Delay In Paying Back Benefits

I just heard today that a payment centers was holding up payment of back benefits to a client of mine because the back benefits were over $30,000 -- which is not an unusual amount  in disability cases that go to a hearing, much less those that go beyond -- because the client did not have direct deposit set up. They won't refuse to pay without a bank account but they do want to contact the client by telephone to see if there is a bank account they can make a deposit to. Since many people who lack a bank account also lack a telephone, this can be a problem. I have not heard of this before. I think it is new.

Retired ALJ Muirhead Passes

Retired Social Security Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Jean Muirhead, who worked in Memphis, Falls Church and Nashville, has died at the age of 82. Before working at Social Security she served in the Mississippi Senate from 1968-1972. As a state Senator, she was a women's rights pioneer, authoring legislation allowing women to serve on juries in Mississippi and appointing the first girl to serve as a page in the Mississippi legislature.

Turnstiles At Social Security?

Social Security has posted a notice that it is interested in acquiring turnstile replacement parts.

I can't figure this out. The only turnstiles that I can remember seeing have been at sports arenas and subway systems. Why would Social Security have a turnstile?

The Right Wing Has A Dream

Wondering what the right wing has in mind for Social Security now that it is clear that privatization isn't politically feasible? The Heritage Foundation's plan is called "Saving the American Dream." This plan calls for "reforming" Social Security. The end result of these "reforms" is that Social Security would look almost identical to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) except that the retirement age would be 68 instead of 65.

Reuters Swings And Misses

Take a look at this Reuters Q and A on Social Security and the debt ceiling. At best, it is confusing. At worst, it is slanted. Why didn't they just read my Q and A on the same subject? As we approach August 3, accurate reporting on the debt ceiling and Social Security becomes more and more crucial.

ALJ Daugherty Resigns

From the American Bar Association Journal:

An administrative law judge who awarded Social Security disability benefits in every case he decided over a six-month period has resigned amid investigations into his conduct.

Judge David Daugherty of Huntington, W.Va., approved disability awards in all 729 cases he heard in the first half of fiscal 2011, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. In 2010, he heard nearly 1,300 cases, and approved benefits in all but four of them.

Gang Of Six Back From Near Death Experience -- With Undisclosed Social Security Plan

 From TPM Media:

President Obama likes it. A wide array of Senators, including influential conservative Tom Coburn (R-OK), have given it their blessings. Out of nowhere, the Gang of Six's bipartisan plan for addressing the country's fiscal imbalance has returned from legislative hinterlands -- and has become the only viable, publicly available framework by which Congress can make good on its supposed desire for a grand bargain on deficit reduction.
But according to an aide briefed on the Gang of Six's negotiations, the fledgling framework is still too new and incomplete to be included in a package to raise the debt limit before August 2nd -- and it's more likely to become the basis for a bigger-deal in the weeks and months ahead.

"It will play into getting us through August 2nd in absolutely no way," the aide said. ...

The plan would also address Social Security's long-term shortfalls, through undisclosed reforms, on a separate table, so that any cuts or revenues would be funneled back into the Social Security Trust Fund to keep it solvent.

More On IT Shakeup At Social Security

From Information Week Government:

After a shakeup in the Social Security Administration's IT organization, the agency's CIO [Chief Information Officer], Frank Baitman, has abruptly resigned. His departure follows a decision by commissioner Michael Astrue to shift most of the agency CIO's responsibilities to deputy commissioner for systems, Kelly Croft....

Baitman's departure brings to a close a nine-year experiment with the agency's CIO's office that, according to some observers and former officials, never resolved the fractured line of authority between IT spending and operations that separated the CIO and the office of systems.

According to Feig, who left the agency in June, one of the primary reasons for the break-up of Social Security's IT [Information Technology] department was Astrue's perception that Baitman failed to advance the agency's strategic plan. In an interview with InformationWeek, Feig said there was a split on IT vision at the agency, with Baitman's office pushing an aggressive agenda to transform its IT systems while saving money over the long-term, and Croft sticking with the agency's old but proven mainframe systems, most of which still run the decades-old Cobol programming language.

Feig's downfall came after the Office of Management and Budget sought input on the strategic direction of Social Security's IT systems, and Feig, who joined the agency last year from the private sector, responded with a version of the strategy he was brought in to develop. Feig's strategy is described in a document titled, "SSA-2020: Vision and Strategy." However, the commissioner didn't endorse the vision's sweeping nature, and Feig said he was asked to leave for engaging the White House without authority to do so. ...

And Social Security's inspector general is working on an audit of the agency's software environment. The audit will address the agency's plans to evolve away from Cobol, its continued use of Cobol in an era of Web-based apps, its ability to hire and retain staff trained in Cobol, and the work involved in re-engineering the agency's Cobol code in modern programming languages.