Office Closure Situation Improves

     From a Social Security Administration website:

The following Social Security Offices will be closed today, November 5, 2012:

Maryland
Cumberland

New Jersey
Brick
Hoboken     
New Brunswick

New York
Astoria      
Downtown
Manhattan Social Security Card Center    
White Plains

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The following Social Security Offices are closed until further notice:

Massachusetts
Roxbury

New York
East Village
Far Rockaway

What Impact Does An Attorney Have At The Initial Level?

      From Filing for Social Security Disability Benefits: What Impact Does Professional Representation Have On The Process At The Initial Application Level, a report by the Social Security Advisory Board:

As we began this study, we had two very basic questions that we wanted to answer: 1) does representation increase the likelihood that an individual who is eligible will be awarded disability benefits, and 2) does representation increase the likelihood that the individual will receive a decision sooner. We were able to provide preliminary answers to these questions; for instance, we found evidence that processing times are longer for represented claims, particularly when represented by attorneys. Additionally, we found that represented cases have higher allowance rates, significantly so for SSI, but barely so for SSDI cases.

     I think there could be a connection between the two findings. Attorneys avoid weak cases. Weak cases are usually denied more quickly than strong cases.

Fee Payments Drop Dramatically

     Attorneys who represent Social Security claimants normally receive as their fee one-quarter of their clients' back benefits up to $6,000. The fee is withheld from the back benefits by the Social Security Administration. Social Security keeps part of the fee, however, as a "user fee" for the costs of the withholding. Here are the updated figures for payments of fees and others for representing Social Security claimants. This matters more than you think. Generally, the attorneys are paid at the same time as the clients. If you see a speedup or slowdown in payments of fees, you're seeing a speedup or slowdown in payments to claimants. You can see below that things didn't go so well in October, the first month of the new fiscal year.

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-12	29,926	89,749,312.99
Feb-12	43,946	134,207,416.10
Mar-12	47,376	139,571,577.57
Apr-12	38,239	113,225,483.07
May-12	37,648	112,446,283.39
June-12	43,816	128,559,225.66
July-12	33,342	97,458,955.82
Aug-12	41,441	119,484,061.59
Sept-12	38,393	115,676,630.23
Oct-12	29,646	84,612,068.75

Pete Peterson's Expensive Obsession

    From Jeff Palmer writing at Huffington Post:

You may or may not have heard of Peter G. Peterson, but he has been trying very hard lately to make you believe your Social Security is in jeopardy. ... Peterson has spent "at least $458 million," from 2007 to 2011, to make sure that you feel that you are about to lose your "entitlements" and that we have to deal with this immediately....

So who is this mystery master of manipulation? Peterson has spent decades on Wall Street, amassing a net worth of nearly three billion dollars. He has spent some time in politics, serving under President Nixon as Secretary of Commerce. He also co-founded infamous private equity juggernaut Blackstone Group. Sounds like your typical fat cat, right?

Not exactly. While most of Peterson's cronies make no bones about their right-wing politics, Peterson really wants you to think of him as nonpartisan. Peterson is definitely a conservative, but through his billion-dollar-endowed Peter G. Peterson Foundation, he has made a gargantuan effort to present himself as a friend of both sides of the aisle. Peterson has given grants to conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. But he has also given grants to the likes of the liberal Economic Policy Institute, and Peterson's foundation has brought the likes of Bill Clinton to its fiscal summit. 

By attempting to present himself as nonpartisan, Peterson has been able to set our nation's agenda. Both Democratic and Republican politicians are being told by their sources of information that Social Security needs reform, so Social Security reform has, of course, become a big political issue. Peterson isn't exactly throwing handfuls of money at grantees and yelling, "Tell everyone we have to reform Social Security!" But he is making his priorities our priorities.  

Many Field Offices Closed Indefinitely

     From a Social Security Administration website:

The following offices will open at 10 am ET today, November 2, 2012:
New Jersey
Somerville
New York
Freeport
Mineola
Patchogue
Riverhead
West Babylon
Melville

The following office is closing at 10 am ET  today, November 2, 2012:
New Jersey
Toms River

The following Social Security Offices are closed today, November 2, 2012:

New Jersey
Bricktown
Hackensack
Hoboken
Jersey City
Neptune
New Brunswick
Parsippany

New York
Hunts Point
Hylan Boulevard
Laconia Avenue

Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg
Fairless Hills

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The following Social Security Offices are closed indefinitely:

New York
Astoria	Long Island City
Avenue X	Manhattan Card Center
Bedford Heights	Melville
Boro Hall	Midtown
Bronx Card Center	Mineola
Bronx Hub	New Utrecht
Brooklyn Card Center	North Bronx
Bushwick	Patchogue
Canarsie	Queens Card Center
Cypress Hills	Rego Park
Downtown	Riverhead
Dunkirk	South Bronx
East Bronx	Staten Island
East Harlem	Uptown
East Village	Washington Heights
Flatbush	West Babylon
Flushing	West Farms
Freeport	West Seneca
Grand Central	White Plains
Jamaica	Williamsburg

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The following Social Security Office is closed until further notice:
Massachusetts
Roxbury

      Is there damage to the offices that are closed indefinitely? If so, this is a serious situation. I hope it's just lack of power. I've been through a long power outage. It's tough but flooded offices are much worse. Good luck to all involved in straightening out this situation.

     Update: The lists above are confused. All the New York offices listed as reopening today are also on the "closed indefinitely" list! The Jamaica office is shown as closed indefinitely but is this just the field office or is the payment center included? An indefinite shutdown at the Jamaica payment center would truly be a disaster for Social Security.

Happy Birthday, SSI!

     This week marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The program was signed into law by President Richard Nixon.

What's An "F" Quarter?

     Ordinarily, Social Security's earnings records display a "C" for a covered quarter, that is, a quarter with sufficient earnings for the claimant to be credited with coverage for that quarter, or an "N" for a quarter where the claimant lacks sufficient earnings to be credited with a quarter of coverage. I've just seen an earnings record with a bunch of quarters labeled "F." No dollar figures for earnings are displayed for these years. There are signs that this earnings record was confusing Social Security employees as well and that the quarters were treated as covered quarters.

     These are recent quarters. The claimant says he had an unremarkable job with a hospital in North Carolina. We don't have any state or local government employees in NC who aren't covered by F.I.C.A.

     Can anyone advise me on what these quarters represent?