Disability Claims Decrease

     From the New York Times:

The number of Americans seeking Social Security disability benefits is plunging, a startling reversal of a decades-old trend that threatened the program’s solvency. It is the latest evidence of a stronger economy pulling people back into the job market or preventing workers from being sidelined in the first place.

The drop is so significant that the agency has revised its estimates of how long the program will continue to be financially secure. This month, the government announced that the program would not run out of money until 2032, four years later than its previous estimate last year. Two years ago, the government had warned that the funds might be depleted by 2023.

In addition to stronger economic growth, the drop reflects newly tightened standards for eligibility and the increasing number of baby boomers who are leaving the program because they have become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare. ...

Social Security Bill To Be Marked Up Tomorrow

     The House Ways and Means Committee will be marking up a very minor Social Security bill tomorrow having to do with the coverage of Indian Tribal Council members.

Facebook Use Of Social Security Numbers Draws Concern

     From CT News Junkie (whatever that is):

New rules that Facebook has adopted regarding political ad buys have raised concerns within the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee where John Larson is the ranking Democrat.

The panel has sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressing reservations that the social media company plans to collect the last four digits of Social Security numbers of those purchasing political ads on its web platform.

“Given the bipartisan concerns about the problem of identity theft, including the risk associated with SSNs being stolen, it is important for us to understand how these numbers will be used and how they will be protected,” wrote Larson and Texas Republican Sam Johnson, who chairs the panel. ...

Onlike AC Appeals

     An announcement from the Social Security Administration:

We are pleased to announce a new online process for filing a Request for Review of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing decision or dismissal (i520). 

The new online i520 process accepts both medical (disability) and non-medical (non-disability) appeals of an ALJ hearing decision or dismissal. 

There are many benefits to using the new i520. 

• Requests for review at the Appeals Council can be filed online. 
• The online appeals application is simple, convenient, and secure; it guides claimants and their appointed representatives through every step of the process, including uploading any necessary documentation. 
•  The HA-520 and documents are automatically routed to the correct branch in the Office of Appellate Operations, which improves the appeals process. 

 While the preferred method for filing a Request for Review is the new online i520 process, we will continue to accept requests by mail or fax. Please be sure not to submit multiple review requests by filing online and also by mail or fax, as it could delay processing. Additionally, please note that this new online process cannot be used to request an extension of time to file a civil action, Federal court review, or an ALJ decision in a case remanded by a Federal court. 

We encourage you to share this information with your colleagues.

Why Does It Take So Long To Get A Hearing?

     Senator Cory Booker wants to know why it takes so long to get a Social Security hearing. When I started practicing Social Security law in 1979 it took about three months to get a hearing. It's now taking about a year and a half for my clients. It's over a year almost everywhere and around two years in some places. Why? The answer I give my clients is that Social Security isn't given enough money to hire the personnel it would take to do it faster. There are things Social Security could do even with its current staffing such as taking its foot off the the brake pedal on senior attorney decisions but anything that would be perceived as helping claimants is out on the question in the current political environment.

Who Knew? Limit On Social Security Card Replacement

     I've still got the yellowed Social Security card I got when my mother took me to the local Social Security office at age 16 to get a Social Security number. In those days you didn't get a Social Security number or card at birth; only when you needed to get one to take a job.  It's a good thing I've not been in the habit of losing my Social Security card because Forbes reports that there's a cap on the number of times you can get a new card without jumping through a lot of hoops.

SSA Implements Trump Ordered Attacks On Unions

     From Joe Davidson at the Washington Post:

Enforcing President Trump’s crusade against federal labor organizations, his lieutenants at two large agencies have opened new fronts against government unions. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) wants to evict all union offices from agency facilities, while the Social Security Administration (SSA) plans to “revise” 21 points in its union contract. ... 

Referring to executive orders issued by Trump, a June 5 letter from Social Security to AFGE gives “notice of the Agency’s decision to implement all three Orders effective July 9, 2018,” even as it couches the decision as a proposal. 

That letter provides a list of 21 contract items Social Security wants to change, including office space, employee rights, child care, elder care, equal opportunity, leave, training, health, safety, performance, discipline, grievance procedures, promotions — almost anything anyone can imagine. ...

House Committee To Consider Social Security Appropriation

     A subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider a large appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2019 today. That FY begins on October 1, 2018. This bill includes the Social Security Administration's Limitation on Administrative Expenditures (LAE), which is, in effect, the appropriation for Social Security. Here's some highlights of the chairman's "mark" (beginning at page 142). That's the subcommittee's starting point:

• LAE $12,422,045,000
• "$100,000,000 shall remain available through September 24, 2020, for activities to address the disability hearings backlog within the Office of Hearings Operations" but any of this not expended by the end of FY 2019 (September 30, 2019) must be spent on IT and telecommunications. This all comes out of the LAE.
• "[N]ot more than $1,683,000,000 to remain available through March 31, 2020, is for the costs associated with continuing disability reviews ... or the cost of co-operative disability investigation units, and for the cost associated with the prosecution of fraud in the programs and operations of the Social Security Administration by Special Assistant United States Attorneys ..." Again, this comes out of the LAE.

     The LAE proposed is slightly higher than the $12.393 billion proposed by President Trump but still only marginally higher than the figure for the current FY of $12.236 billion. It probably won't be enough to even keep up with inflation. It's less than what Social Security was given in FY 2017, $12.482 billion.