These Aren't "The Good Old Days" At Social Security

      A former Social Security employee can't believe how bad service is at his old agency these days. By the way, I was around in what he supposes were the "good old day" and service wasn't all that great even then. It's deteriorated tremendously since then and is just unbelievably bad now.

Senators Asking Pointed Questions

       The Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and 16 other Democratic Senators wrote a letter to the Acting Commissioner of Social Security on January 25 asking pointed questions about the state of service to the public at the agency. 

     Now, if these same Senators would just insist on giving the Social Security Administration an adequate appropriation, we just might get somewhere. If they even scheduled a hearing on the issue, it would help. Social Security is only the most important Democratic legislative victory in FOREVER. You'd think Democratic Senators would be extremely protective of the agency that administers this towering achievement.

Public Has Low Opinion Of Social Security Service

      From a press release:

Citizen satisfaction with U.S. federal government services declines sharply in 2021, down 2.6% to 63.4 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI^®) 100-point scale. This is the fourth consecutive annual decline in citizen satisfaction and marks an unprecedented run of negative movement in the index. Significantly, the federal government score is now at its lowest-ever recorded level. The results for this study are based on interviews with citizens who experienced a federal government service throughout 2021. ...

     This is what happens when government operations are starved for operating funds.

Unhappy Employees At Social Security

      From Federal News Network:

... The President’s Management Council, together with the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, released the first data from its Federal Pulse Survey.

The first-round pulse survey, a pilot project which launched in October, went out to the approximately 2 million civilian federal employees who work in the 24 largest agencies. ...

Employees at SSA, followed by the Veterans Affairs Department and USAID, were more likely than employees at other agencies to feel exhausted in the morning at the thought of another day of work.

Employees at DHS and SSA said they were most likely to take another job that offered the same pay and benefits as their current position. ...

Respondents who work at SSA, followed by USAID, gave the lowest marks to the reasonableness of their workloads. ...

The survey data shows employees at the Interior Department, Social Security Administration and the State Department showed the lowest response rate. ...

Final 2021 Trust Fund Numbers

      Social Security has posted final 2021 numbers for the Trust Funds. There are two tables below, the first for combined Old Age, Survivors and Disability Trust Funds (even though these are two separate funds) and then for the Disability Trust Fund alone. As always, click on the image to view full size.

Trajector Lays Off 500 Employees

      I have no idea where this leaves their Social Security operations. This may just affect their VA claims operations. I’m getting the 500 number from anguished tweets from laid off employees.

First I've Heard Of This

      From Market Watch:

Devin Carroll knew that Social Security is the backbone for many Americans’ retirement security, and yet, because it’s wildly complicated to understand, and everyone’s situation is different, people often lose out when they claim these benefits. 

As a result, there was a “tremendous appetite” for information about Social Security, so Carroll, founder of Carroll Advisory Group, created a blog called Social Security Intelligence and, in 2015, began a YouTube channel, though it didn’t get much traction at first. Two years after abandoning the YouTube project, he noticed one of his videos had 40,000 views, so he decided to try it again. His videos and blogs eventually brought in so much traffic—with thousands of hits—that he was bombarded with questions. 

“It got to the point I wasn’t able to help people,” he said. “It would have taken all day and then some to respond to these emails.” Instead, he created a group on Facebook in 2019, where people could ask and answer questions. It is one of many groups dedicated to personal finance. 

The group, called Social Security Intelligence Member’s Group, has 21,300 members, who discuss strategies and scrutinize the extensive rules under the Social Security Administration. Carroll has administrators who run the page, and they provide answers to users’ questions. Other members also join in to give their perspective. “It gives them a community,” Carroll said. “The community is answering. And if someone gives a wrong response, someone calls them out on it.”

Broadcast E-Mail From Acting Commissioner On Reopening

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast

Sent: Friday, January 21, 2022 8:58 AM

Subject: Reentry Update

A Message to All SSA Employees

On Wednesday, I shared that we reached agreement with our three labor unions.  I have additional updates to share about timing.

We are planning reentry and the implementation of new telework schedules for most employees on March 30, 2022.  This date allows us to ensure that the necessary measures are in place to keep you and the public safe, is consistent with our union agreements, and gives us time to provide you with appropriate notice of return.

I appreciate your patience while we continue to work through the reentry process.  In early February, your managers will talk with you about telework eligibility and the days for your position, as well as explain next steps including when and how to request telework.

We anticipate that field offices will restore increased in-person service to the public, without an appointment, in early April.  As we expand the availability of in-person service, we will continue to encourage the public to go online, call us for help if they cannot complete their business online, and schedule appointments in advance.  Customers who walk in without appointments may encounter delays.

We will begin limited in-person hearings in March with our management judges and plan to expand in-person hearings in the spring and early summer based on required notice to affected claimants.

 Please plan according to the dates above.  We will continue to monitor the course of the pandemic, and our reentry plan allows us respond to changing pandemic conditions.

I will continue to share updates as we move forward with our preparations for reentry.

Kilolo Kijakazi 

Acting Commissioner