Most Popular Baby Names Of 2025

     From Social Security:

Boys	Girls
1. Liam	1. Olivia
2. Noah	2. Charlotte
3. Oliver	3. Emma
4. Theodore	4. Amelia
5. Henry	5. Sophia
6. James	6. Mia
7. Elijah	7. Isabella
8. Mateo	8. Evelyn
9. William	9. Sofia
10. Lucas	10. Eliana

The New Yorker Magazine On The Sorry State Of Affairs At Social Security

      The New Yorker magazine has posted a long article on the sorry state of affairs at Social Security. Here’s one paragraph for the piece:

… Every previous Administration had launched pilot projects and fiddled with the system, but they had given managers like Jean sufficient notice and resources to train their people. Bisignano’s S.S.A. appeared to lurch from one initiative to another. Last February, it had discussed, then denied discussing, the possibility of cutting the workforce in half. It had eliminated, then partly reinstated, the option of making direct-deposit changes by phone. It had said that it would stop issuing public-policy updates, except via X, then continued to send e-mails and publish news on its website. It discouraged walk-in service, then told field offices to make the option available. It instituted a strict clawback policy for accidental overpayments, then reverted to a gradual one that gave beneficiaries a financial buffer. Changes made in response to doge’s accusations of fraud, waste, and abuse were abandoned: there was no good reason to block employees’ access to news sites, no need for redundant “I.D. proofing.” The Administration listed field offices for closure, then delisted them, though some rural outposts, in Iowa, Montana, and West Virginia, offer only phone service owing to the loss of staff. The agency is on a “slow march to implosion,” Jean said. “We’re living in a world of nobody knows anything, and nobody has any details about anything.” …

          There is this coda tacked on at the end of the piece:

 The New Yorker is committed to coverage of the federal workforce. Are you a current or former federal employee with information to share? Please use your personal device to contact us via e-mail (tammy_kim@newyorker.com) or Signal (ID: etammykim.54).

Op Ed In Baltimore Sun

      Sean Brune, Steven Evangelista, Florence Felix-Lawson, Karen Glenn, Jay Ortis and Chad Poist, who are career Social Security federal employees, have penned an op ed for the Baltimore Sun touting Frank Busignano’s term as Social Security Commissioner. The piece is quite a fluff job. I wonder who actually wrote it and how these execs came to sign on to it. It’s really quite an extraordinary politization of career employees. I don’t think any of these signatories have a future in a Democratic Administration. 

     A hundred pieces like this cannot change the circumstances on the ground. A day of reckoning approaches.

Dudek Surfaces For A Bizarre Attack On Congressman Larson

     From the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM):

Former Acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek must be a skilled contortionist, because he tied himself into knots attacking a true champion of Social Security, Rep. John Larson (D-CT) in a recent Hartford Courant opinion piece — only a few months before Connecticut’s Democratic primary. (Our PAC has endorsed Congressman Larson for re-election as a longtime champion of Social Security.) 

Dudek’s column prompted a letter to the editor by NCPSSM CEO, Max Richtman:::

“I’m not sure why Leland Dudek felt compelled to inject himself into Connecticut’s District-01 Democratic primary by smearing the incumbent. I have known the congressman for nearly three decades; There is no more passionate protector of Social Security in the U.S. House than John Larson.” – NCPSSM President Max Richtman, letter to the editor of the Hartford Courant

It’s beyond audacious that Dudek, who handed the keys to the Social Security Administration to Elon Musk and DOGE in 2025, accuses Rep. Larson of undermining the program.  Dudek spent his time at SSA aligning himself with DOGE, not protecting beneficiaries. The acting commissioner essentially enabled the Trump regime to:

*Cut more than 7,000 jobs SSA, creating an understaffing crisis and massive “brain drain.”

*Copy huge troves of Americans’ personal data to be misused and abused for purposes unrelated to Social Security 

*Weaken customer service on phone lines; close and understaff SSA field offices.

