Aspirational Goals For Those Who Represent Social Security Claimants

The North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) is an organization of attorneys who represent plaintiffs, mostly in personal injury matters, but also in matters such as workers compensation and Social Security. The NCAJ's Disability Advocacy Section (DAS) is composed of about 300 attorneys who represent Social Security claimants. This section is probably the most active such state-wide group in the country. The DAS recently approved a list of aspirational goals for DAS members. These goals are, as they are labeled, aspirational. There was no intent to set a legally enforceable standard. The list is not exclusive. A good attorney may have standards that go beyond this list. While some items on the list may seem quite basic, experience has shown that none of these can be taken for granted.

DISABILITY ADVOCACY SECTION ASPIRATIONAL GOALS & OBJECTIVES

1. Have regular contact with client and return all client’s telephone calls.
2. While the case is pending, develop the medical evidence, including obtaining treatment notes and medical source statements, and submit them to SSA [Social Security Administration] as soon as practicable, and seek on-the-record decision where appropriate.
3. Meet in person with client, inform client of scope of representation and adequately prepare client well in advance of hearing.
4. Be familiar with the legal and factual issues in client’s case; develop a theory of the case; be prepared to present the case; and where appropriate prepare and deliver a one-two page brief a few days prior to the hearing.
5. Do not withdraw from representation after hearing is scheduled absent special circumstances.
6. Take some of the hard cases, like Hyatt cases [an NC class action], cessation cases, overpayment cases, remote dates last insured cases, and Medicaid cases, including pro bono cases.
7. Assist in getting client paid after a favorable decision and inform client of rights and options after adverse decision.
8. Familiarize yourself with services in your community which may be available to your clients, such as vocational rehabilitation, Veterans’ Administration, free medical clinics, food banks, shelters, domestic violence programs, and mental health services.
9. Know the doctors in your area and promote good relationships with them and their staffs. Pay them promptly for records and their time. Let them know of favorable outcomes and how their assistance is appreciated (with client's permission).
10. Continue educational and professional development; stay apprised of new laws and regulations; improve knowledge over and above requirements of the State Bar.
11. Be active in professional organizations, e.g., NCAJ DAS and NOSSCR [National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives]. Volunteer to provide education to colleagues, civic groups, local community groups, support groups, and the public at large. For example, speak at a CLE [Continuing Legal Education], chair a CLE, write an article, or speak at a public event about some aspect of Social Security law.
12. Know who your elected representatives are and contact them about important legislation.
13. Be familiar with and comply with the requirements of 20 CFR [Code of Federal Regulations] §404.1740 Rules on conduct and standards of responsibility for representatives.

Bonuses Change For Goss

Stephen Goss, Social Security's Chief Actuary, who is reportedly concerned that Commissioner Astrue wants to get rid of him, received $49,000 in bonuses in 2006 when Jo Anne Barnhart was Commissioner of Social Security. He got no bonus in 2007 after Michael Astrue became Commissioner of Social Security. There is no information available to the public on bonuses at Social Security since then.

House Social Security Subcommittee Hearing Witness List Released

Here is the witness list for the July 15 hearing before the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee:

• W. Lee Hammond, President of the Board, AARP
• Ethel Zelenske, Co-Chair of the Social Security Task Force, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
• Kelly Ross, Deputy Policy Director, AFL-CIO
• Sylvester J. Schieber, Ph.D., Independent Consultant, New Market, Maryland
• Virginia Reno, Vice President for Income Security, National Academy of Social Insurance
• Nancy Altman, Co-Director, Social Security Works

Amazing Naivete

From Fred Barnes, writing in the Wall Street Journal:

One [Social Security] reform that could win bipartisan support would, over time, raise the Social Security retirement age to 70. An extension of retirement age to 67 from 65 was pushed in 1983 by the Greenspan Commission, along with a boost in the income base for payroll taxes. President Reagan backed the changes and Congress enacted them.

A second reform, bolder and more controversial, would means-test Social Security, gradually slowing the growth of benefits for the more affluent but sparing those with lower incomes. The model for this is the Pozen plan, the brainchild of Robert Pozen, a former vice chairman of Fidelity Investments and influential Social Security reformer.

