SSA Offers Help For Tornado Victims

From the Hutchinson News:

The Social Security Administration is prepared to assist Greensburg tornado victims through its office in Dodge City.

People who were severely injured can file a claim for disability benefits or for supplemental security income benefits. Surviving spouses and minor children of those killed in the tornado can also inquire about benefit programs. ...

Those who normally receive a paper Social Security check in the mail should to contact Social Security to provide a new address or to set up direct deposit, to prevent missing their next check. This can be done by calling the Dodge City office or the national toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213.

Astrue: "I want to fix this thing on my watch"

Excerpts from an Associated Press article:

More than 160 new administrative judges are needed to ease the backlog of hundreds of thousands of disability cases and eliminate yearslong waits to determine who qualifies for benefits, the new head of the U.S. Social Security Administration said.

“I want to fix this thing on my watch,” said Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue, who was sworn in Feb. 12.

Astrue and Republican Sen. George Voinovich held a meeting in Columbus on Monday to explain the problem and Astrue’s proposed solutions. ...

Adding 168 administrative law judges to the 1,082 currently hearing cases would speed up the process, Astrue said. He also said he favored fast-tracking urgent cases, such as those of cancer patients, and allowing some cases to be heard electronically.

Those are just three out of dozens of recommendations Astrue plans to make to the Senate Finance Committee later this month.

“There’s no one magic bullet,” he said.

Monday’s discussion was the second time in recent years that Voinovich brought a Social Security official to Ohio to explain the backlog.

New York Daily News On Social Security Backlogs

The New York Daily News is running a story on Social Security hearing backlogs. It is reproduced above, but, probably, you will be unable to read it. It is a fairly generic article on the subject.

Early Out For Social Security Employees

Local 3509 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has posted an agreement between the AFGE and Social Security for early out retirement for Social Security employees this year. Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are exempt from the early out offer. Eligible employees have until June 8 to take advantage of the offer.

Poll

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Disabled Adult Child Claims Being Missed

Individuals who become disabled before age 22 may qualify for Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits based upon the Social Security earnings record of their mother or father, once the mother or father goes on Social Security benefits or dies. Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has posted a study done recently which shows that a large number of people drawing Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits may be eligible for DAC benefits, but do not know to apply. Some excerpts from the study:

We examined information from electronic data extracts from the Agency's Supplemental Security (SSR) and Master Beneficiary Records (MBR). As of August 10, 2006, our examination had identified 278,794 SSI recipients who had (1) attained age 18 on or after August 22, 1996; (2) established their dates of disability before age 22; (3) received OASDI benefits as children; and (4) received SSI payments. For these recipients, we applied additional screening requirements and found 5,908 individuals who appeared to be eligible for additional OASDI benefits. These individuals were receiving only SSI payments as of August 2006. ...

Of the 5,908 SSI recipients, we selected a random sample of 200 for review. We independently reviewed information, recorded as of September 2006, in these recipients' respective SSRs and MBRs.

RESULTS OF REVIEW

Our analysis of information in SSA's SSR and MBR found there were SSI recipients who received OASDI benefits as child beneficiaries who appeared to be eligible for additional OASDI benefits. Of the 200 SSI recipients we reviewed, 137 appeared to be DAC cases and eligible for additional OASDI benefits. As such, we estimate about 4,047 of the 5,908 SSI recipients we identified may be eligible for additional OASDI benefits. Of the 137 DAC cases, we selected 10 SSI recipients to assess their respective OASDI and SSI payments. We determined these 10 recipients were due OASDI underpayments of approximately $114,000.

Results Of Last Week's Unscientific Poll

For SSA Employees Only
For Social Security employees only: How would you rate Social Security as an employer?

Excellent (35)	34%
Good (31)	30%
Fair (23)	22%
Poor (15)	14%

Total Votes: 104

Social Security Testimony On Medicare Prescription Drug Implementation

Beatrice Disman, Social Security's Regional Commissioner for the New York region and Chair of Social Security's Medicare Planning and Implementation Task Force, testified before the Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. Her prepared remarks have been posted online.