Full Retirement Age Increasing

     From U.S. News and World Report:

Most baby boomers can receive the full amount of Social Security they have earned at age 66. However, retirees who will turn 62 in 2017 need to wait an extra two months to collect their full Social Security payments. Starting this year the retirement age begins a gradual increase toward age 67. Here's how the older retirement age will impact how much you receive from Social Security.

A longer wait to claim full payments. The Social Security full retirement age is 66 for people born between 1943 and 1954. For those born during the five years after that, the full retirement age will gradually increase in two-month increments from 66 and 2 months for people born in 1955 to 66 and 10 months for those born in 1959. The full retirement age is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. ...

Student Loan Debt Out Of Control

     The New York Times has an editorial today on the rapidly increasing problem of student loan debt among the elderly. The editorial urges an end to seizing Social Security benefits to pay off private lenders.

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We're Cheapskates

From the International Social Security Association

    Public spending on incapacity (sickness, disability and occupational injury). Click on image to view full size. Note how low the United States is in comparison to other countries.

Meet Nancy Berryhill

     Nancy Berryhill, Social Security's new Acting Commissioner, has written a piece for the agency's blog, giving some of her background story.

Long Lines In Corpus Christi

     From KRIS-TV:

People at the Social Security office are upset with long wait times. 

"I am more than frustrated, and I am not going to use any bad language. but I am more than frustrated," 

Aaron Simons just described how people felt when they visited Corpus Christi's only Social Security office. 

 "I think it's nonsense that I have to wait this long. I think it's not organized properly," said Simons.  

People aren't just waiting inside the office. Many of these people lined up outside hours before doors opened at eight this morning. 

"I've been here since 7 o'clock this morning. Still waiting still waiting, I'm tired of waiting, but I have to wait because I need that paperwork for my wife," said Simons. 

Dozen's of people decided to leave after waiting for hours. ...

According to the social security office, before this month people waited for an average of 32 minutes in line.  So, what happened? That's what KRIS 6  asked a spokesperson for the social security office. We're told, the office sees increased traffic at the beginning of every year. Lots of people go to the office to get their social security cards before they fill out their taxes.  ...

Benefits Card Problems

     From KING-TV:

Washingtonians who are among the roughly 5 million Americans relying on a special debit card offered by the federal government for Social Security recently had trouble accessing their cash.

Direct Express promises safety and convenience. However, multiple users complained they couldn't find an ATM in Western Washington that would accept the card without a $3 penalty.

"To direct deposit, you need to have a bank account for the money to come into the bank, which I didn't have. So, it really was my only choice," said Larry Woods, a recipient of Social Security, explaining why he chose Direct Express.
The trouble started when Woods visited his nearest ATM and was blocked from obtaining cash without paying a surcharge.

Woods lives on just over $800 a month. So for him, $3 makes a big difference. As he put it, "It's lunch." ...

Technically, Woods shouldn't have to pay. On the website, Direct Express claims to have an extended network of surcharge-free ATMs.

However, when KING 5 accessed the website,  most of the links weren't working or identified zero participating ATMs west of the Rockies.

While Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service regulates the program, it's facilitated through a contract with Comerica. A Comerica spokesperson said the Direct Express website was experiencing temporary technical issues. ...

After roughly two weeks, the website ATM search tool was functioning again.
Direct Express Card Holders can visit BECU branch ATM's without a penalty, according to other area banks. ...

For Most People Disability Isn't Something That Happens All At Once

     Jackson Costa has done a study, published in the Social Security Bulletin, on the decline in earnings prior to claims for Disability Insurance Benefits. Below is a chart from the study.

     The study demonstrates something that's obvious at ground level -- for most disabled people, disability isn't something that happens all at once. It comes on over the course of years. 

     This is important because those in Congress and the higher reaches of Social Security tend to visualize disability as mostly associated with trauma but that's wrong. Trauma is actually a relatively minor source of disability. It's illnesses that accumulate and worsen over time. Often it's more than one thing that disables a person. People try hard to fight off disability. Often they wait a considerable period of time after stopping work altogether before filing a claim. People don't like to have to concede that they're disabled.