I am sure that I have my illusions about Republicans but nothing tops Republican naivete about Democrats. People who should know better are misled by the fact that President Obama appointed Erskine Bowles, nominally a Democrat, to the deficit reduction commission. Bowles is not representative of Democrats in his home state of North Carolina (which is one of the reasons he could not get elected to public office in North Carolina), much less Democrats nationally. Means testing of Social Security has zero chance of adoption and raising the retirement age to 70 has very, very little chance of adoption. I do not think you could get even a majority of Congressional Republicans to vote, publicly, for either one. If you can imagine Barack Obama campaigning for either one, you just might be a Republican.

Plans For Social Security 75th Anniversary?

I know there will be some major event to mark Social Security's 75th anniversary, coming up on August 14, 2010. The Social Security Administration has not announced anything yet. The National Park Service, which runs the Franklin Roosevelt house in Hyde Park, NY, has not announced anything yet. Hyde Park has been the site for similar events in the past. I would bet that the White House is arranging this. I wonder if they delay announcing these things for security reasons. Does anyone know what is in the works?

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare isn't waiting. They have an extensive commemoration planned.

People Are Noticing

Now it is Forbes asking why the Annual Report of the Social Security Trustees has not been issued yet this year. It was supposed to be out on April 1. Forbes puts its own spin on this -- that the delay is an effort to hide Social Security's terrible finances from the public. I doubt that is the reason but I do not know what is.

Current Picture Of A Building Where A New Hearing Office Is Supposed To Open In Early 2011

This is in Fayetteville, NC. It was not long ago that we were being told that a hearing office would open in Fayetteville in August, 2010. We are now being told that a temporary hearing office will open somewhere in Fayetteville -- no one seems to know where -- in September, 2010 but that a full hearing office will open in the building pictured below in early 2011.

Here is an article from the local newspaper. The owner is hoping to open the building by next summer. Below is another current photo of the building.

The Problem Solver Gets It Done

From the Chicago Tribune:

Fran Lubelchek and the Social Security Administration have a long and twisted history.

When the 70-year-old retired schoolteacher began receiving benefits five years ago, the government miscalculated her monthly payment. By the time it realized the error years later, Social Security had overpaid the Northbrook resident by roughly $14,000.

To pay the money back, Lubelchek and Social Security worked out a deal. Because she received a teacher's pension, her correct monthly Social Security payment was small, about $100. To repay the $14,000, Lubelchek agreed to receive no monthly benefit until she was almost 85.

She thought she had everything squared away, but her relationship with Social Security took another odd turn after her husband, Harvey, died in February.

In March, April and May, Social Security continued to deposit her late husband's $1,576 monthly benefit check into the couple's joint account. Then in May, the agency removed the three payments, all $4,728, from Lubelchek's bank account without saying a word. ...

After visiting her local Social Security office repeatedly and failing to get things straightened out, Lubelchek e-mailed What's Your Problem?

"I never realized that the SSA could withdraw significant money from a checking account without permission from the account holder," she said.

Lubelchek said that on her last visit to her Social Security office, she was told she was entitled to more than $1,000 a month in benefits based on her late husband's account, but it was unclear when those payments would begin.

"The woman said, 'I can't do anything here,'" but promised to make it a priority, Lubelchek said.

After that, she heard nothing.

"I want the correct benefits paid to me, and I think it is awful that it is taking this long," she said.

The Problem Solver called Social Security Administration spokeswoman Carmen Moreno, who had a team look into Lubelchek's case.

On Wednesday, Moreno called Lubelchek with some surprising news.

After researching Lubelchek's file, Social Security determined that she was, in fact, overpaid based on the amount she received from her teacher's pension, and that she still owed the government $12,591.70.

But Social Security employees also discovered that many years ago, wages Lubelchek had not earned were attributed to her account. Based on those erroneous wages, Lubelchek had more money deducted from her paychecks than should have been.

The extra deductions meant Lubelchek had paid an extra $37,218.70 into the system.

To make things right, the government took the $12,591.70 Lubelchek owed Social Security from the $37,218.70 it owed her.

The end result: Social Security deposited $24,627 into her checking account Wednesday morning.