Social Security's "Awful Inequities"

    Laurence Kotlikoff has a list of what he calls "awful inequities"in Social Security that outrage him. And he doesn't even mention the cap on the F.I.C.A. tax! How many do you agree with? I'd note that most of the "inequities" he talks about would end if dependent and survivor benefits were stopped. Do you think that would be a good idea? A politically plausible idea?

SSA Seeks Fitness Center Audio And Aerobics Systems

     Social Security is seeking to buy a "Complete Commercial Grade Group Exercise Aerobics System and a Complete Commercial Grade Fitness Center Audio Systems for the Wabash Fitness Center."

More Layoffs At Allsup

Allsup President and CEO Jim Allsup

     Allsup is having problems. Allsup, based near St. Louis, is a major non-attorney entity representing Social Security claimants. It started out representing disability claimants on behalf of insurance companies whose long tern disability (LTD) policies had an offset for Social Security disability benefits. In more recent years, Allsup has been trying to attract Social Security disability claimants one by one for representation. Allsup laid off 65 employees last August. In January of this year, they reduced the number of hours some of its employees work.The company has now laid off another 90 of its 600 employees.

New Process For Evaluating Trusts As SSI Resources

     Social Security has issued a new Emergency Message (EM) on the evaluation of trusts as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) resources. At least in some regions -- the EM seems unclear on this important point --  these reviews will be done on a regional basis. Few SSI recipients are the beneficiaries of trusts but those few cases can be difficult for the agency to evaluate. If certain narrow conditions are met, a trust is not considered a resource. Reviewing these cases on a regional basis allows for the development of a staff with greater expertise. It has been unrealistic to expect field office employees to evaluate the complicated legal questions that trusts can present.

     By the way, Social Security's Emergency Messages generally don't address real emergencies. They just announce new policies and procedures to Social Security's field office employees.

An Alternative To Using A Freezer

     From Texas News:

Police have identified mummified remains of a man found in a Lexington storage unit and the man's daughter has been charged with stealing his Social Security checks.

Now, federal authorities are searching for the indicted woman's mother, who was last seen in March.

Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn told the Lexington Herald-Leader that the remains found in the Econo-Self Storage unit in January are those of Luther Broughton. His daughter, Judith Maria Broughton, stands accused in Texas of stealing more than $150,000 of her father's Social Security retirement benefits.

     Concealing the death of a relative in order to continue receiving their Social Security benefits isn't common. I'm sure it happens in less than one in a million deaths but there are enough people dying that there are regular reports of this sort of thing. Bodies in the freezer, bodies buried in the back yard, bodies that are never found -- all of these happen. I don't recall one in a storage unit before but I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened before.

Things Keep Looking Better For The Disability Trust Fund

     The numbers are in to show how Social Security's Disability Insurance Trust Fund did during the first quarter of calendar year 2014. The Fund's balance declined from $90.445 billion to $84.057 billion during that time period, a reduction of $6.388 billion. That looks bad, like the Disability Trust Fund is rapidly heading towards zero. The Disability Trust Fund may become exhausted without some change but things are actually improving. The reduction in the first quarter of calendar year 2013 was $7.944 billion. Last year's intermediate projection of Social Security's Chief Actuary was that the rate of reduction in the Disability Trust Fund would be almost exactly the same in calendar year 2014 as in calendar year 2013. That meats that so far this year the Disability Trust Fund is doing significantly better than was expected. This is on top of the fact that the Disability Trust Fund also did better for the full calendar year of 2013 than was projected.

     Yes, the Disability Trust Fund is still heading towards exhaustion but more slowly than was forecast last year. Last year, the Chief Actuary projected that the Disability Trust Fund would be exhausted in late 2016. With each passing month it becomes clearer that the Disability Trust Fund won't be exhausted until at least 2017. If you don't think there's a huge difference between 2016 and 2017, you don't follow politics. Also, it's looking clearer that any shortfall in the Disability Trust Fund will be a short term matter that can be easily bridged by a reallocation of FICA revenues or by allowing interfund borrowing. These have both been done in the past. It's getting harder each month to argue that dramatic changes are needed in Social Security disability benefits.

Headcount Continues To Decline

     The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has posted updated figures for the number of employees at the Social Security Administration.

• December 2013 61,957
• September 2013 62,543
• June 2013 62,877
• March 2013 63,777
• December 2012 64,538
• September 2012 65,113
• September 2011 67,136
• December 2010 70,270
• 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

Happy Easter!