NAS To Get $20.5 Million Contract

     From a contracting notice published by Social Security:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) intends to issue a sole source contract with cost reimbursement task orders ... to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for a period of 5 years beginning on or around September 30, 2018. The NAS will set up Committees of medical, vocational, and other experts having expertise in fields such as, internal medicine, pediatrics, oncology, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, endocrinology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, occupational therapy, physical therapy, orthopedic surgery, industrial and organizational psychology, psychiatry, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, neurology, cardiology, vocational rehabilitation, health care case management, social sciences, education and health care and workplace economics. The Standing Committee will continue work necessary to maintain an essential capability for theoretical analyses of research, relevant evidence and clinical practices in physical medicine, psychiatry, and rehabilitation medicine.

... The size standard is $20.5M....

     The National Academy of Sciences is not a governmental agency. It's a private non-profit that largely functions as a beltway bandit seeking out this sort of contract.

Congressman Wants Some Answers

     From a press release:

U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) chastised the Social Security Administration (SSA) for reportedly overpaying Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries by billions of dollars for several years and then permanently waiving billions more in overpayment debt. And the congressman wants an update.

In a May 31 letter sent to SSA Acting Commissioner Nancy Berryhill, Rep. Hill requested that she provide responses to three questions, including the exact totals for what SSA has overpaid to SSDI beneficiaries and for waived overpayment debt from fiscal year (FY) 2014 to the present.

The congressman’s letter also served as official congressional notice to Berryhill that the SSA was receiving the most-recent Golden Fleece Award for its wasteful use of American taxpayers’ dollars. ...

     I've got a modest proposal. How about no overpayment waivers in Hill's district with Social Security giving out Hill's phone number to his constituents who want an explanation?

Arlington Field Office Still Closing

     The Arlington, VA Social Security field office is still closing despite Congressional pressure. It's in an area whose population is rapidly increasing. Social Security tried to blame the closing on a lack of rentable office space in the area but local leaders say that's ridiculous. The agency failed to follow its own protocols for closing a field office, blindsiding local leaders.

If You Were Hoping For Evidence That Eric Conn Is Suffering, Here You Go

     From the Lexington, KY Herald-Leader:

Eric C. Conn, who fled the country to avoid prison after committing fraud on a grand scale in his legal practice, pleaded guilty Monday in a deal that will keep him behind bars for up to 27 years. ...

Conn, wearing a green jail jumpsuit, handcuffs and a leg chain, walked slowly into the courtroom.

It appears being behind bars has drained Conn ...

Conn’s hair appeared more gray than when the FBI brought him back to Kentucky in December, and there was no energy in his voice as he answered Reeves’ questions, unlike his firm tone in prior appearances.

Conn — 57 by his account, but listed as 58 by the government — fidgeted and appeared to shake during the hearing, and seemed to wince at times.

Reeves asked him at one point if he was in distress, and Conn said he was in pain but was okay to continue.

Conn didn’t describe the source of his pain, but told Reeves he takes anti-anxiety medication. His plea mentions that he might ask to serve his sentence at a medical facility. ...

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article212475189.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article212475189.html#storylink=cpy

Statistical Report From OHO

     From the newsletter (not available online) of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR):

Click on image to view full size

     Note all the overtime at OHO.

DI Trust Fund Makes Big Stride In One Year

     A Social Security press release (emphasis added):

The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds are projected to become depleted in 2034, the same as projected last year, with 79 percent of benefits payable at that time.

The OASI Trust Fund is projected to become depleted in late 2034, as compared to last year’s estimate of early 2035, with 77 percent of benefits payable at that time. The DI Trust Fund will become depleted in 2032, extended from last year’s estimate of 2028, with 96 percent of benefits still payable.

In the 2018 Annual Report to Congress, the Trustees announced:

• The asset reserves of the combined OASDI Trust Funds increased by $44 billion in 2017 to a total of $2.89 trillion.
• The total annual cost of the program is projected to exceed total annual income in 2018 for the first time since 1982, and remain higher throughout the 75-year projection period. As a result, asset reserves are expected to decline during 2018. Social Security’s cost has exceeded its non-interest income since 2010.
• The year when the combined trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted, if Congress does not act before then, is 2034 – the same as projected last year. At that time, there will be sufficient income coming in to pay 79 percent of scheduled benefits.

“The Trustees’ projected depletion date of the combined Social Security Trust Funds has not changed, and slightly more than three-fourths of benefits would still be payable after depletion,” said Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “But the fact remains that Congress can keep Social Security strong by taking action to ensure the future of the program.”

Other highlights of the Trustees Report include:

• Total income, including interest, to the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $997 billion in 2017. ($874 billion from net payroll tax contributions, $38 billion from taxation of benefits, and $85 billion in interest)
• Total expenditures from the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to more than $952 billion in 2017.
• Social Security paid benefits of more than $941 billion in calendar year 2017. There were about 62 million beneficiaries at the end of the calendar year.
• The projected actuarial deficit over the 75-year long-range period is 2.84 percent of taxable payroll – slightly larger than the 2.83 percent projected in last year’s report.
• During 2017, an estimated 174 million people had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes.
• The cost of $6.5 billion to administer the Social Security program in 2017 was a very low 0.7 percent of total expenditures.
• The combined Trust Fund asset reserves earned interest at an effective annual rate of 3.0 percent in 2017.

The Board of Trustees usually comprises six members. Four serve by virtue of their positions with the federal government: Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee; Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security; Alex M. Azar II, Secretary of Health and Human Services; and R. Alexander Acosta, Secretary of Labor. The two public trustee positions are currently vacant.

View the 2018 Trustees Report at www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/TR/2018/.

Trustees Report Coming

     The House Social Security Subcommittee has scheduled its annual hearing on the annual report of the Social Security trustees for June 7 at 11:00. Don't expect any surprises either in the report or in the reactions of the members of Congress.

Waiting And Waiting

     From the Semiannual Report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

Click on chart to view full size

Many Allegations Received But OIG Gets Few Convictions

       From the Semiannual Report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

OIG Report On Overpayment Collection

     From a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

SSA [Social Security Administration] attempts to fully and immediately recover an overpayment. If a full refund is not possible, SSA may withhold part or all of the individual’s monthly benefit, or create an installment plan when the individual is no longer receiving benefits. Under an installment plan, the individual agrees to refund the overpayment through monthly payments. SSA negotiates the repayment agreement and establishes the payment’s due date. 

We identified 12,269 individuals where the Recovery of Overpayments, Accounting and Reporting system indicated SSA was attempting to recover the overpayment through an installment agreement. However, for all these overpayments, the most recent installment- related action was before June 2016. At the time of our audit, these individuals owed SSA almost $88.3 million in overpaid benefits. ...

For the 12,269 debtors we reviewed, the overpayment record showed the last installment- related action occurred 11 months to 32 years before June 2016. ...

     A couple of points:

• Is it appropriate for Social Security to be trying to collect 32 year old debts? How many of these debts are similarly ancient? Why is there no statute of limitations?
• OIG seems unconcerned with the costs of collection. Is it cost effective to use expensive debt collection methods for small debts, especially at a time of staffing shortages? Reading OIG reports you might think Social Security is mainly a debt collection agency.