And None Too Soon

Today's Federal Register contains a notice that the Decision Review Board, the last element of former Commissioner Barnhart's failed plan to restructure disability determination at Social Security, is being officially dismantled effective June 13.

Commissioner's Message On Bin Laden Death

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 11:41 AM
Cc: Torosky, Jamie
Subject: COMMISSIONER’S BROADCAST--05/02/11

A Message To All SSA And DDS Employees

Subject: The Death of Osama bin Laden

Our unified Nation has taken a major step toward peace with the death of Osama bin Laden. To those of you who serve and have served America not only through your work here but also with military service, I extend my thanks for your dedication to our country.

To those of you who lost family and loved ones on September 11, 2001, as I did, I hope last night’s news brings you some measure of comfort and closure.

Michael J. Astrue

Commissioner

A Time To Remember: Social Security In The Aftermath Of The 9/11 Attacks

From the testimony of Larry Massinari, then Commissioner of Social Security before the House Social Security Subcommittee on November 1, 2001:

In the aftermath of the attacks, SSA [Social Security Administration] took immediate steps to ensure that we stayed open for business, for routine business as well as for those who lost family members or were injured that day. All Social Security offices in New York City and the Washington D.C. area were immediately closed on September 11 to protect both the public and our employees, while SSA assessed the severity of the situation and the need for increased security.

The next day, all Social Security offices and the national 800 number were open, with the exception of field offices in New York City, the Northeastern Program Service Center in Jamaica, and the hearing office and the Disability Determination Services (DDS) office in lower Manhattan. The New York Regional Office also remained closed, but we opened a command center in the Grand Central field office. All of our offices-except for those in lower Manhattan-reopened on September 13. We redeployed employees from the closed offices to offices that were open.

We immediately worked with the Treasury Department and the Postal Service to make sure that, where normal processes remained in place, benefit checks and electronic funds transfer payments continued to be sent. Where service was disrupted, we tried to find ways to mitigate delays. ...

By September 24, all of our offices were open, with the exception of the Manhattan DDS, which had been located near the World Trade Center. Some of the DDS staff is being temporarily housed in the Northeastern Program Service Center in Jamaica. Others have been sent to work in other offices.

All 15,000 claims that had been pending in the DDS were removed from the building and sent to a contractor for cleaning and decontamination. All cases have been cleaned and sent back to the DDS. The DDS personnel are in the process of recontacting claimants to update the medical evidence and explain the delay in processing.

I would add that Social Security never stopped opening its mail despite a serious threat of a mail-borne anthrax attack. I know that the Department of Justice and many other agencies did stop opening their mail for a considerable time. I have always thought that those Social Security employees involved in opening and distributing the mail never got the recognition they deserved.

Update: The photo that I had posted earlier that appeared to be the dead body of Bin Laden turned out to have been a hoax.

Video Hearing Usage Varies Widely

From a summary of a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

The number of hearings increased by 260 percent over a 4-year period, from 23,418 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 to 84,121 in FY 2009. Approximately 18 percent of all hearings was conducted by video in FY 2009. Video usage varied from 34.8 percent of all hearings in the Boston Region to 9 percent in the New York Region. Moreover, the Atlanta Region held approximately 26 percent of all video hearings held nationwide in FY 2009, double the next highest Region, Dallas, at 13 percent.

Hearing office video usage varied widely, with approximately 22 percent of the hearing offices using video equipment for less than 1 percent of their hearings. We also found that 19 percent of ALJs did not use the equipment at all in FY 2009. In our discussions with ALJs, we learned that low video use related to factors such as workloads, preferred work styles, equipment problems, and lack of training.

The link to the full report is not working.

One thing to keep in mind is that video hearings are more likely in less urban areas where a hearing office covers a territory that extends out for a hundred miles or more. This sort of hearing office is likely to have remote video sites and lots of video hearings while a hearing office in New York City will be conducting virtually no video hearings since the claimants it serves will all live within a few miles of the hearing office.

Fayetteville Gets New Hearing Office

Since I have posted in the past about the delays in opening a new Social Security hearing office in Fayetteville, NC, I must now post the fact that the new permanent hearing office in Fayetteville opened on May 16.

Local attorneys had concerns when we were told in early 2010 that the new office would be opening in August 2010 but the location at which it was to be opened was a burned out shell of a building. The hearing office opened in a temporary location last Fall and has just moved to its permanent location in what had been the burned out building. The contractor made quick progress.

Ten Million To Be Converted To Direct Deposit In Less Than Two Years

From USA Today:

If you sign up for Social Security benefits after April 30, be advised: The check won't be in the mail.

Starting May 1, everyone who applies for Social Security or other federal government benefits will be required to arrange for direct deposit of their payments. The government plans to phase out paper checks entirely by 2013. ...

Seniors who are already receiving paper checks have until March 1, 2013, to switch to direct deposit. To avoid delays, though, individuals shouldn't wait until the last minute to sign up, Gregg [a spokesman for the Department of the Treasury] says.

"We do get surges of calls, and we have about 10 million people who are getting checks who need to be converted" to direct deposit, he says.

Raborg Receives Presidential Award

Ronald Raborg of the Social Security Administration received the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award at a black tie banquet at the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the State Department this past Thursday. Raborg is the Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Quality Performance.

Social Security Timing Software

A press release:

Senior Market Sales, Inc. today announced the launch of its new patent-pending Social Security Timing™ software, which helps married retirees uncover tens of thousands in additional Social Security benefits they may have otherwise left on the table.

“Whether to elect Social Security early or late is a decision virtually every retiree is faced with,” said Joe Elsasser CFP, Director of Advisory Services for Senior Market Sales and the software’s creator. “Social Security Timing™ is the only software in the marketplace that simultaneously calculates all whole year election age combinations across nine possible election strategies in order to identify the strategy that offers the highest lifetime benefit.”

Social Security Timing™ has two components that help retirees make better choices. One is the free “What’s at Stake?” consumer calculator, which allows married couples to find out in real dollars the difference between their best and worst possible Social Security election decision. The calculator also shows their top three election strategies and gives them the option to consult an advisor for further guidance. The second component is the Social Security Timing™ software that financial advisors can purchase to use with their clients.