Social Security Employees Drawing Social Security Benefits

The Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently did a study of Social Security employees drawing Social Security benefits. The vast majority of these folks were perfectly entitled to what they were drawing from Social Security. Remember that there is no retirement earnings test for those who have reached full retirement age and Social Security has a fair number of employees who are well into their 60s and beyond. But there were problems cases and OIG wants to prosecute. From the report:

Overall, SSA ensured that employees who are also entitled to OASDI or SSI are paid the appropriate benefits. However, we identified 8 employees (out of 194 who received benefits) who were overpaid $245,311 in OASDI benefits because of their earnings. By stopping these benefits, the Agency will save $124,176 over the next 12 months.

We referred these eight employees to our Office of Investigations (OI) for criminal investigation. As of November 2007, three of these eight cases were with the United States (U.S.) Attorney's Office or the District Attorney's Office for prosecution due to possible fraud. For another three cases, the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the cases and they were being handled by SSA administratively. Also, in the remaining two cases, SSA was taking administrative action.

Fraud In Montana

From KPAX in Missoula, Montana:

A Montana State Prison inmate, who illegally received about $14,000 in Social Security benefits, has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison.

James Hendershot was also ordered to pay restitution of $16,000.

The federal term will be consecutive to his state sentence of five years on a 2004 conviction for aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

It is unlawful to collect Social Security while in prison.

Continued Workforce Reduction -- Correction

Yesterday, I had posted the numbers on the number of employees at Social Security, reporting that there had been a 3% decline in the past year. Actually, the decline was 1.9%. I had mistakenly posted the numbers for Social Security employment in the United States, instead of the gross Social Security employment as I had done previously. Social Security has some employees in territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam and one lone employee on truly foreign territory. (I believe that one person is employed at the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany and is completely overwhelmed. I have helped some people who have filed claims for U.S. Social Security benefits while living in other countries and the problems are almost literally insurmountable. Did you know that there is an international DDS that handles claims for U.S. Social Security disability benefits filed from overseas and that its backlogs make any other backlogs at Social Security look trivial?) Below are the corrected numbers from the Office of Personnel Management.

Social Security can take little comfort in having a 1.9% decline in employment in the past year instead of a 3% decline. The agency's workforce may decline at an even greater rate in the next year.

In the face of rapidly increasing workloads and a significant workforce reduction, how can Social Security work its way out of its backlogs? The answer is simple. It cannot. Expect backlogs to get worse.

• September 2007 62,407
• June 2007 62,530
• March 2007 61,867
• December 2006 63,410
• September 2006 63,647
• September 2005 66,147
• September 2004 65,258
• September 2003 64,903
• September 2002 64,648
• September 2001 65,377
• September 2000 64,521
• September 1999 63,957
• September 1998 65,629

Arkansas TV Station On Backlogs

From KFSM in Arkansas:

People trying to tap into social security funds may have a hard time getting help, according to a recent national study.

Attorneys that 5News spoke with say there are not enough people to handle the sheer volume of disability claims coming through the pipes. They say most of the appeals are valid, but the process takes so long, it can leave those needing help without funds for two to three years. ...

Attorneys 5News talked to say many times, the health of those waiting declines dramatically, because they don't quite qualify for Medicaid. Attorneys also say if applicant's utilities are cut off, or if they're being evicted, they can request an expedited hearing, but say even those are not much faster.

Fraud In Arizona

From the East Valley Tribune:

A former Scottsdale resident was convicted Wednesday of stealing from and lying to the government when she obtained Social Security benefits for her disabled son who didn’t qualify for them.

Denise Crouse, 49, now of Georgia, was convicted Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court after a three-day trial.

According to Attorney General Terry Goddard, Crouse lived in Scottsdale and Glendale between 1995 and 1999, where she collected more than $20,000 in Supplemental Security Income for her son, ineligible for the funds because he already had a $1 million trust fund.

During trial, Crouse testified that she held assets worth between $1 million and $2 million, not including the trust fund.

Social Security An Emergency?

From CNN (emphasis added):

Congressional negotiators worked to cut hundreds of federal programs, big and small, as they fashioned a $500 billion-plus catchall government funding bill Thursday. ...

In the meantime, the House passed a bill to keep the federal government open for another week to give negotiators time to fashion the omnibus spending bill, pass it in both the House and Senate and then adjourn for the year.

Democrats hoped to make an exception for a $3.7 billion increase for veterans health care, calculating that Bush and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill would relent in the case of that politically sacrosanct program. ...

The White House does not believe the additional veterans money is needed and previously has issued veto threats if the money for veterans is not accompanied by cuts elsewhere in the budget. That approach has been widely seen as unrealistic, even by top Republicans like House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio.

But with the White House playing such a strong hand in the negotiations, Boehner now insists Democrats stick within the president's $933 billion figure, with exceptions for border security and a few other "emergencies."

Backlog Report

The National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) has obtained from Social Security a December 2007 report on the hearing backlog. You can read it on the Social Security Perspectives blog. Just click on a page to enlarge it for easier reading.

Encouraging People To Work Longer

An announcement from the Social Security Advisory Board:

The Social Security Advisory Board

Invites You

To Attend a Public Forum

Working Toward Retirement Security:

Policies to Help Extend the Working Life of Older Americans

Friday, January 18, 2008

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Top of the Hill Conference Center

Reserve Officer's Association, (5^th Floor)

1 Constitution Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002

As the nation faces the challenges of an aging population, the Advisory Board believes retirement security will depend ever more on the ability and willingness of individual Americans to extend their working lives. We are sponsoring this forum to facilitate a discussion of specific policies, regulations and practices to eliminate barriers and increase support for those who wish to work longer. Please join us as we discuss these issues with:

Keith Brainard, NASRA John Martin, OECD

Alicia Munnell, Boston College Gerald Shea, AFL- CIO

John Shoven, Stanford Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute

Additional Speakers – To Be Announced

LUNCHEON SPEAKER

Edward P. Lazear

Chairman, Council of Economic Advisors

Please share this invitation with interested colleagues.

Lunch will be provided.

Due to limited seating, please RSVP by January 9, 2008:

conference@ssab.gov

202-475-7700

This event is being co-sponsored by University of Illinois Center for Business and Public Policy (please visit: www.business.uiuc.edu/finance/cbpp)