Memorial Day

Reallocation Is The Way To Go

     The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) has issued a news brief discussing the issues concerning the looming shortfall in the Disability Insurance Trust Fund in 2016. The obvious solution is a temporary reallocation of more of the FICA tax to the Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Reallocations have been made -- in both directions -- eleven times in the past. What is unclear is whether Republicans will try to hold Social Security disability hostage this time. If they do hold it hostage, what ransom will they demand?

Anyone Have A Theory About What Happened Here?

     From WLTV:

Gene Mathis 75, said he looks for strength and comfort in a place where many find them, his bible. ...

Mathis, now retired, said he needs the encouragement to face his problems with Social Security, a problem that is two years old. 

"They said I owe them 30-thousand dollars," he said. 

Mathis was born 1938, but his Panama City school records show he was born 1942. Mathis said the discrepancy has created a problem with his social security benefits. 

 "I can't get no understanding from them," he said, "all these years I have been fighting with them." ... 

He said a few years ago Social Security accused of him of being overpaid; now SSA deducts $100 a month from his benefits to reimburse the government. 

"They get it before I get mines," he said. ... 

"I thought in America a birth certificate meant everything," said Mathis. 

"I guess not in my case, I must be related to Obama." 

 Privacy laws prevents social security from discuss the specifics of the problems with Mathis. But they're taking his concerns seriously. 

"We are contacting Mr. Mathis today and will provide assistance," said Patti Patterson.

     I'll take a wild guess at what may have happened. Mr. Mathis may be one of those rare people who were born in the U.S. but whose birth was not recorded at the time they were born. Later, he or his family later got a delayed birth certificate but Social Security decided at some point to ask for his school records to confirm the date of birth shown on the delayed birth certificate. The school records pointed at a later date of birth and Social Security decided to go by the school records.
     It wasn't that rare to see delayed birth certificates thirty years ago but they have to be quite rare these days. It's been decades since I saw one.
     Anybody have a better theory?

A CR's Lament

     An op ed piece in the Hudson, NY Register-Star:

On May 7, 2013 an e-mail with the subject, “A Plea For Help” was sent to the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Ms. Carolyn Colvin by Douglas Ottomanelli, claims representative and union representative for the Hudson, NY field office. This e-mail briefly outlined some of the issues and frustrations facing SSA office workers across the nation.

Over a week has passed and no still no response.

My name is Douglas and I am a claims representative (CR) and the union representative for the Hudson, NY Social Security office.

The reason for my communication today is in part a plea for help. Like most offices throughout the nation we are severely understaffed. As an office we are unable to keep up with the workloads and just last week two more CRs handed in their retirement papers because they were so stressed and frustrated.

We are overwhelmed as an agency. The quality of the work we produce has decreased significantly. The errors have increased and will continue to increase in direct proportion to the increasing workloads and shrinking staff. Most importantly the public is suffering from the lack of a quality product/service and consistency and their frustration level is increasing with each passing day.

As an agency we are so very fortunate to have so many individuals who care about their work, want to do a good, and give excellent customer service. Please help us to help the citizens and residents of this great country we serve.

We need more bodies in the office to take claims, work the window, answer the phones, and work our breakdown. This is a national issue but I will talk about my office because we are a perfect example of some of the challenges facing this agency. As of July first of this year, we will be down to eight people in our office (5 CRs, 1 service representative (SR), 1 supervisor and 1 manager). Twenty-five percent of our staff is management and we are told they cannot answer the phones, work the window, take interviews, or have a breakdown. Twenty-five percent of our staff is not in production putting a tremendous burden on the remaining staff members.

We are constantly receiving e-mails for vacancy announcements for supervisors, managers and district managers, yet we never see a vacancy announcement for CRs or SRs. This is a very sore point with many staff members throughout the agency because we are the face of the agency. We are the people that the public sees and interacts with on a daily basis yet our numbers have been steadily decreasing and our anxiety and stress has been steadily increasing. As a result the public is not seeing the best SSA has to offer and their experience and confidence with the agency is diminishing.

This communication is in part a plea for help. We need more bodies and we need to adjust the system to fit the realities we are now facing.

Please help us help the public we serve.

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Could It Happen Here?

      From the Daily Mail:

A couple have spoken of their disbelief after just one of their disabled identical twin sons, who both have Downs Syndrome, was granted vital disability benefits while the other was refused.

Little Arthur and Alfie, both 10 months old, share the exact same medical conditions and need the same round-the-clock care. But a government ruling has found that only Arthur was entitled to Disability Living Allowance of £76 per week.

Mum Emma Banks-Lowe, 33, said the decision had left her 'gobsmacked' because the boys, born just one minute apart, share exactly the same medical issues and require round-the-clock care.

     With the effort to draw a distinction between mosaic and non-mosaic Down Syndrome in the SSI program here in the U.S., I could see something like this happening here.

I Wish I Could Be Optimistic That This Will Work

Acting Commissioner Colvin is in a green top at the far end on the near side

     From a press release issued by the Senate Appropriations Committee:

Chairwoman Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), joined by Senator Tim Johnson (D. S.D.), Chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, today announced the initial results of a roundtable discussion with senior Administration officials, including Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, Social Security Administration Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin, and Internal Revenue Service Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support Beth Tucker, to seek to finally put an end to the claims backlog that has troubled the Department of Veterans Affairs for years.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Social Security Administration agreed to work together to break down the barriers between the Departments in order to end the gridlock. Specifically, the participants agreed:

1. Each agency will identify a single high level person whose sole focus is fixing problems, and who reports directly to the Secretary or Administrator.

2. Secretaries Hagel and Shinseki agreed to meet every 60 days as we progress toward ending the claims backlog.

3. A method of accountability to the Chairwoman and to the Committee, including a coordinated progress report to the Committee every 60 days.

Boom In Training For Social Security Consulting

     From a press release:

Premier Social Security Consulting, LLC of Cincinnati has experienced explosive growth since implementing its National Social Security Advisors (NSSA) training certification program nationwide in January. ...

The company provides two-day, Social Security advisor training class for CPAs, financial advisors, insurance agents, Enrolled Agents and other professional advisors so they can in turn counsel clients on the best way to access Social Security benefits in order to optimize lifetime income.

The number of Premier's NSSA presentations nationwide have increased rapidly and revenue for individual Social Security consulting, as well as NSSA training courses, is up 325 percent year to date compared to 2012.          

"Other former Social Security administrators are out there, but I believe we are the only one determined to set industry standards for consultation and education," said Premier partner Marc Kiner. ...

The NSSA course is being offered for $295 for training through May. Afterward, the course costs $995 for the two-day session. Both prices include a year of continuing support and monthly webinars with Premier on Social Security issues.

The National Underwriter Company (NUCO) will prepare and administer the NSSA exam. Certification is provided by the National Social Security Association.

     Two days of training? That's about enough time to learn how to be a positive menace to the people you're trying to advise.