Recession Hurting Trust Funds

From a Social Security Press Release:

The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds. The Trustees project that program costs will exceed tax revenues in 2016, one year sooner than projected in last year’s report. The combined assets of the Old-Age and Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2037, four years sooner than projected last year.

Social Security Subcommitee Hearing Scheduled

From a notice posted by the Social Security Subcommittee:

Congressman John S. Tanner (D-TN), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security, today announced a hearing on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) employment support programs for disability beneficiaries, including the Ticket to Work Program. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 ...

[A]n April 2009 report by the SSA Inspector General found that SSA was not acting quickly enough to terminate the benefits of disability beneficiaries who lose eligibility because they have returned to work. This has been a longstanding concern. Past testimony before the Subcommittee has reported that former beneficiaries have been overpaid tens of thousands of dollars due to SSA’s delays in terminating benefits, even if beneficiaries have informed the agency that they are working. The threat of receiving large overpayments which must later be repaid can be a significant work disincentive for disability beneficiaries. In addition, the failure to terminate benefits in a timely way increases costs to the Social Security Trust Fund, as overpaid funds may not be completely recovered.

Union Prepares For Contract Negotiations

Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents most Social Security employees, has issued two different newsletters. One is called Unity and the other the National Council Digest. The newsletters feature articles about the union's preparations for upcoming contract negotiations with Social Security. Here is an excerpt from Unity:

... “Last November’s election results will certainly have a lot to do with our abilities to achieve success,” [Witold Skwierczynski, the President of Council 220] continued. “Under the Bush administration, the attitude was to diminish the Union’s strength and to de-unionize the workforce as much as possible. I expect just the opposite from President Obama.

“Unfortunately, current SSA Commissioner Astrue has cut off all communication with the Union and he has no inclination to provide employees with new benefits or better working conditions.” ...

“A grass roots employee movement will be the key to success, especially if Mr. Astrue doesn’t change his attitude toward SSA employees,” Skwierczynski believes.

Astrue On "Reforming" Social Security

There is nothing new in what Commissioner Astrue is saying, but I will repeat it here for the sake of reporting it all. From Financial Planning:

Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue thinks the long-delayed discussion about reforming the government insurance program could be taken up as early as next year.

Astrue, who was in New York on Thursday to promote the $250 recovery payments that were sent out this week to people who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income, acknowledged that Social Security discussions could be delayed in favor of addressing healthcare reform, but doesn’t foresee the issue getting completely lost as it did during President Bush’s tenure. ...

“I think President Obama would like to have this conversation right now,” Astrue said in an interview. “But I think it will definitely happen during his first term.” ...

“We have a menu of hard choices and we have to suck it up and make those choices,” he says. ...

While there is little argument about the need to reform Social Security, Astrue also seeks to dispel the common notion that the program is in danger of going bankrupt.

By the way, I will dispute the author's smug assumption that almost everyone agrees that Social Security is in need of "reform." I think a lot of people dispute this. All Social Security needs is more revenue to replace the extra money being paid out since the Republican Contract with America ended Social Security's retirement earnings test.

Social Security Goes Viral

Update: People want to know if this came from Social Security. The answer is yes. Here is the link.

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New Kid On The Block

The Cochran Firm -- the one that is supposed to be related to the late Johnnie Cochran of the O.J. Simpson trial fame -- is now advertising, at least on the internet, for Social Security disability clients.

You have to wonder just how much they know about the subject since they seem to be seeking clients with Down Syndrome. Of course, Down Syndrome is disabling, but folks with Down Syndrome are almost always approved quickly and do not need an attorney. There would not be enough of a fee in the average Down Syndrome case to make it worth an attorney's time anyway.

There is also the issue that affects any outfit which tries to represent Social Security claimants nationwide -- how do you represent people who will be having hearings all across the United States? It would take hundreds of offices and thousands of employees all across the country to do this properly. No entity representing Social Security disability claimants has that kind of network. So what does the Cochran Firm do, work through local attorneys and non-attorneys, which means that the Cochran Firm exists for little more than advertising purposes, or try to deal with the claimant only over the telephone until the day of the hearing and then parachute in someone to represent the claimant at the hearing, which is expensive for the firm and not too satisfactory for the claimant? Either way, a "national" firm representing Social Security disability claimants has a lot of problems.

VOIP Problems

From a letter sent by the National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA), an organization of Social Security management personnel, to Donnell Adams, Social Security's Associate Commissioner for the Office of Telephone Services about the agency's transition to a new telephone system based upon Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology (emphasis added):

Without question we need to replace our old telephone systems. ... This letter provides both a summary of our [recent conference] call and additional information and recommendations. ...

One office has been waiting 5 weeks to get names changed on two instruments. Two new employees have replaced two employees who left the office -- same position -- no change to the telephone system is needed except the name. A third employee who was promoted in January has been waiting to have his instrument properly updated since that time. These are easy actions....

We are concerned about the reported poor quality of VOIP calls, especially a call that is made to a non-VOIP phone. There are many echoes on the call, excess static, and low voice quality....

We are quite concerned about the extent of the problems with VOIP and the ability to support it as it expands. With only about a sixth of the Field Offices in the country installed, we are concerned that Headquarters and Nortel may not have the capacity to handle such an expansion. This is why we have suggested a moratorium on expansion until the necessary organization and contract issues are fully addressed.

Nortel is not big enough to handle this contract? That is a bit scary. Nortel is a big company.