"More SSA Crazy"

     Here's an e-mail I received recently from a member of my staff, labeled "More SSA Crazy.": "Prospect [prospective client] called the DO [District Office] to set up an appt to file a SSI claim. Whoever he talked with denied him an appt to file b/c[because] he did not have a doctor." 

     No, that's definitely not Social Security policy and, yes, that person at the District Office wasn't trained that way.  This isn't at all typical but this sort of off the wall thing does happen. 

     We'll get it sorted out.

Huge Majorities Willing To Raise Taxes To Support Social Security

     From a survey conducted by Greenwald and Associates for the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) in June 2014:

Thousands Die Each Year Waiting For Action On Their Social Security Disability Claims

     For decades there have been newspaper articles on Social Security disability claimants dying while their cases were being adjudicated. We'll soon have a study of these deaths. It's to be released on November 1. However, the abstract is out now. The authors say they identified 24 conditions where claimants are unlikely to survive the adjudication process. However, the big takeaway from the abstract is that they found that 42,000 people died while their disability claims were being adjudicated during the time period 1996 to 2007. That's thousands of deaths a year. Certainly some of these deaths were unavoidable because the claimants lived only a short time after filing their claims but not all. 

Protecting Attorney PII

     Social Security issues new staff instructions to try to better protect personally identifiable information of attorneys representing Social Security claimants.

Will This Help Colvin's Nomination Move Through The Senate?

     Senate Democrats plan to go into a full court press to confirm as many of President Obam's nominees as possible during its lame duck session after the election. This could include Carolyn Colvin, whose nomination for a term as Social Security Commissioner has been favorably reported out of the Senate Finance Committee. There are currently 156 pending nominations and not all will get confirmed during the lame duck session. Colvin's nomination isn't controversial but it's not clear whether that helps or hurts. She'll still be Acting Commissioner even if she's not confirmed.

The Other Cost Of Living Adjustments

     From Social Security's press office:

2015 SOCIAL SECURITY CHANGES

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Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA):
Based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2013 through the third quarter of 2014, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a 1.7 percent COLA for 2015. Other important 2015 Social Security information is as follows:

Tax Rate:	2014	2015
Employee	7.65%	7.65%
Self-Employed	15.30%	15.30%
NOTE:  The 7.65% tax rate is the combined rate for Social Security and Medicare.  The Social Security portion (OASDI) is 6.20% on earnings up to the applicable taxable maximum amount (see below).  The Medicare portion (HI) is 1.45% on all earnings. Also, as of January 2013, individuals with earned income of more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly) pay an additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes. The tax rates shown above do not include the 0.9 percent.
Maximum Taxable Earnings:	2014	2015
Social Security (OASDI only)	$117,000	$118,500
Medicare (HI only)	N o   L i m i t
Quarter of Coverage:	2014	2015
	$1,200	$1,220
Retirement Earnings Test Exempt Amounts:	2014	2015
Under full retirement age NOTE: One dollar in benefits will be withheld for every $2 in earnings above the limit.	$15,480/yr. ($1,290/mo.)	$15,720/yr. ($1,310/mo.)
The year an individual reaches full retirement age NOTE: Applies only to earnings for months prior to attaining full retirement age. One dollar in benefits will be withheld for every $3 in earnings above the limit. There is no limit on earnings beginning the month an individual attains full retirement age.	$41,400/yr. ($3,450/mo.)	$41,880/yr. ($3,490/mo.)
Social Security Disability Thresholds:	2014	2015
Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)      Non-Blind      Blind	$1,070/mo. $1,800/mo.	$1,090/mo. $1,820/mo.
Trial Work Period (TWP)	$770/mo.	$   780/mo.
Maximum Social Security Benefit:	2014	2015
Worker Retiring at Full Retirement Age	$2,642/mo.	$2,663/mo.
SSI Federal Payment Standard:	2014	2015
Individual	$721/mo.	$  733/mo.
Couple	$1,082/mo.	$1,100/mo.
SSI Resources Limits:	2014	2015
Individual	$2,000	$2,000
Couple	$3,000	$3,000
SSI Student Exclusion:

Same Sex Marriage Battle Continues At Social Security

     If you thought that the issue of same sex marriage was decided and that Social Security was recognizing the marriages throughout the country you'd be wrong. The Social Security Administration is refusing to accept same sex marriages until states finish all their last ditch efforts to delay the inevitable.

1.7% COLA

     From a Social Security press release:

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 64 million Americans will increase 1.7 percent in 2015, the Social Security Administration announced today.

The 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 58 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2015.  Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2014. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.