Social Security Numbers Must Go?

     From Tech Crunch:

Eyeing more secure alternatives to Social Security numbers, lawmakers in the U.S. are looking abroad. Today [November 8], the Senate Commerce Committee questioned former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Verizon chief privacy officer Karen Zacharia and both the current and former CEOs of Equifax on how to protect consumers against major data breaches. The consensus was that Social Security numbers have got to go. ...

“Some combination of digital multi-factor authentication… is the right path,” former Equifax CEO Richard Smith said when asked about such a program.

Multiple times throughout the hearing, Brazil’s Infraestrutura de Chaves Públicas system of citizen IDs through digital certificates came up as a potential model for the U.S. as it moves forward. In this model, a certificate lasts for three years at maximum and can be used to issue a digital signature much like written signatures are used now. Unlike its counterpart in the U.S., these identity accounts can be revoked and reissued easily through an established national protocol. ...

Last month, White House cybersecurity coordinator Rob Joyce made it clear that the Trump administration is also interested in abandoning Social Security numbers in favor of a more secure, more digital form of identification, stating that the form of ID has “outlived its usefulness.”

ODAR Caseload Analysis Report

     Obtained by the National Organization of Social Security Representatives (NOSSCR) and published in their member newsletter, which isn't available online:

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Online Wage Reporting For SSDI Recipients

     An announcement from the Social Security Administration:

Social Security has expanded its online services to allow people who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and their representative payees to report wages securely online. This service is available through our existing my Social Security portal. ...

This service will be available for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in the future. SSI recipients should continue to report wages through SSI Mobile Wage Reporting, SSI Telephone Wage Reporting, or by visiting a local field office.

Immigrants Less Likely To Receive Social Security Disability

     From a press release:

No matter where they came from, people born outside the United States but working here are much less likely to receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits than those born in the U.S. or its territories. Foreign-born adults, according to a study published in the December issue of the journal Demography, are less likely to report health-related impediments to working, to be covered by work-disability insurance, and to apply for disability benefits.

The researchers used data from the American Community Survey (ACS) to determine the prevalence of work disability and records from the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program to determine the incidence. They found that over the ten-year period from 2001 to 2010, about 6.56 people per thousand born in the U.S. received benefits through the SSDI program.

Foreign-born individuals make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population, and a somewhat larger proportion (16.7 percent) of the U.S. labor force. They are, however, significantly less likely to report work disability and to receive work disability benefits. The researchers found that only 4.16 per thousand foreign-born men and 4.36 per thousand foreign-born women were approved for benefits. ...

     I don't think this means much. Many of the native born Americans who end up receiving Social Security disability benefits have health problems that were coming on for a long time, sometimes since birth. People who emigrate are unlikely to have serious, chronic health problems at the time they emigrate. If they had been sick, they probably would have stayed in their native countries. The addition of healthy productive workers is one of the many ways that America benefits from immigration.

Plan To Go After More Debts

     From a newly added section of Social Security's Program Operations Manual Series (POMS):

A Non-Entitled Debtor (NED) is a person or entity that owes a debt to the Social Security Administration (SSA) but is not entitled to Social Security benefits or Supplemental Security Income payments. Consequently, the NED does not have a Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) or a Supplemental Security Record (SSR) of his or her own....

 In order to take appropriate actions, SSA’s automated debt collection systems have always interfaced with an MBR or SSR [databases of those entitled or potentially entitled to benefits] for the debtor. In cases where the debtor did not have a master beneficiary record, debt collection required manual control and efforts.

The purpose of the NED initiative is to create an automated system for controlling debts (both overpayments and incorrect payments) owed by people who do not have master beneficiary records. Therefore, SSA developed the capability within the Debt Management System (DMS) to identify, record, collect, and otherwise resolve debts owed by NEDs.

The NED database will record Overpayments and other debts in a series of releases to be determined in the future. Ultimately, the plans are to enable SSA to record and control debts owed by all types of NEDs. SSA intends to use all available, authorized debt collection methods to recover the debts ...

Social Security Employee Convicted Of Fraud

     From some radio or television station in Indiana that likes to call itself "ABC57":

A South Bend woman who worked for the Social Security Administration was convicted in federal court of ten counts of making false entries in government records, two counts of conversion of government money, and one count of wire fraud.

Sharon Ramos, 56, was convicted after a four day jury trial.

Between January 2008 and December 2013, Ramos made false and fictitious representations on Supplemental Security Income accounts of numerous claimants. The improper entries resulted in numerous claimants receiving payments they were not entitled to receive, according to the US Attorney's Office. ... 

What About Criminal Charges?

     From a press release:

The United States recovered $200,000 as a settlement of allegations that Stephen G. Ackerman violated the federal False Claims Act by improperly accepting Social Security Disability Income payments and misleading the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) about his work activity, acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer announced.

The Settlement Agreement resolves contentions by the United States that Mr. Ackerman failed to accurately report his work activity to SSA between January 2011 and January 2016.  The United States contends that Mr. Ackerman engaged in substantial gainful activity that made him ineligible to receive his monthly disability income payments through his work on behalf of Organic Alternatives, a marijuana retail business Mr. Ackerman owns and operates.  Because Mr. Ackerman was not truthful to SSA about his work activity, the United States contends that he is liable under the False Claims Act, which allows for civil penalties and treble damages. ...

     Did Mr. Ackerman buy his way out of criminal charges?

Headcount Ticks Up Slightly

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

• September 2017 62,297
• June 2017 61,592
• March 2017 62,183
• December 2016 63,364
• September 2016 64,394 
• December 2015 65,518
• September 2015 65,717
• June 2015 65,666
• March 2015 64,432
• December 2014 65,430
• September 2014 64,684
• June 2014 62,651
• March 2014 60,820
• December 2013 61,957
• September 2013 62,543
• 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