Waiting In Michigan -- And Spreading A Misconception

WLNS in Lansing, MI is running a story on the backlogs in adjudicating Social Security disability claims. The story is misleading in a rather common way. Here is a quote:

"It was to the point where we had gone through all of my retirement and all of our life savings. We weren't going to be able to keep our house if something didn't happen relatively quickly."

Teresa [Brown, the claimant] finally decided to call Congressman Mike Rogers. She had her hearing two months later and finally got approved for disability.

Teresa Brown: "Relief, the end was finally here."

No, the call to the Congressman had nothing to do with the allowance. It was almost certainly coincidence. Now, thousands of people in the Lansing will believe that their Congressman has some special magic that will enable them to be approved quickly for Social Security disability benefits. Claimants may even avoid hiring an attorney who might actually be able to help them because of this misconception.

Testimony On Economic Stimulus

Linda McMahon, Social Security's Deputy Commissioner For Operations, testified today before the Oversight and Social Security Subcommittees on the status of the economic stimulus payments.

Supreme Court Decides Met Life Case

From the opinion in Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Glenn, No. 06-923, issued today by the Supreme Court:

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) permits a person denied benefits under an employee benefit plan to challenge that denial in federal court. 88 Stat. 829, as amended, 29 U. S. C. §1001 et seq.; see §1132(a)(1)(B). Often the entity that administers the plan, such as an employer or an insurance company, both determines whether an employee is eligible for benefits and pays benefits out of its own pocket. We here decide that this dual role creates a conflict of interest; that a reviewing court should consider that conflict as a factor in determining whether the plan administrator has abused its discretion in denying benefits; and that the significance of the factor will depend upon the circumstances of the particular case. See Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch, 489 U. S. 101, 115 (1989).

Coming To A Mall Near You

From the Current Argus of Carlsbad, NM:

Patrons of the Carlsbad Social Security Office can now "shop" while they wait.On June 9, the Social Security office opened the doors at its new location inside the Carlsbad Mall. The 2,000-square-foot space, which is next to Beall's department store, offers easier access and more privacy than the older office.

Rota And Tinian Get Visit

From the Saipan Tribune:

A Social Security Administration representative will be on Rota and Tinian this week to accept Social Security number applications, reports of any change regarding eligibility, and answer questions regarding programs administered by Social Security.

On Wednesday, June 18, the representative will be on Rota at the Mayor's Office conference room from 10:30am to 4:30pm. On Thursday, June 19, the representative will be on Tinian at the Community and Cultural Affairs Office located at the Tinian Gymnasium.

Saipan, Rota and Tinian are all in the Northern Marianas, located in the Pacific. A website describes them as "a tropical paradise offering magnificent beaches, crystal clear blue waters, the lively bustle of night life, shopping, a wide range of ethnic food, and a multitude of outdoor activities."

Article On The Shaw Group

The Belleville News-Democrat of Southern Illinois is running an interview with James Shaw of the Shaw Group, a provider of non-attorney representation to Social Security disability claimants. A small excerpt:

Q: Who does The Shaw Group represent today?

A: "We have clients in 5,000 different cities across the country, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Germany and Sweden ... These are Americans who work inside and outside of the country who become disabled. We have done these claims for those living in all 50 states and abroad, and it just keeps getting bigger than I dreamed it ever would."

By the way, God help them with the representation of U.S. Social Security disability claimants who live overseas. I have done a little of that. If you think Social Security's domestic operations are in shambles, you ought to see what disability claimants who live overseas have to face! I have been involved with Social Security disability work for more than 30 years and I have never seen anything that comes close to the mess that Social Security has with disability claims that come in from outside U.S. borders.

An Issue Too Hot For Social Security's OGC To Touch -- SSA To Recognize Civil Unions To Limited Extent

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has recently been wondering "whether the Defense of Marriage Act ... would prevent the Commissioner of Social Security ... from providing the non-biological child of one member of a Vermont civil union with social security benefits on account of that individual’s relationship with the child." Amazingly varied family relationship questions arise all the time at Social Security. Social Security's Office of General Counsel issues opinions on these questions several times a month. But, Social Security bounced this question to the Attorney General. I have never seen this before.

The Attorney General's response:

We conclude that it would not [prevent the child from receiving the benefits. Although DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act] limits the definition of “marriage” and “spouse” for purposes of federal law, the Social Security Act does not condition eligibility for CIB [Child's Insurance Benefits] on the existence of a marriage or on the federal rights of a spouse in the circumstances of this case; rather, eligibility turns upon the State’s recognition of a parent-child relationship, and specifically, the right to inherit as a child under state law. A child’s inheritance rights under state law may be independent of the existence of a marriage or spousal relationship, and that is indeed the case in Vermont. Accordingly, we conclude that nothing in DOMA would prevent the non-biological child of a partner in a Vermont civil union from receiving CIB under the Social Security Act.

You wonder what Alberto Gonzales would have said.

Another Hidden Backlog

From a recent report by Social Security's Inspector General:

Each year, a number of workers contact the IRS to dispute earnings reported under their Social Security number (SSN) and the associated taxes. If the IRS concurs with the worker, it sends a referral to SSA stating the reported wages do not belong to the worker. The IRS does not collect Federal income tax from the worker on the disputed earnings and notifies SSA to correct its Master Earnings File (MEF) record using information provided on the Form 9409 IRS/SSA Wage Worksheet (wage referral). Upon receiving the wage referral, SSA uses the Item Correction 2.8 (ICOR) process in the Earnings Modernization system to remove the disputed earnings from the worker's earnings record.

Our March 2003 report stated that, as of March 2002, the IRS had sent SSA approximately 12,000 disputed wage referrals for Tax Year (TY) 1999. We found that SSA had not processed these referrals to determine whether workers had overstated wages on the MEF. By not reviewing these IRS wage referrals, SSA was missing an opportunity to correct individual earnings records, prevent the misuse of SSNs, and reduce improper benefit payments.

Not every problem at Social Security is due to inadequate staffing. However, this appears to be a backlog that the agency has been aware of but has not had enough staff to correct. Hearing backlogs get press attention, but the Social Security Administration has hidden backlogs like this all over the place. The effect of many of these backlogs is inaccurate payment of benefits. Some people are being paid too much and some people are being paid too little. Cumulatively, the inaccuracies may be over a billion dollars a year, but no one knows.