*Manipulate statistics to make it appear that customer service had improved, when the opposite is true

Meanwhile, Congressman Larson, as ranking member of the House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee, has demanded accountability and transparency. He accused Musk and DOGE of “the largest data theft in American history” – and called for participants in the stolen data scheme to be prosecuted.  …

In Dudek’s alternate universe, Rep. Larson somehow abets President Trump’s agenda. In reality, the congressman has rightly warned that Trump is attempting to “dismantle and privatize” Social Security through “chaos and confusion.”  But instead of apologizing to the people of Connecticut for his role in compromising Social Security, Dudek deflects by attacking seniors’ staunchest ally on Capitol Hill, Congressman John Larson. …

ALJ Hires

      From a job posting for Administrative Law Judges at Social Security:

The incumbent is subordinate to and accountable to the direction and supervision of the Commissioner of Social Security.  …

You must currently hold, or have previously held, a permanent Attorney position at the GS-13 or above for a minimum of 52 weeks. …

How A Phishing Expedition Works

      If you’ve wondered exactly how phishing campaigns involving Social Security Administration impersonation work, The Hacker News has you covered. If these crooks put as much effort and ingenuity into legitimate work they’d probably make more money.

Future Of AI At Social Security?

      Probably most readers of this blog have tried using AI at least to some extent. Some may be using it a lot. How much use can the Social Security Administration get out of AI? I’m generally skeptical if not hostile to the idea but I’m old. What do you think? Are you already using AI for Social Security purposes?  How well does it work for you? For that matter, to what extent is AI even available to agency employees? Is ChatGPT blocked on Social Security computers?

No Accessibility Improvements Announced

      I had linked to an MSN article saying that President Trump was supposed to talk about accessibility improvements at Social Security during a trip to Florida. There’s a news report about that trip saying that the only thing from Trump about Social Security was his touting what he called “No Tax On Social Security” which isn’t true — nothing about accessibility.

     However, Trump did say that all red snapper fishing permits had been approved, so that’s something.

Punishing Poor People

      From ProPublica:

Even a glance at Shy’tyra Burton’s life reveals her need for the sort of federal government assistance that helps disabled Americans stay in their homes. Born two months prematurely into a poor family in Philadelphia, unable to breathe or swallow without tubes and largely confined to medical facilities until age 4, Burton was diagnosed with a litany of developmental and intellectual disabilities that left her with an IQ below 70. 

She persevered and graduated from a high school special education program, then attempted community college. But she struggled to grasp basic tasks and information. She couldn’t get hired, including at McDonald’s. After multiple medical and psychological evaluations and a hearing before a judge, the federal government approved her for the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides a basic income to those with severe disabilities and to indigent older people. 

For Burton, now 22, the $994 monthly benefit is lifesaving but not enough to completely support herself on her own. So, like many SSI recipients, she has continued to live with her father, who makes around $2,000 a month as a Philadelphia sanitation worker. 

Now, President Donald Trump’s administration is poised to penalize people like Burton simply for living in the same home as their families, according to four federal officials, internal emails and a federal regulatory listing. The administration is working on a rule change that would deduct the value of a disabled adult’s bedroom from their SSI allotment, even if the family members they live with are poor enough to qualify for food stamps. This would mean slashing the benefits of some of the most low-income SSI recipients by up to a third — about $330 a month in Burton’s case — or ending their support altogether. … 

If enacted, the change will require intellectually disabled young people like Burton as well as very elderly people to file extensive monthly reports if they want to continue their benefits even at the reduced level. They’ll have to provide details about the property where they live: whether it’s leased or owned, as well as the names of anyone in the home, and whether any of these people has any new income or assets. They’ll also have to include documentation of all household bills and expenses, showing how much they do or don’t contribute personally, as well as financial documents such as bank statements and any pay stubs. …

Accessibility Improvements At Social Security?

      From MSN (emphasis added):

President Donald Trump will venture outside the White House for the first time since a foiled assassination attempt, traveling on Friday to a Florida stronghold under mounting political pressure and intense scrutiny of his security.

Trump is expected to tout new tax deductions for seniors and accessibility improvements at the Social Security Administration during a visit to The Villages, a large retirement community that consistently backs Republican candidates. …

The Schemers Never Stop

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

Federal law enforcement agencies are warning the public about a surge in government imposter scams involving the misuse of real Social Security Administration (SSA) and Office of the Inspector General (OIG) employee names, fabricated badge images, and fraudulent social media profiles.

Recent reports show scammers are:

• Using the name of a real SSA employee along with a fake badge or credential to appear legitimate.  
• Using information from social media profiles to impersonate a real SSA OIG employee to initiate contact and build trust with potential victims.

These tactics mirror a broader trend in which criminals attempt to legitimize their schemes by sending doctored images of credentials, spoofing phone numbers, or posing as government officials online. …

How Does This Sell In Alabama?

      Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL, or perhaps, the Jurassic Age) is running for governor of Alabama. One of the planks of his platform is that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.” He can’t believe that his Democratic opponent is calling him out on this. Judging by what he writes Tuberville wants to just end Social Security period. He doesn’t suggest any phaseout or transition to something else.

89 Year Old Man Goes On Shooting Spree At Social Security Offices In Greece

      From the Jerusalem Post:

A gunman opened fire at a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens, wounding several people, Greek authorities said on Tuesday.

Police have launched an operation to locate the shooter, who Greek media reports say is 89 years old. 

Police said the suspect, who was armed with a shotgun, first opened fire at a social security office in central Athens, wounding an employee. …

The gunman then opened fire on the ground floor of a city courthouse, wounding several more people. …

Increased Performance Awards

     From Federal News Network:

   … [T]he Social Security Administration is setting aside additional funds this year to ensure a larger-than-usual pool of employees receives performance awards.

Florence Felix-Lawson, the agency’s chief human capital officer, told employees in an email last month that they would be getting performance awards earlier than usual, at the direction of SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano.

“His goal was simple: to recognize employees as soon as possible,” Felix-Lawson wrote.

According to the email, SSA expanded eligibility to include employees who received a 3.5 or 3.7 performance evaluation, “reflecting a broader commitment to recognizing strong performance across the agency.”

By making more employees eligible for awards, but with the same amount of funding, SSA officials realized that some employees would be getting lower bonuses than they received in prior years.

“As we reviewed the outcomes, the commissioner emphasized the importance of ensuring that awards remain meaningful — particularly for strong performers across the 4-level,” Felix-Lawson wrote. “At his direction, and in partnership with our budget team, we have secured additional funding to supplement awards for employees rated 4.0 through 4.7.”

Previously, awards at the 4-level began at 0.5% of base salary. With this additional funding, they now range from 1.2% to 1.5%:

• 4.0: 1.2% of base salary
• 4.3: 1.3% of base salary
• 4.5: 1.4% of base salary
• 4.7: 1.5% of base salary
• 5.0: 2.0% of base salary (unchanged)

Felix-Lawson wrote that performance awards are discretionary and “are not guaranteed year to year and are not intended to mirror prior awards.” …

Medicare Enrollment Penalty Mistakes

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

SSA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services share administrative responsibilities for Medicare. …

SSA enrolls beneficiaries, establishes applicable premium penalties, and collects premiums from individuals who receive Social Security benefits. If an individual signs up for Part B after their Initial Enrollment Period, they may have to pay a late enrollment penalty. 

We identified 101,516 OASI beneficiaries who enrolled in Part B during the 2023 and/or 2024 General Enrollment Periods and whom SSA penalized for late enrollment. We reviewed a random sample of 200 of these beneficiaries. 

SSA employees accurately processed 177 of the 200 Part B applications we reviewed. However, SSA employees did not accurately process the applications for the remaining 23 beneficiaries. As a result, SSA’s systems improperly assessed approximately $24,000 in Part B premium penalties. 

Based on our sample results, we estimate SSA employees accurately processed approximately 90,000 beneficiaries’ applications and did not accurately process 12,000 beneficiaries’ applications. As a result, SSA’s systems improperly assessed about $12 million in Part B premium penalties. 

These errors occurred because SSA employees did not consider Group Health Plan coverage, the impact of U.S. residency and lawful presence start dates on Initial Enrollment Period determinations, deemed enrollment, Exceptional Conditions, Special Enrollment Periods, and equitable relief. …

     What I’ve seen over the years is that you can almost always find a legitimate way to avoid the late enrollment penalty. I don’t know why they even try to apply a penalty. It’s not worth the trouble.

41% Error Rate On Widow And Widower Claims

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

The Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program provides benefits to wage earners and eligible family members. The Agency uses the wage earner’s Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) to determine monthly benefit amounts. The eligibility year SSA uses to determine the PIA is usually the year a wage earner attains age 62, becomes disabled, or dies. However, an alternative PIA computation for widow(er)s—the widow(er)’s indexing (WINDEX) PIA—may apply when wage earners die before they attain age 62. 

When a claimant applies for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits, the application usually covers all benefits for which the claimant is eligible unless they specifically limit the scope of the application. For example, widow(er)s may limit the scope of the application to only include widow(er) benefits and exclude retirement benefits to maximize future benefits. 

