Alarming Decline In SSI Claims

      From National Public Radio:

... During the pandemic, the number of monthly SSI applications and new benefit awardees has declined sharply. New data show that the number of new SSI awards given in January was the lowest on record — but it wasn't because there were fewer people in need of the benefits. ...

"The agency has a crisis on its hands," said David Weaver, who is now retired but worked for the SSA for over 20 years. Most recently, he led the SSA's Office of Research, Demonstration and Employment Support, which conducts research on the SSI program.

"The people who are missing out are among the most vulnerable," said Jonathan Stein, an advocate for those in poverty and, formerly, a legal aid lawyer at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, which helps individuals apply for SSI benefits. "They are at enormous risk of eviction, utilities being shut off, homelessness, being deprived of food and necessities of life." ...

In 2019, 43 million people across the country visited an SSA field office. That's where many people found out about the SSI program and got help applying.

"Those were very busy places. Sometimes it would be hard to find a parking spot in the lot," said James Winston, a lawyer in western Massachusetts, who helps people who have been denied disability benefits appeal the decision. "You would go in there, and it would be packed." ...

Kathleen Romig, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, says the explanation for the sharp decline is simply and solely the closed field offices. She says a lot of people used to go there and get help with their SSI applications.

"It's much more complicated to apply for a disability benefit than it is to apply for retirement or survivor's benefit," said Romig.

She points out that, unlike SSI benefits, applications for retirement benefits – which can be done online – have not seen a major drop during the pandemic. ...

In a statement to NPR, SSA spokesperson Mark Hinkle said, "We know vulnerable populations, especially the SSI population, rely on in-person service. We stepped up our outreach with advocates and third-party organizations to get their perspective about how things are going and to ask them for ideas on how we could improve our service during the pandemic."

He said the SSA is developing a training so caseworkers in the community can help with applications. The agency is also in the process of producing radio, TV and social media ads to raise awareness. ...

Social Security's Role In Desegregating Hospitals

      Andrew Saul has issued a new blog post claiming credit for the Social Security Administration for the desegregation of hospitals in the 1960s. It will surprise many that there is truth in this. The Social Security Administration was initially responsible for implementing Medicare, which came into effect during the 1960s. From the beginning, Medicare forbade discrimination in hospital care. Enforcing that ban on discrimination was part of SSA's responsibility.

     One interesting aspect of this blog post is that it labels Andrew Saul as Commissioner of Social Security. Which is it, "Commissioner" or "Acting Commissioner"? I've yet to see anything other than the White House list that designates Saul as "Acting Commissioner." Why is Social Security refusing to answer questions on this subject? This is a federal government agency. Don't taxpayers deserve to know the answer to the question? Why the game playing?

Social Security’s Ombudsman At Work

     Social Security's inability to translate Japanese marriage certificate delays widow's benefits nearly a year. Want to guess how she finally got action at Social Security?

Changes To Social Security Statement

     Got this in an e-mail:

Dear Colleague,

The Social Security Statement is one of our most valuable tools a person can use to learn about their earnings and future Social Security benefits. A convenient way to access the Statement is by using my Social Security, where you can find a variety of useful tools and information, including our new fact sheets.

We have added new fact sheets to accompany the online Statement. The fact sheets are designed to provide clarity and useful information, based on your age group and earnings situation. They can help you better understand Social Security programs and benefits.

The fact sheets cover:

• Retirement planning for four different age groups (Ages 18-48, 49-60, 61-69 and 70+).
• Benefit information for:
• Workers with non-covered earnings who may be subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision/Government Pension Offset;
• Workers who are not fully insured;
• Workers with an intermittent work history; and
• New workers.
• Medicare planning.

The fact sheets help educate workers about Social Security so they can make informed decisions based on their specific situation.

You can find all of the new fact sheets at www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html.

I encourage you to share this information with your members, colleagues, affiliates, and other interested parties.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Buckner
Associate Commissioner

Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Not A Good Sign For Andrew Saul

      This is from a press release issued by Senator Sherrod Brown, the new Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Social Security.

It's Not Complicated: A Smaller Operating Budget For Social Security = Fewer Employees = Poorer Service

      From Tom Margenau's column:

... When I started working for the SSA in the early 1970s, I was one of about 82,000 relatively happy and proud employees working for one of the best-run agencies in all of government. The SSA consistently won awards for public service and administrative responsibility....

Local Social Security offices were well-run, clean and efficient. I worked in several of those offices in small towns and medium-sized cities across the country. They were pleasant places to work and pleasant places to visit. ...

Unfortunately, now it's a different world and a different SSA. Those 82,000 employees I worked with in the '70s and '80s have been trimmed down to about 60,000. ...

With reduced staff and resources, it's all about numbers, efficiency and time management. Walking in off the street to visit a pleasant local Social Security office to ask some questions and possibly file for benefits while having a little chat with a happy employee is a pipe dream. Today, you must call the SSA's toll-free number and wait on hold for a long time (some readers have told me an hour or more) to make an appointment. And then you will probably wait weeks, or even a month or more, for that appointment. Then, when you finally get to the office, it's "take a number, and sit down, and wait until you are called." And sadly, the SSA rep you finally get to talk to has not had the training I had and does not have the time that I had and probably does not have the esprit de corps that I had. ...

Even The Simple Things Are Difficult Now

      Even the seemingly simple things have become so difficult at Social Security. God help you if you need to get the agency to recognize a name change during the pandemic. 

     There will be so much to unwind once field offices reopen.

An Amazing Account

      This woman's account of how she tracked down her husband's claim for spousal benefits and got it back on track is amazing. What's amazing is that she was able to get Social Security to answer her phone calls. That's really difficult. Social Security's payment centers are almost incommunicado. Mostly, you can't even leave a message.