U.S. President George W. Bush would prefer not to boost Social Security taxes, but is ready to listen to all ideas on entitlement reform, the White House said Tuesday, declining to explicitly rule out the idea of a tax hike. ...Bush has tasked Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson with working with lawmakers on a fix for the ailing Social Security system. The talks, conducted behind closed doors, have triggered speculation that a bipartisan compromise could include raising the $97,500 limit on income subject to the Social Security payroll tax and adopting Bush's proposed personal retirement accounts.
Asked if taxes were off the negotiating table, Snow said, "We never said that they were on the table." ...
Democrats have shown no willingness to accept retirement accounts, particularly if they are funded by payroll taxes. Investment accounts, however, remain at the top of Bush's Social Security reform agenda.
"We'll let the debate proceed, but you know what the president's bright lines are: he believes it's important to have an investment component that allows people to take advantage of the far superior rates of return that one gets investing in a market place," Snow said.
Jan 10, 2007
The President's Notion Of Social Security Reform
The following excerpts from a Dow Jones article seems to confirm that the White House is seeking a plan to "save" Social Security in which Democrats take the blame for cutting benefits and raising taxes, while President Bush takes the credit for some sort of private account.
National Retirement Risk Index
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College is an important resource that draws little public attention. A recent release gives information about their "retirement risk index" which deserves wider attention. Here is their description of their recent research on this subject:
In June 2006, the Center for Retirement Research released the National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI). The results showed that even if households work to age 65 and annuitize all their financial assets, including the receipts from reverse mortgages on their homes, 43 percent will be at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Households are more likely to be ‘at risk’ if they are young, have low incomes, or lack pension coverage.
This brief looks at the three major factors that have caused the Index to increase since the early 1980s. These factors are: 1) a decline in Social Security replacement rates due to the decline in one-earner couples and the increase in Social Security’s Normal Retirement Age; 2) lower pension replacement rates as a result of the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plans; and 3) lower annuity payments due to the dramatic decline in real interest rates. These negative factors have been only partially offset by a modest increase in financial assets, and an increase in the retirement income that homeowners could potentially obtain through reverse mortgages.
Having identified the key movers, this brief also updates the Index from 2004 to 2006. During this period, the run-up in housing prices was cancelled out by a corresponding surge in mortgage debt, which resulted in no change in the ‘at risk’ status of any of the Index’s age cohorts. However, compared to the 2004 Index, the 2006 Index has more Generation Xers and fewer Baby Boomers. Since Generation Xers are more likely to be ‘at risk,’ this change increased the Index slightly to 44 percent.
First Installment Of Annual Statistical Supplement Published
Social Security has begun publishing its annual statistical supplement for 2006. The full supplement is enormous and gives a wealth of information about everything at Social Security. This is just the first installment.
No Sign Of Overwork At Social Security's Press Office
The website for Social Security's main press office shows that it has at least five employees. In 2006 that office put out a total of seven press releases. Undoubtedly, the office responded to a number of press inquiries, but anyone who looks back over the press articles linked in this space will not see all that many where anyone from Social Security's press office is quoted. It seems unlikely that the main Social Security press office is getting even one call a day from anyone in the press. Note also that Social Security has ten regional press officers to handle the workload.
In May 2006, while Social Security as a whole was struggling to meet its Medicare Part D workload, Social Security was having a national conference for its public affairs personnel, featuring Willard Scott and Ari Fleischer as paid speakers.
In May 2006, while Social Security as a whole was struggling to meet its Medicare Part D workload, Social Security was having a national conference for its public affairs personnel, featuring Willard Scott and Ari Fleischer as paid speakers.
Jan 9, 2007
Treating Physician Rule A Problem At VA As Well As SSA
The "treating physician rule" which requires Social Security to give special weight to the opinion of a treating physician when making disability determinations has been a frequent bone of contention. The Durham, NC Herald-Sun reports on exactly the same problem at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which also prefers to rely upon the opinions of its staff physicians rather than the opinions of treating physicians.
Jan 8, 2007
House Appropriations Committee Members
The House Appropriations Committee probably is more important to the Social Security Administration than the House Ways and Means Committee which has substantive jurisdiction over the agency. No subcommittee assignments have been announced yet. Courtesy of Congress.org, here is a list of the members of the full committee, however.