We reviewed 2 samples totaling 120 beneficiaries who, as of November 2023, either did not have a WINDEX PIA (from a population of 54,843 beneficiaries) or were dually entitled to widow(er)s and retirement benefits (from a population of 7,253 beneficiaries).

SSA paid 71 (59 percent) of the 120 widow(er) beneficiaries we reviewed the appropriate monthly benefit amounts. For the remaining 49 (41 percent), we found the following. 

• SSA employees did not apply the WINDEX PIA appropriately when they manually processed cases for 11 widow(er) beneficiaries and, as a result, did not pay the appropriate monthly benefits. We could not determine why SSA employees did not appropriately apply the WINDEX PIA for these widow(er) beneficiaries. Based on our random sample, we estimate SSA underpaid 8,618 widow(er)s approximately $50.4 million.
• SSA overpaid one widow(er) because employees used the incorrect PIA.
• SSA employees did not document in the Agency’s system regarding whether they informed 37 widow(er) beneficiaries of their option to receive widow(er) benefits only and delay filing for retirement benefits. Therefore, we could not determine whether SSA appropriately paid these widow(er) beneficiaries despite reminders SSA issued to employees. We estimate 5,367 widow(er)s would have been eligible for $113.8 million in additional benefits had they chosen to delay their retirement claims. …

Man Arrested For Threatening Social Security Employees

      From WWNY:

A Watertown [NY] man is accused of threatening to shoot employees at the Social Security Administration.

City police charged Charles Brown, 26, with a misdemeanor count of making a threat of mass harm. 

According to police, Brown called the Social Security Administration on Bellew Avenue in Watertown on Tuesday and became upset with the service he received.

He allegedly told the employee on the phone that he planned to shoot the worker in the head and then shoot the rest of the staff at the office. …

That’s A Long List

      From the Washington Examiner:

Some Social Security offices are closed or limiting in-person services across 12 states, potentially delaying access to benefits and other services. According to the Social Security Administration’s emergency operations webpage, the SSA has temporarily closed or shifted several field offices to phone-only service. …

Offices in Yuma, Arizona; Mission Viejo, California; Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Wailuku, Hawaii; Decorah, Iowa; Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Detroit College Park, Michigan; Glasgow and Havre, Montana; Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; Del Rio, Texas; and Logan, West Virginia, are operating on a phone-only basis. …

    That’s way more than can be explained by ordinary office repair type issues. I have to guess it’s lack of staff in most cases.

What Is The Public To Do?

      From Forbes:

Last October, my mother walked into the family room of her rural North Carolina house and found my dad, her husband of nearly 60 years, sitting motionless in the recliner. 

In the days that followed, as our family processed our shock and grief, we had to deal with some very practical issues, including money. As retirees, my parents had relied largely on their individual Social Security checks and his small pension to pay the bills. We assumed that, following my dad’s death, she could continue to draw income from those two sources. Plus, my mom had me—an estate and tax lawyer and journalist who has advised dozens of families and written extensively about Social Security—to help make sure the transition went smoothly. 

Instead, it took five months, numerous phone calls, letters and faxes and help from my mom’s Congressman, to get all of the Social Security she was owed. Along the way, we got contradictory answers from the Social Security Administration (SSA) on the phone and conflicting letters in the mail, including one advising my mom to call a toll-free number that was disconnected. 

 We also saw Social Security payments appear and disappear from her bank account and began to fear that her health coverage might lapse too, since she was paying her Medicare premiums (as the majority of seniors do) through deductions from her Social Security check.

Sadly, our experience was not all that unusual. Even as the number of Americans eligible for Social Security has been rising, the SSA has shed thousands of employees. After President Donald Trump set billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency loose on the federal workforce in January 2025, more than 7,200 positions were eliminated. Additional cuts have left the agency with just 52,045 workers as of January, down almost 20% over the last decade. …

       The article goes on to document all the problems caused by inadequate online systems and inadequate personnel. If even transactions like this which should be simple are so difficult, what is the public to do? You know that somewhere down the road when we have a truly independent Inspector General there will be report after report showing that huge numbers of people have been underpaid billions of dollars.

A Horror Show

      A report by the Library of Congress has interesting tables showing Social Security’s staffing levels by month by state since the beginning of last year. I’d love to reproduce the table here but it’s just too big. It’s  fascinating and horrifying. You’ll have to click on the link to see for yourself.