Coalition Forms To Protect Social Security

There was a press conference yesterday to announce the formation of Strengthen Social Security, a coalition of 60 groups united around the following principles:

1. Social Security did not cause the federal deficit; its benefits should not be cut to reduce the deficit.
2. Social Security should not be privatized in whole or in part.
3. Social Security should not be means-tested.
4. Congress should act in the coming few years to close Social Security’s funding gap by requiring those who are most able to afford it to pay somewhat more.
5. Social Security’s retirement age, already scheduled to increase from 65 to 67, should not be raised further.
6. Social Security’s benefits should not be reduced, including by changes to the COLA or the benefit formula.
7. Social Security’s benefits should be increased for those who are most disadvantaged.

Good News, Bad News

According to a Gallup survey, there is good news and bad news when it comes to public attitudes about Social Security. First the bad news: "Seventy-seven percent of Americans say they believe the retirement, disability and survivors' benefits program 'is in a state of crisis' or 'has major problems.'" I think the public has been unduly alarmed. Things are not that bad, not even close. Now the good news:

Of six possible ways of addressing Social Security's long-term funding challenges, most Americans favor two, both of which would affect only wealthy Americans.

Sixty-seven percent think "higher-income workers" should pay Social Security taxes on all their wages, with 60 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of independents and 79 percent of Democrats agreeing with the idea, the poll found.

Sixty-three percent want to limit benefits for wealthy retirees, with 55 percent of Republicans, 63 percent of independents and 71 percent of Democrats agreeing.

A minority favor increasing taxes, reducing most people's benefits or increasing the age at which most people are eligible to receive full retirement benefits.

So, would someone explain to me why it is that most commentators seem to think it is inevitable that Social Security benefits are going to be cut in some way such as by increasing full retirement age.

Social Security Delays Fill Homeless Shelters

From WSOC-TV in Charlotte:

Kathy White said it's been more than a year since she had a place to live.

"They do a lot for us here," White said, referring to the Center of Hope women's shelter. “But I'd much rather have my own place and be on my own.”

White said a long wait for disability benefits is what is keeping her from a place of her own. She said she’s been waiting for two years.

"They end up homeless because they end up losing their job," Deronda Metz, the shelter's director, said. "They come to the shelter and then they begin that process."

Metz said that contributes to overcrowding issues at the shelter, forcing some women to sleep on cots and the floor.

At the men's shelter on North Tryon Street, officials said 20 percent of the men are waiting on benefits.

The Bottom Line On Social Security Disability Claims

From the Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2009
Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 1999–2008

Retirement Of Larry Jones

From The Oklahoman (I urge you to read to the end):

There's something poetic about the swan song of Larry Jones, public affairs specialist with the Social Security Administration in Oklahoma City. Jones began working for Social Security just before its 50th anniversary celebration. He's retiring on Aug. 31 — only weeks after the agency turns 75 years old. ...

[H]e recently sat down with The Oklahoman to share some of [his experiences] ...

Q: What were some of your funniest experiences?

A: We always ask women about their past marriages because they're frequently eligible for benefits on a former or deceased spouse's work history. One woman had been married 13 times, but didn't qualify on any ex's record, because none had been married to her 10 years or died while she was married to them.

On another claim application, an older gentleman's glass eye fell out, bounced across the desk and landed right beside me. Without missing a beat, he walked over to it, picked it up, wiped it off and popped it back in. ...

Q: What's the biggest misconception about Social Security?

A: That it will go away. You'd have to have bankruptcy on a national level for that to happen. As long as there are people paying taxes, there will be a retirement system.

Q: The local Social Security office formerly was housed in the Murrah Building. Were you there on the day of the bombing?

A: No, I was at home in Yukon. Fortuitously, that Wednesday was my biweekly flex day, having worked compressed work days the other 13. A coworker, who was also off, called to tell me to turn on the TV and I saw the sheared off front of our building. I thought all my friends were dead. Sixteen died; some 50 survived.

Though I wasn't physically there, I was a very real part of it. We, I and the survivors, were like zombies for a year. People told me I was saved for a reason. But wild things went through my head like, "If I'd been there, and known, I could have gotten people out."

My wife and kids came home early that afternoon, and they were all hugging me. It was a very surreal experience.

Fraud In Oklahoma

From the Tulsa World:

In the Tulsa-based Northern District of Oklahoma, there have been 16 indictments handed up since 2006 that have alleged Social Security fraud such as using money meant for dead beneficiaries, disability fraud, claim-related false statements and even aggravated identity theft involving Social Security number misuse.

It's far from just a local problem. The agency's Office of Investigations conducts thousands of criminal probes every year. ...

Jonathan L. Lasher is Assistant Inspector General for the External Relations in the Office of the Inspector General [OIG]. He said investigations into suspected fraud start in a variety of ways, including from tips from the public and from OIG auditors who often come across potential crimes in their reviews of Social Security operations. ...

The agency reported to Congress earlier this year that from Oct. 1, 2009, through March 31, more than $15.5 million was recovered and that almost $144 million was saved as a result of investigations that led to improperly received benefits being shut off. ...

Lasher said the number of fraud allegations the Social Security Administration receives is relatively consistent from year to year.

But Lasher said he believes investigators' "vigilance has made it consistently more difficult to obtain and retain benefits to which an individual is not entitled."

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Reports Out Social Security Funding Bill

The Labor-HHS Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee has reported out the appropriations bill that covers Social Security. The Subcommittee bill includes $12,378,863 in operating funds for Social Security. This is the amount recommended by the White House. This is also the amount reported out of the corresponding subcommittee in the House of Representatives.

These bills must now go to the full committees and then to the floor in the House and Senate. Since there will be differences between the two bills there must be a conference committee. There is no chance this will be completed before October 1, 2010, the beginning of the fiscal year. Republicans are likely to try to slow things down, especially if they win a lot of races in the November elections. This whole process could easily extend into next Spring. Indeed, if Republicans win control of one House of Congress it may be impossible to pass a Labor-HHS appropriations bill for the 2011 fiscal year, meaning that Social Security will be stuck with a continuing resolution (CR) that funds the agency at the 2010 rate. That would be terrible for Social Security, probably necessitating a hiring freeze for most of the agency for most of the year.

Top Secret -- Need To Know -- But What About Bucket 2?

From Social Security Emergency Message EM-10056:

We implemented the Simplified i3368 [which persons filing Social Security disability claims and appears online use] nationwide January 2010. In early May 2010, we discovered that certain doctor sources on the i3368, supplied by the claimant or third party, were missing when the field office imported the information into the Electronic Disability Collect System (EDCS). The Office of Systems investigated and found the coding caused the following issue: when internet users entered information about doctors or other healthcare professionals, but did not enter a doctor’s name (first or last) in the first data field, no information about that source, or any subsequent doctor sources, propagated into EDCS. This did not affect the information about hospitals and clinics. However, it is possible the propagation problem affected disability cases that are currently pending and cases in which a medical decision was made without considering all of the doctor source information the applicant provided. The coding is now correct. Affected cases processed between December 2009 - May 31, 2010 have been divided into two “Buckets.” Bucket 1 includes cases between December 12, 2009 – February 23, 2010. Bucket 2 includes cases between February 24, 2010 – May 31, 2010. eee

Bucket 1 claims and instructions are now available on the VIDI website. We are unsure which cases have information dropped from the i3368 in Bucket 1 cases. Therefore, SSA will need to contact claimants to ensure all doctor sources, and associated information, are in the Electronic Folder.

The authorization to access this data is via Top Secret/NT Security based on a need to know as required by an employee's job function.