No News Is No News

     I am at the conference of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) in Seattle. Normally on the first full day of the conference I post a summary of the morning general session or if I can't make it to the conference, I find someone who is present to write a summary to post here. Usually, there is real news coming out of this session. This year there has been no real news. This is not because the conference is deficient. This is what I expected. It's just the time frame that the conference occurs in. A general election is right around the corner. Things may be vastly different at Social Security depending upon the results of that election. Also, the Commissioner of Social Security, Michael Astrue, will be leaving office in less than three months, regardless of the election results. Even if you knew who will win the Presidential election, you could not now predict who will replace Astrue. How the new Commissioner  will manage Social Security will depend not merely upon who is in the White House, but also upon which party controls the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Another Appellate Decision Holding DOMA Unconstitutional

     A second federal court of appeals has declared the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. DOMA prevents the Social Security Administration from recognizing same sex marriages allowed under state law. This issue will be decided by the Supreme Court in the not too distant future. There is an issue about whether it is constitutional for a state to outlaw same sex marriages. That argument may or may not prevail at the Supreme Court but it's different and not as strong as the argument that DOMA is unconstitutional.

Weirdness At AARP

    AARP is running a $50,000 Fill The Social Security Gap Sweepstakes where you can "Empower yourself with Social Security facts" and  "win big!"

1.7% COLA

     The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) effective for 2013 Social Security payments is 1.7%, which amounts to $21 a month or $252 a year for the average recipient.

Online Services Down

    Social Security's online process for uploading medical records, filing appeals and for attorneys to obtain access to their clients records is down. There is no explanation online. I think the lack of explanation or warning annoys me more than anything else. It's not like it just went down. A few people have been able to get in today, but apparently it's been down most of the day. Problems happen but, at least you can warn people when you're having technical problems.

Earnings Statement Mailings Suspended

     From the Federal Times:

Tight money has again led the Social Security Administration to halt the mailing of all paper statements of earnings and benefits to millions of Americans. These are the handy documents that give you an idea of what to expect in terms of Social Security retirement or disability income.

The latest suspension, which took effect Oct. 1, results from the “overall budget situation,” including a stop-gap continuing resolution that will leave the agency at last year’s funding levels through March, spokeswoman Kia Anderson said.

SSA officials had originally suspended mailing paper statements in April 2011 to save $70 million annually. This February, however, they had resumed mailings to people aged 60 or older and in July, to participants in the year they turned 25.

Little Change In Head Count Between March And June

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has posted updated figures for the number of employees at Social Security. Here they are, with earlier numbers for comparison purposes.

• June 2012 65,282
• March 2012 65,257
• December 2011 65,911
• September 2011 67,136
• June 2011 67,773
• March 2011 68,700
• December 2010 70,270
• June 2010 69,600
• March 2010 66,863
• December 2009 67,486
• September 2009 67,632
• December 2008 63,733
• September 2008 63,990
• September 2007 62,407
• September 2006 63,647
• September 2005 66,147
• September 2004 65,258
• September 2003 64,903
• September 2002 64,648
• September 2001 65,377
• September 2000 64,521

Social Security And Medicare Are A Bargain

     A new Urban Institute study shows just how big a bargain Social Security and Medicare are for most people. Here are some numbers from the study on total lifetime taxes and total lifetime benefits for various demographic groups turning 65 in 2020.

Single Male Earrning Average Wage:
Total lifetime benefits $536,000 Total Lifetime Takes $427,000

Single Female Earning Average Wage:
Total lifetime benefits $595,000 Total Lifetime Takes $427,000

One Earner Couple Earning the Average Wage
Total lifetime benefits $1,016,000 Total Lifetime Takes $427,000

Two Earner Couple with One Earning the Average Wake and the Other Earning a Low Wage
Total lifetime benefits $961,000 Total Lifetime Takes $618,000

Two Earner Couple Each Earning Average Wage
Total lifetime benefits $1,059,000 Total Lifetime Takes $853,000

Two Earner Couple with One Earning High Wage and the Other Earning Average Wage
Total lifetime benefits $1,183,000 Total Lifetime Takes $1,108,000

     The study gives numbers for other anticipated retirement dates and demographic groups. Those who oppose Social Security and Medicare will undoubtedly note that some of these demographic groups might have done better if they could have invested the money instead of paying taxes. It's also true that if I did not pay homeowners insurance on my house and invested that money instead that I would have a fair amount of money in the bank in 30 years -- as long as my house didn't burn down in the meantime. However, if my house did happen to burn down, I wouldn't have nearly enough money in the bank to cover the cost of rebuilding it.
     Insurance is a valuable thing. Social Security and Medicare are insurance. Their true value cannot be fully displayed in the way that this study presents it. What's remarkable is just how good Social Security and Medicare appear even in a study that does not fully show their value. Could any insurance company provide coverage comparable to Social Security and Medicare? Of course not.