New Staff Instructions On Same Sex Marriages -- Not Much Decided

     Social Security has issued new staff instructions dealing with situations where a claimant has married a person of the same sex in a foreign country where such marriages are legal but is now living in one of the United States that refuses to recognize such marriages. Social Security's position is that it will not recognize such marriages, that it must go by the law of the state in which the claimant is domiciled. However, Social Security is not ready to announce what it will do in the vastly more common case of a person who enters into a same sex marriage within the United States in one of the states where such marriages are legal but who then moves to another state which refuses to recognize same sex marriages. Social Security is still holding such claims waiting for the Department of Justice to tell them what to do.

     I'm starting to wonder whether the Department of Justice is waiting for one of the Courts of Appeals to rule that state laws forbidding recognition of same sex marriages contracted in other states are unconstitutional. Maybe, Justice expects Social Security to just hold these claims for the next year and a half until the Supreme Court considers the issue.

Senate Finance Committee Schedules Hearing

     The United States Senate Committee on Finance, Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 10:00 on The Role of Social Security, Defined Benefits, and Private Retirement Accounts in the Face of the Retirement Crisis.

U.S. Social Security Benefits Are Low By World Standards

New Social Security Agreement With Switzerland

     The President has notified the Congress of a new Social Security agreement between the United States and Switzerland. This replaces an agreement between the two countries signed in 1988. Agreements such as these generally provide for administrative cooperation between the two countries and totalization of wage credits for situations where a person can qualify for benefits only by combining wages earned in both countries. The agreements also prevent situations in which wages might be subjected to Social Security taxes in both countries. 

     Few people will be affected by this agreement but those few will be affected in major ways. All told, Social Security's international operations affect millions of people.

Services To Be Curtailed

     From the Southtown Star:

In a move that one congressional staff member calls “absolutely devastating” to senior citizens and the poor, the Social Security Administration is planning to eliminate some walk-in office services.

In a letter sent to employee union officials this month, the SSA announced that as of April 1, it will no longer provide benefit verification letters to citizens at its local offices or Social Security number print-outs, which can be used as temporary identification while people wait to replace a lost or misplaced Social Security card.

We Don't Need Social Security One Bit -- People Can Just Plan Their Own Retirements

     From the summary of a study on financial advisors:

46% of financial advisers do not have a retirement plan for themselves, yet 40% are planning to retire within the next 14 years.

Senate Finance Committee Hearing

     The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on December 18 on The Role of Social Security, Defined Benefits, and Private Retirement Accounts in the Face of the Retirement Crisis.

Congressional Hearing Postponed

     The hearing that had been scheduled for yesterdays before the House Social Security Subcommittee on identity theft and improper payments was postponed at the last minute. No new date has been announced.