benefit as of December 31, 2024. Approximately 3.7 million New Yorkers receive Social Security benefits annually, including retirement, survivor, and disability payments.
In the brief, Attorney General James and the coalition explain that staff cuts are exacerbating SSA’s problems rather than improving its efficiency. Approximately 2,800 SSA employees have already retired or taken early buyouts promoted by DOGE. The resulting reduction in SSA’s workforce has led to longer lines at field offices, longer wait times on phones, and frequent website crashes for online users. The layoffs and reorganization measures have delayed benefits and limited SSA’s ability to meet the needs of beneficiaries with disabilities.
Acting Commissioner Dudek’s erratic management has led to nationwide confusion as announcements of office closures have been made only to be rolled back days or even mere hours later. The Trump administration and DOGE continue to falsely claim that SSA has paid out billions in improper payments, and that millions of deceased people are receiving benefits. In reality, less than one percent of total benefits paid between 2015 and 2022 were improper, according to SSA’s Inspector General’s Office. The coalition argues that Acting Commissioner Dudek and DOGE’s actions have created unnecessary confusion and chaos nationwide.
In February, Attorney General James sent a letter to Acting Commissioner Dudek after SSA announced plans to close the White Plains hearing office and reduce services at the Poughkeepsie field office. These offices provide for New Yorkers throughout the Hudson Valley and serve as a central hub for seven counties, including Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester. Eliminating the office would have harmed thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers.
Joining Attorney General James in submitting the brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
EVERY STATE NEEDS TO SET UP A WEBSITE TO REPORT SOCIAL SECURITY DISRUPTIONS!!
Twenty states and counting. Leland lawyer up!
Too late. The damage is done, most wont come back and nobody of quality is going to fill these positions with the agency if they would let them fill it. At least a decade to recover, if ever. So go stomp your feet and carry your sign, wont do a thing, not one little thing, you are already beaten.
The whole agency is collapsing due to retirements and departures. And it will probably take decades to rebuild the workforce given the damage to the civil service by the current administration, especially on top of SSA’s already devastatingly bad reputation.
GREED IS GOOD! According to Gordon Gekko and these greedy WEP bastards!
The law should have never been passed and signed by Biden. It is so unfair and only hurts the trust fund and makes us FO employees just roll our eyes at the greed of those people and angry they get to cut the line.
Be careful what you say. Many people don’t believe in cash SSI benefits to children, disability benefits based on mental impairments, you name it. Kvetching about another workload isn’t helpful.
The start-up administrative costs of the Social Security Fairness Act are plausibly about $200 million. When Congress was considering the full-year continuing resolution in March, it simply chose not to provide the Social Security Administration with sufficient funding to implement the law. As a result, Congress has created a zero-sum environment at the agency: additional service to one group means less service to another.
In the months since enactment of the SSFA, the Social Security Administration has taken an additional 146,000 new benefit applications related to the new law. That means 146,000 other Americans did not have their applications considered. Additionally, the agency has had to field 450,000 calls (6,000-7,000 per day) from the public requiring agency staff to explain the new law and resolve benefit problems. That means 450,000 other Americans did not get their Social Security problems resolved.
Most alarmingly, the agency’s automation efforts for retroactive payments fell short. Social Security indicated that automation would result in these payments being deposited in bank accounts “by the end of March.” After its automation runs in March, however, there were still 500,000 to 700,000 cases to be processed. These will have to be handled manually over time.
The Social Security Administration plans to prioritize this manual workload, but all that means is that up to 700,000 other Americans in the agency’s very large payment backlog will not have their benefit payments processed.
Where were all these concerned AGs when SSA was left floundering with little to no money and too much to do?
Would they have batted an eye if Biden was reelected and the family medical leave was administered by SSA? Almost no one even considered the insanity of this proposal. Regardless, this is just political posturing and if any of you think that these state leaders care at all about the people they serve you’re delusional. It’s simply about the bad orange guy because if it wasn’t they’d have been taking action years ago.
This article is not accurate regarding automated cases done in Central Office. CO attempted to process 100% of the cases it was asked to process. This was done very efficiently and in a shorter time than predicted. For better or for worse (usually it’s better) we do whole case processing for Title 2 actions, which means that many of these that kicked out could have been for something unrelated that just had not been updated/ corrected on the MBR for a long time. The cases that fall out are processed manually. This is a normal process but of course you compound the size of this project with the hemorrhaging of the agency, it’s going to slow things down.
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