Webinar For Wounded Warriors

Disability.gov reports that Social Security is sponsoring a "webinar" for wounded warriors on November 4. "Participants will learn about benefit programs, and get answers to questions such as who is eligible, and when and how to apply for benefits."

Class Action Settled

From SeniorJournal.com:

A suit filed in 2007 by Medicare beneficiaries against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration has been settled. One of the legal teams that represented the beneficiaries, The Center for Medicare Advocacy, says the Machado case was brought by beneficiaries who experienced lengthy delays in having their Part D premiums accurately withheld, or not withheld, from their Social Security benefits. ...

[U]nder the terms of the settlement, customer service representatives at 1(800)MEDICARE are now directed to advise people to call back, or to call their plan, if 90 days elapse after the "triggering date" without resolution of their problem. ...

Pursuant to the settlement agreement, CMS has also formally revised its operating procedures to prioritize and track the resolution of every Part D premium withholding complaint ...

It is not clear whether Social Security agreed to do anything as part of the settlement.

Qualified Tuition Program Funds Are Countable Resources For SSI

From a recent issuance of Social Security's Program Operations Manual Series (POMS):

Funds in a Qualified Tuition Program (QTP), also referred to as a Section 529 Plan, are a countable resource to the individual who owns the account (e.g. a parent or grandparent). Normally, the owner is the person who established the account. In most instances, the individual who establishes a QTP retains the ability to withdraw any or all of the funds in the account for his or her own benefit.

NOTE: In most cases, the designated beneficiary (i.e. the student or future student) is not the owner of the account and does not have any rights to the funds in the account.

Shooting At Social Security Parking Lot

From WFMZ-TV in Allentown, PA:

A man shot and killed his girlfriend in the parking lot of the Social Security office in Pottsville around noon today, according to authorities. They say police then followed the gunman, identified as Frank Manganiello, 51, of Schuylkill Haven, from the Social Security office in the 2200 block of West Market to the First United Methodist Church at West Market and 4th. The district attorney says Manganiello, who was recently released from prison, went inside the church and shot and killed himself on the altar. He said he's not aware of any connection between Manganiello and the church. The D.A. identified the girlfriend as Sandra Pucci, 49.

Contract For Jacobs Engineering

The Associated Press reports that Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. has been awarded a contract to manage construction of a new $300 million data center for Social Security.

Some Clarifications

I had posted that Nancy Shor, the executive director of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR), had mentioned an upcoming hearing of the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee during the first week of November. I was not at the NOSSCR meeting last week and had to rely upon someone who was. I am now told that she had only talked about a possible Subcommittee hearing. She said that she assumed the hearing would be about Social Security's backlog. She said that NOSSCR would be able to submit a written statement, indicating support for the continuation of the fee provisions in the Social Security Protection Act.

I had also posted about the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on data exchanges at Social Security. I was a bit confused in my terminology. I thought that E-Verify was a generic term that covered most of Social Security's data exchanges. The GAO report was not about E-Verify, which involves exchanges with private employers. Instead, it focused on Social Security’s systems for data exchanges with other federal, state, and local agencies, such as Departments of Motor Vehicles data exchanges for purposes of voter registration.

OIG Report On Fugitive Felons

Some excerpts from a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) concerning implementation of the law forbidding payment of benefits to fugitive felons and the Martinez class action concerning Social Security's implementation:

We estimate that about 60.7 percent of individuals with outstanding warrants will be paid Title II and XVI benefits as a result of the Martinez settlement agreement. The remaining 39.3 percent will continue to have their benefits stopped....

The settlement agreement, however, does not restrict SSA or the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) data sharing activities with law enforcement. Therefore, the OIG will continue to obtain data from law enforcement agencies on fugitive felons wanted for all offense codes and match that data with SSA’s records. Additionally, the OIG will share information in SSA’s records regarding the fugitive’s location (that is, address information) with law enforcement so that they can potentially arrest the fugitive. ...

SSA identified fugitive felons and probation or parole violators through data matches between the Agency’s beneficiary rolls and Federal and State warrant databases. Since the program’s inception in August 1996 through July 2009, it has contributed to a total of 86,309 arrests. ...

Are there any other legislative changes/additions you would recommend to this language to ensure the future success of the fugitive felon program? ...

Removing the word “fleeing” from the language of the law and incorporating language prohibiting payment to individuals with an outstanding felony warrant would enable SSA to not pay benefits to these individuals and prohibit them from being representative payees. Another option would be to define what is meant by the word “fleeing” in the context of this legislation.

The report was requested by Congress. One question asked of OIG concerned the "challenges" of implementing the fugitive felon program. In its response, OIG somehow failed to mention the fact that many, perhaps most, of the people whose benefits were cut off were not truly fugitives, a fact which led to the class action. I would say that OIG is having trouble accepting responsibility for its own role in this fiasco.

GAO Finds Data Exchange Program Working Well

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has posted a report on Social Security's "data exchange" program. They are referring to E-Verify, which allows the verification of Social Security numbers. GAO reports that E-Verify is working well, but that Social Security has work ahead of it to meet future needs.

Social Security Loses Blind Suit

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The Social Security Administration must give the nation's 3 million blind or visually impaired recipients the option of receiving benefit notices in braille or by audio computer disc, a federal judge in San Francisco said Tuesday.

Ruling in a nationwide class-action suit, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said that by sending notices only by mail and phone calls, the agency is violating a law that guarantees the disabled equal access to its programs. He ordered the government to make the additional choices available by April 15.

Cost Of Living Changes

Since there will be no cost of living adjustment (COLA) in Social Security benefits this year I had not paid that much attention to Social Security's COLA announcement. However, even though there was no change in the overall COLA, some important numbers have been adjusted. Here is Social Security's announcement:

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will not automatically increase in 2010 as there was no increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009. Other important 2010 Social Security information is as follows:

Maximum Taxable Earnings:	2009	2010
Social Security (OASDI only)	$106,800	$106,800*
Medicare (HI only)	No Limit

Quarter of Coverage:	2009	2010
Earnings needed to earn one Social Security credit	$1,090	$1,120

Retirement Earnings Test Exempt Amounts:	2009	2010
Under full retirement age NOTE: One dollar in benefits will be withheld for every $2 in earnings above the limit.	$14,160/yr. ($1,180/mo.)	$14,160/yr.* ($1,180/mo.)
The year an individual reaches full retirement age NOTE: Applies only to earnings for months prior to attaining full retirement age. One dollar in benefits will be withheld for every $3 in earnings above the limit.	$37,680/yr. ($3,140/mo.)	$37,680/yr.* ($3,140/mo.)
There is no limit on earnings beginning the month an individual attains full retirement age.

Social Security Disability Thresholds:		2009	2010
Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)	Non-Blind	$ 980/mo.	$1000/mo.
	Blind	$1,640/mo.	$1,640/mo.*
Trial Work Period (TWP)		$ 700/mo.	$ 720/mo.

SSI Federal Payment Standard:	2009	2010
Individual	$ 674/mo.	$ 674/mo.*
Couple	$1,011/mo.	$1,011/mo.*

SSI Student Exclusion:	2009	2010
Monthly Limit	$1,640	$1,640*
Annual Limit	$6,600	$6,600*

* Because there is no COLA, by statute these amounts remain unchanged in 2010.