Social Security Agreement With Hungary

     The United States and Hungary have signed a social security agreement. Such agreements help prevent double taxation of wages and help those who move between the two countries.

Social Security Advocates For The Disabled Sold

     From a press release:

J. Scott Penny, Chief Acquisitions Officer of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO), and Ann Marie Beaudoin and Victor Arruda, the founders of Social Security Advocates for the Disabled, LLC ("SSAD"), announced that The Advocator Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, Inc., has acquired substantially all of the equity interests of SSAD.

Since its founding in 1994, SSAD has provided Social Security disability insurance ("SSDI") advocacy services to individual clients on behalf of long-term disability insurance carriers. SSAD has annual net revenues in 2015 of approximately $10.0 million. ...

Two Senators Want Social Security Disability "Reforms"

     Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have written a letter to Senator Orrin Hatch, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee urging further "reforms" to Social Security disability. Apparently, the Senators are urging passage of an amendment sponsored by Lankford that would require, in his words:

• Updating the Social Security Administration (SSA) medical and vocational guidelines for eligibility, which hasn’t been updated since 1978
• Making sure that claimants who are assumed to be able to work (i.e., eligible for Unemployment Insurance) don’t get trapped in a benefits system that discourages work
• Streamlining the process to eliminate unnecessary steps for claimants for reconsideration
• Tightening rules and requirements, and reducing fees to keep Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), claimant representatives, medical experts, and SSA accountable.
• Strengthening SSA and Congressional oversight of SSA and ALJs
• Creating a separate budget account for SSA’s program integrity work, to ensure benefit processing is accurate and efficient
• Making available information to Disability Determination Services and ALJs about medical improvement, and,
• Ensuring that claimants whose records are not fully-developed have their cases thoroughly reviewed.

Claims Rep Gets White House Recognition

     From Social Security Matters, the agency's blog:

The White House announced winners of the first ever President’s Award for Customer Service, and we’re proud to share that one of our employees received this honor among four other government awardees.

Shawn Lynch, a claims representative from the Dothan, Alabama, field office, was recognized for her superior customer service. Among her many contributions, Shawn led efforts to reduce appointment wait times and increase the number of my Social Security registrations within her office. She also took the initiative to reach out to applicants before their appointments, giving them the opportunity to have their disability claims taken early. Shawn educated claimants on the Self Help PC as well. Furthermore, she showed her commitment to service by taking part in community outreach.

Problems Yesterday With Social Security's Online Systems -- Today?

     My firm experienced serious problems accessing Social Security online yesterday. We heard from others who were having the same problem. Social Security sent out a broadcast e-mail about the service outage so I know the problem was national. It turns out that it wasn't just the public than was having problems with Social Security's online systems. Social Security's employees were also having problems with their data systems.

     I haven't tried to access Social Security online yet today. Anyone know what's going on now?

     Update 11:10 am EST: I've tried to get in. I can check on case status but I can't access the electronic folder. It's the same as late yesterday afternoon. It would be nice if you sent out a broadcast e-mail, Social Security.

Appeals Council Won't Return Evidence -- But They Won't Consider It

     From today's Federal Register:

This final rule revises our rules regarding returning evidence at the Appeals Council (AC) level. Under this final rule, the AC will no longer return additional evidence it receives when the AC determines the additional evidence does not relate to the period on or before the date of the administrative law judge (ALJ) decision.

Interesting Statements At Confirmation Hearing

     From the statement of Orrin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, at today's hearing on the nomination of Andrew Lamont Eanes to become Deputy Commissioner of Social Security:

... Today we will also consider the nomination of Andrew LaMont Eanes to be the Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration . Currently, Mr. Eanes serves as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Acting Commissioner and has a vast background in management, technology, and a demonstrated history of simply getting things done. We can always use more of that in our government. ...

 Even with these fiscal challenges [of the Social Security trust funds], operationally speaking, the Social Security Administration, or SSA, has fared better than most agencies in terms of budget allocations. Of course, we generally don’t hear that from them. Instead, we tend hear persistent claims from many SSA officials that any and all problems at the agency are caused by Congress’s supposed refusal to provide adequate funding. 

Fortunately, however, there are also those at SSA who work hard, day in and day out, to ensure that taxpayer funds are used as efficiently as possible for the sake of beneficiaries. And, everything that I’ve see n thus far indicates that Mr. Eanes is one of these diligent officials working to protect taxpayer resources and to make sure the benefit programs can be run as efficiently and effectively as possible. 

That is precisely what hardworking taxpayers and beneficiaries of these important programs deserve. ...

     Senator Hatch, it's just a fact that because of inadequate administrative appropriations the Social Security Administration was forced to reduce its workforce dramatically at a time when its workload was increasing dramatically because of the aging of the baby boom generation.

     From the statement of Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Committee: 

Some have raised questions about this nomination because Mr. Eanes background is not in social insurance or public management. But sometimes, a fresh perspective may be valuable in helping tackle challenges in federal agencies. Mr. Eanes brings significant management and technology expertise from his time in the private sector, which could be highly beneficial to Social Security in delivering the best possible customer service.

Finally, I want to remind the committee that Social Security has not had a confirmed commissioner in place since February 2013. This committee should consider whether or not it is wise to confirm a deputy before a commissioner is confirmed. SSA runs best when its uppermost leadership positions are filled by strong leaders who’ve been approved by the Senate, but legitimate questions have been raised about the best way to proceed.

So I look forward to discussing that issue with my colleagues, and my hope is the administration puts forward a nominee to be commissioner for the committee to process as soon as possible.

NCSSMA Newsletter

     The National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA), an organization of Social Security management personnel, has issued its January 2016 newsletter, which they now characterize as a blog.