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Senate Appropriations Committee Members
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees may be more important for the immediate future of the Social Security Administration than the committees that have substantive jurisdiction over the agency.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet named its subcommittees, but, courtesy of Congress.org, here are the full committee members for this Congress:
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet named its subcommittees, but, courtesy of Congress.org, here are the full committee members for this Congress:
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Jan 7, 2007
House Ways And Means Committee Schedules Meeting To Get Organized
The House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a business meeting for January 10, 2007 with "organization of committee assignments" on the agenda. Presumably, members will be assigned to subcommittees at this meeting.
The Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee has always been the most important Congressional body for the Social Security Administration (SSA), although everyone interested in Social Security now may have to pay far more attention to the appropriations committees, because of SSA's terrible budget problems.
The Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee has always been the most important Congressional body for the Social Security Administration (SSA), although everyone interested in Social Security now may have to pay far more attention to the appropriations committees, because of SSA's terrible budget problems.
Jan 6, 2007
Maximus Issues Ticket To Work Newsletter
Maximus, the prime contractor for the Ticket to Work program, has issued its Winter 2007 Newsletter, with information about implementation of the program. The Newsletter continues the annoying practice of referring to the "Maximus Ticket to Work" program, as if the program exists to provide work for Maximus (although that may be what it amounts to).
The Newsletter provides an interesting chart showing employment network payments for 2007. For instance, providing rehabilitation which keeps a person entitled to Disability Insurance Benefits off benefits entitles the organization providing the rehabilitation to $378 per month, up to a maximum of $22,680. Despite these high reimbursement amounts, few rehabilitation organizations join the employment networks and few Social Security disability recipients get rehabilitated.
The Newsletter provides an interesting chart showing employment network payments for 2007. For instance, providing rehabilitation which keeps a person entitled to Disability Insurance Benefits off benefits entitles the organization providing the rehabilitation to $378 per month, up to a maximum of $22,680. Despite these high reimbursement amounts, few rehabilitation organizations join the employment networks and few Social Security disability recipients get rehabilitated.
SSI Coalition Newsletter
Massachusetts Legal Services has issued its November-December 2006 SSI Coalition Newsletter. The Newsletter contains this very early report on the implementation of the Disability Service Improvement (DSI) experiment in Social Security's Boston region:
We have heard from a few of you about your experiences with DSI but would like to hear more. Please let us know what you are experiencing as you interact with the FedRO [Federal Reviewing Official]. We are especially interested in seeing copies of FedRO allowances and denials.
Here’s what we have learned from those of you who have cases pending at the Federal Reviewing Official (FedRO) level of appeal: ƒ
- The FedRO acknowledges receipt of the appeal with a notice to the claimant/representative. ƒ
- The acknowledgment notice explains how to get in touch with the office, how to request the file, how to request a subpoena, how to submit additional evidence and when to submit it. The preferred method for submitting new evidence is by fax using the barcode provided with the acknowledgment notice.
- ƒSo far, there seem to be several different forms of the notice in use – but they all seem to impose a 10 day deadline in which to submit additional evidence. See copies of FedRO acknowledgment notices in this newsletter. If you contact the FedRO you can let the FedRO know whether you will need more time. So far, we have not heard that getting more time has been a problem when it has been requested. The worry, of course, is that some, especially unrepresented individuals, will not request additional time and the result will be that important documentation will not make it into the record before the FedRO. ƒ
- The DSI regulations do not impose a 10 day time limit for submitting new evidence. The proposed DSI regulations imposed a deadline, but the final regulations do not. See 20 CFR 405.215. In the response to comment section of the federal register publication of the final regulations, SSA states that evidence may be submitted until the Fed RO issues the final decision. 71 Fed. Reg. 16423, 16433 (3/31/06). ƒ
- Ethel Zelenske, NOSSCR, has informed Jim Winn, Associate Commissioner for the Office of the Federal Reviewing Official, of these concerns about the acknowledgment notice. We understand that the acknowledgment notice is being revised to make it more apparent that additional time can be requested if new evidence cannot be submitted within 10 days.
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