Trying To Stop The Checks

From WLBT:

Suffering a variety of illnesses, 56 year old Bruce Guy applied and was granted Social Security Disability in 2006. One year later, still considered disabled he went back to work with MDOT full time.

Not the same job he had when he was healthy, but a good desk job. He contacted the Social Security Administration to notify them of his change of status. But the 1500 dollar monthly disability checks kept coming to the tune of 18 thousand dollars extra last year. "I don't want trouble with the IRS I don't want trouble with Social Security."

Bruce Guy told us. "I'd love to take the money but everyone I talked to at the Social Security Administration office says you make too much money for us to be giving you this money." Repeated calls to the Jackson Social Security Administration to stop the disability checks went unheeded. According to Guy, "The bottom line is I want them to quit sending me money do what they say they are going to do." Frustrated and trying to do the right thing, Guy called Three On Your Side for help. He says, "It's putting me in a bad situation. That 18 thousand dollars a year is costing me 2 thousand dollars in taxes. I'm not supposed to be getting that money.

Our attempts to contact the Jackson Social Security office were futile. So we went to attorney Tim Porter to help solve Guy's dilemma. Porter agreed. Working a full time job and making over 51 thousand dollars a year, Guy should not be receiving the disability funds. "It seems like he did everything he thought he needed to do to stop the payments and the Social Security Administration hasn't listened. So my question would be is the government asleep at the wheel? Probably."

This apparent case of waste and government inefficiently is forcing Guy to stash the disability, afraid that the government will allege overpayment and demand all of it back. Plus, he's having to pay taxes on it out of his regular paycheck. Porter told us, "I actually talked to the gentleman Marsha. He said I see a lot of ads for attorneys who will try to get you Social Security, but I don't see many who will try to make it stop." When asked if he thought this was a case of government waste, Guy replied, "Do I think this is a waste of taxpayer money? I think this is keeping somebody else from getting disability that needs it very badly."

Your government at work or is it? Porter's last step suggestion guy needs to march down to the Federal building in downtown Jackson with all of his paperwork in hand and speak to someone directly.

Finding Employment At Social Security

I posted on February 26 expressing surprise that Social Security did not have more job openings listed on the USA Jobs website. Social Security has a few more jobs posted now, but the agency should be in the process of hiring hundreds of people -- and maybe they are.

Since my post of February 26, I have heard from some people who have told me that Social Security is not listing all available positions on USA Jobs. I will not try to describe Social Security's hiring process because I do not begin to understand it, but many, perhaps most, entry level jobs are not being posted. As a taxpayer, I find this surprising.

If you are interested in obtaining employment with the Social Security Administration, I suggest that you polish up your resume and contact the office or offices where you are interested in working to ask them about their hiring plans and the process they will use to do the hiring.

Perhaps those in the know can give some tips on obtaining employment at Social Security.

Now You Can Say It

The Social Security Administration has released Major Strategic Accomplishments Fiscal Year 2008. It looks like something prepared in anticipation of upcoming Congressional hearings.

Click on the thumbnail on this page to take a look at a page from the document. Aren't those charts striking? Could they have been released a year or two years ago when they might have done more good?

E-Mail From Commissioner

A Message To All SSA And DDS Employees

Subject: FY 2009 Appropriation

So, lots of great news.

First, President Obama is set to sign the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2009. Accordingly, I am lifting the hiring restrictions that have been in place since the start of the fiscal year.

The appropriations bill provides $126.5 million more than was included in the FY 2009 President’s budget, which already represented a 6 percent increase over FY 2008 funding. Knowing our annual funding allows us to take swift action on many critical initiatives.

In addition to our appropriation, the economic recovery act that the President signed last month provided us with another $500 million to process our increasing disability and retirement workloads and invest in related information technology projects. Unlike our annual appropriation which we must use within a fiscal year, we will be able to use this $500 million over the next eighteen months. The act also gives us $500 million to replace the National Computer Center, which will allow us to take timely action to ensure that our new data center will be built and operational by the time our current center is near the end of its functional life.

The economic recovery act also requires us to make a one-time payment of $250 to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. To cover our administrative costs, the law provides us with $90 million to make these payments. We have been busy coordinating with other agencies to ensure that the right beneficiaries receive payments and that we avoid making duplicate payments. We are on track to send payments to beneficiaries over a several-week period in May. We will provide you with more information and updates as they become available.

Finally, on February 26, the President released his budget overview for FY 2010, and it showed the President’s strong support for the work we do. The FY 2010 request for our agency is $11.6 billion, which would be a 10 percent increase over our FY 2009 appropriation.

We have received this level of support from President Obama and the Congress because we have laid out in detail the investments in employees and technology that are necessary to meet the service challenges of the next decade. While we have many pressing needs, it is important that excellence and accountability come before haste. To this end, the Administration has asked all agencies to establish unprecedented controls over the contracting process and to be transparent as to how they spend this money.

A few months back, I wrote to all of our managers asking that they begin laying the groundwork for bringing on new employees. While I am confident that they have followed my earlier advice and begun planning for the upcoming surge in hiring, we need to remember that our goal is to find the best available candidate, and quite often that person is not the fastest or easiest to hire. We have a commitment to create a workforce that reflects all Americans. We must be thoughtful in our outreach and set a high standard – this is the toughest labor market in decades, so we have a wonderful opportunity to continue our practice of hiring extraordinary employees who will be the agency’s foundation in future decades.

I also am asking everyone to remember that we are a leader in hiring persons with disabilities and that we should continue our outstanding record in hiring and promoting these employees. Accordingly, I am asking all agency executives to continue their efforts in reaching out to the Wounded Warrior transitional programs and Ticket to Work beneficiaries who are trying to return to work. I have designated Kristen Medley-Proctor, an SES candidate, to oversee and coordinate our recruitment and hiring efforts during the next four critical months. She can be reached at kristen.medley-proctor[at]ssa.gov. We must ensure that we match disabled persons and opportunities on a national basis and that we use our special hiring authority for persons with disabilities where appropriate.

We obviously have many exciting challenges ahead of us. I am confident that we are up to the task, and I will keep you posted on our progress over what promises to be an extraordinary six months.

Michael J. Astrue

Commissioner

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Social Security Has A Budget -- Finally

Congressional Quarterly reports that Congress has finally passed and sent to the President a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, which began on October 1, 2008, over five months ago. Most of the government has been operating on a continuing funding resolution which kept it going at the rate for FY 2008. The bill gives Social Security $10.5 billion. Even after the election, advocacy groups had been hoping for only $10.4 billion! And this is on top of the special appropriation of $500 million for reducing the backlogs included in the economic stimulus package.

Let the hiring begin in earnest.

Initial And Recon Allowance Rates 2008

Courtesy of the Social Security Forum, published by the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR), here are the initial and reconsideration allowance rates by state for Social Security disability claims in fiscal year (FY) 2008. Click on each page to see it full size.

By the way, NOSSCR did not publish a hearing backlog report this month.

New Scam

From KIDK in Idaho Falls, ID:

The Better Business Bureau has had a few calls about this scam. It starts with a letter, supposedly from the government, that says you're going to get a check for one thousand dollars. However, before you get it, you'll need to verify your information and how you want to get that money; whether you want to receive it monthly, quarterly, or so on. But, don't fall for this.