I need to clarify what Social Security is asking for in the Continuing Resolution (CR) that will keep government funded after the end of the fiscal year on September 30. Perhaps I misunderstood or perhaps what I had read earlier was really misleading. (I think the latter.) In any case, Social Security is not asking for an extra $800 million in the CR. They're asking to spend money during the CR as if their regular FY 2022 appropriation had been $800 million higher. Page 23. CRs typically allow agencies to spend money at the same rate as during their last regular appropriation. Social Security wants that baseline to be $800 million higher. For instance, if the CR were for three months, they would get an extra $200 million, not $800 million. Of course, giving Social Security this bump would presumably increase their baseline for FY 2023 appropriations consideration, which is even more important.
Sep 17, 2022
Clarification On CR
Sep 16, 2022
AARP Urges Increase In Social Security's Administrative Budget
From a letter from AARP to Congressional leaders:
AARP has great concerns that SSA will be unable to maintain customer service at current levels, deficient as they are, without funding above the current funding level under a continuing resolution. Hence, we believe the Congress should provide an anomaly for SSA that is no less than the anomaly requested by the Administration, $14.1 billion. AARP does appreciate that the Congress provided some additional funding for SSA for FY 2022, but that amount was $847 million less than the President’s FY 2022 Budget request and was far less than the amounts needed to cover uncontrollable increases in its fixed expenses. The Acting Commissioner correctly predicted on April 28, in the FY 2022 Operating Plan the Congress requested, that the $13.341 billion in funding provided in the FY 2022 omnibus would result in “longer lines and wait times in our field offices, and growing backlogs as we work through increased claims.”
The added burden occasioned by the pandemic did not help matters, but a steady erosion in SSA’s administrative funding over the past decade is the primary reason for the rapid decline in customer service. Between 2010 and 2021, SSA’s operating budget shrank by 14 percent even as the number of beneficiaries grew by 22 percent to more than 70 million Americans. The latest available SSA data shows that disability processing times have skyrocketed to an all-time high of 198 days – nearly three times longer than just a decade earlier. SSA also reports that callers to the national 1-800 number today are waiting about 31 minutes, or about ten times longer than callers waited in FY 2012. And, more importantly, the average disability claimant today will likely wait more than 2 years for a final hearing decision while their health worsens – tragically, more than 10,000 people die every year while waiting for a decision.
Sep 15, 2022
2022 COLA Predicted To Be 8.7%
The best current prediction is that this year's Social Security Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be 8.7%. The official announcement will come on October 13.
Sep 14, 2022
Social Security Seeks $800 Million Bump In CR
The AARP has written a letter to the Acting Commissioner of Social Security asking pointed questions about the sorry state of service that the agency is giving the public. It's reproduced below. However, I'm pretty sure that the letter is more about influencing Congress to appropriate more money for Social Security than it is about pressuring the Acting Commissioner. At about the same time as it released this letter, AARP also sent out a press release quoting a Social Security official on the sorry state of the agency's appropriations which has led to an adequate workforce. The press release calls for additional funding for the Social Security Administration.
A "Dear Colleague" letter directly from Social Security is even more pointed. It says that the agency is seeking an $800 million bump in the Continuing Resolution (CR) bill which must be passed before the end of this month in order to keep the government operating. The $800 million would be to prevent further deterioration in service. That would be extraordinary. I've never seen anything from Social Security like this letter., which was surely cleared by the White House. Here's some language from it:
... Prior to the pandemic, we had approximately 60,000 employees. Now, we have approximately 56,000 employees – a 7 percent drop. As we lose employees, our service deteriorates. This issue is particularly acute in our State disability determination services (DDS), where we decide initial disability claims and reconsiderations, due to historically high attrition as workloads become less reasonable with fewer staff. ...
Claimants are currently waiting an average of six months for a decision on their initial disability claims, which is unacceptable. This is two months longer than they waited in FY 2019. Wait times for our National 800 Number have also increased significantly. Callers are waiting over 30 minutes, on average – more than 10 minutes longer than in FY 2019. ...
As a result of the pandemic, the backlog in initial disability claims is approaching the one-million mark (929,000 as of August 2022, an increase of 189,000 claims from the end of last fiscal year, September 2021). Insufficient funding for staffing and overtime to reduce this backlog would result in increasing wait times. ...
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Sep 13, 2022
Sep 12, 2022
Russia-Ukraine War And Social Security
You might think that the war between Russia and Ukraine would have no effect upon the Social Security Administration but you'd be wrong. The agency has put out an Emergency Message to staff because the war has prevented some immigrants to this country from accessing pensions and resources in Russia. This affects Supplemental Security Income benefits.
Sep 10, 2022
How Much Is Joe Biden Receiving In Social Security Benefits?
We don't have the figure just for the President but Joe and Jill Biden together received $54,665 last year from Social Security or about $4,555 per month.
