SSNs For Less Than A Big Mac

      From Government Technology:

Stolen Social Security numbers can cost less than $2 each on the dark web, which is cheaper than a Big Mac, a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk, according to new research from the identity protection company Coveron.

Coveron, with support from NordLayer Intelligence, examined dark web forums and private messaging channels from June 2024 through June 2026, identifying 5,885 posts that involved the sale of personal information packages containing Social Security numbers. Some listings offered bulk discounts, dropping prices below $1 per package. …

Gambling With Social Security Money

      From WTRF:

A study has shown that on days when Social Security pays, gambling rates go up. 

A West Virginia University doctoral student, Matt Mullis, has found concerning patterns in West Virginia’s gambling data.

One finding shows that senior citizens may be spending most of their Social Security income on gambling. …

     Most? 

Drum Roll Please

      Social Security’s Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) effective next year is 3.6%. The cap on wages subject to the FICA tax will be $192,300, up from $184,500.

How?

      A quote from Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano reported in The Hill:

This is a long journey. [Social Security] is 90 years old. It’ll be around for another 90 years.

Loss In Court On Job Loss

      From Human Resources Director:

The Social Security Administration can press ahead with plans to cut 7,000 jobs after a court threw out a disability discrimination challenge to the layoffs. 

Five advocacy organisations and seven individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits had argued the cuts - roughly 12 percent of SSA’s 57,000-strong workforce - created “systemic access barriers” that hit people with disabilities harder than everyone else. They pointed to prolonged phone delays, reduced field office hours, missing sign language interpreters, and an online portal that kept locking them out. 

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed all three claims on October 9, 2026.  …

Not Something You Expect A Commissioner To Do

      A tweet from yesterday by Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano:

It was a privilege to ring the @NYSE Opening Bell this morning to commemorate Columbus Day and celebrate Italian American heritage. 🔔 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 

I was honored to do so alongside many friends including true legends of business Ken Langone, Dick Grasso, and Vinnie Viola.

Social Security Beneficiaries To Lose $2,000 A Year Due To Trump Immigration Policies

      From The Guardian:

Elderly Americans can expect to lose an average of $2,152 in annual social security benefits each, a projected 8.6% reduction in their retirement payments, by 2034 and every year after as a direct consequence of the economic fallout from the Trump administration’s anti-immigration campaign, if that carries on, according to a new report shared exclusively with the Guardian. …

The report, Economic Impacts of Trump Administration Immigration Policy, was commissioned by America’s Voice and conducted by researchers at Economic Insights and Research Consulting, a firm focused on economic analysis. …

The federal government risks losing a large segment of the $26bn in payroll taxes from unauthorized immigrants who help to support the US social security fund that pays out to American seniors – while not being able to access those benefits themselves.  …

Workers Comp Offset Problems

      From a report by Social Security’s Office of Inspector General:

The Social Security Act (Act) requires that SSA reduce Social Security disability benefits when a beneficiary receives workers’ compensation (WC) or a Public Disability Benefit (PDB). However, WC/PDB does not reduce SSA retirement benefits. Thus, when disabled beneficiaries reach age 62, SSA employees must determine whether they are eligible for higher retirement benefits and notify beneficiaries as early as possible about their option to file. The application filing date sets the earliest month of entitlement, as SSA can only pay retirement benefits retroactively to that month. Delays may result in lost benefits. Starting February 13, 2026, SSA employees must present filing options without offering advice and document these discussions, as beneficiaries’ decisions can impact their benefits. 

From a population of 35,185 disabled beneficiaries, we reviewed a sample of 125 beneficiaries from the Master Beneficiary Record who attained age 62 from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2022 and whose disability benefits were offset by WC/PDB. 

Of the 125 beneficiaries we sampled, SSA employees were not required to notify 53 (42 percent) because their disability benefits after WC/PDB offset were higher than the retirement benefits. Employees were required to notify 72 (58 percent); however, they did not notify 31 beneficiaries (25 percent). Employees were required to notify the remaining 41 (33 percent) beneficiaries and did so, as required. …

     This report concerns what claimants’ attorneys, at least, refer to as the RIB-DIB election. The usual assumption is that many workers comp off sets will be done incorrectly. I imagine that even most Social Security employees don’t understand the offset. That’s OK. The whole subject of workers compensation offsets is complicated. Most agency employees don’t have to deal with it. It’s one of those complications that can’t even be imagined by the current Commissioner who probably believes that Social Security is simple, its employees aren’t very bright (because if they were bright they wouldn’t be working in government) and that those employees are fungible.  In truth, the agency’s business is often complicated and its employees undertrained and lacking in the time needed to get everything right.