It's Official

     It's official. The fee cap on the amount that attorneys can charge Social Security claimants is going up to $9,200 on November 30.

Why The Overtime?

     Below is the recently released stat sheet concerning operations at Social Security's Office of Hearings Operations (OHO).

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    Why is OHO getting any overtime? These funds are urgently needed for other parts of the agency. 59,000 hours in April?

The Right Will Spin The Trustees Report As Showing That The Doomsday That They Have Always Predicted For Social Security Is Right Around The Corner But Actually The Report Is Good News This Year

     From a press release:

The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial status of the health of the Social Security Trust Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds are projected to have enough dedicated revenue to pay all scheduled benefits and associated administrative costs until 2035, one year later than projected last year, with 83 percent of benefits payable at that time.

In the 2024 Annual Report to Congress, the Trustees announced:

• The asset reserves of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds declined by $41 billion in 2023 to a total of $2.788 trillion.
• The total annual cost of the program is projected to exceed total annual income in 2024 and remain higher throughout the 75-year projection period. Total cost began to be higher than total income in 2021. Social Security’s cost has exceeded its non-interest income since 2010.
• The year when the combined trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted, if Congress does not act before then, is 2035. At that time, there would be sufficient income coming in to pay 83 percent of scheduled benefits. ...

National Disability Forum On AI Scheduled For May 15

     From Social Security:

Save The Date – National Disability Forum

We will host the next virtual National Disability Forum (NDF) on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The title is “How Artificial Intelligence May Affect the Landscape of Social Security - Part 2.” The event will take place through Microsoft Teams from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.

For more information about the NDF, we encourage you and your clients to visit our What’s New page at www.ssa.gov/news/advocates.html. You and your clients can email questions to OEA.Net.Post@ssa.gov.

94% Satisfaction Rate At Canada's OHO

     The Social Security Tribunal of Canada is something like the Office of Hearings Operations at the U.S. Social Security Administration except that it has a wider jurisdiction, taking in unemployment insurance as well. The folks at the Social Security Tribunal of Canada publish the results of quarterly client satisfaction  surveys. The surveys are taken after a hearing and before a decision. The most recent survey showed a 94% satisfaction rate.

    I wonder what that number would be in the U.S.

Critter Control Did Their Job

     On May 8 Social Security plans to reopen that Cleveland field office which had recently closed due to raccoons in the attic. I guess they're gone or nearly gone.

Social Security Fraud Leads To Lengthy Jail Terms

     From a press release:

Two Raleigh, North Carolina men, Joseph Kingsley Irona and Mamady Fadima Conde, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Both men previously pled guilty to the charge. Irona was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Conde was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release. ...

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Irona and Conde were involved in a highly complex network of bank accounts at multiple financial institutions. This network was used for laundering over $1 million criminal proceeds derived from various fraud schemes, particularly identity theft. One particularly intricate scheme involved the misuse of stolen victim identifiers to submit online applications for Social Security retirement benefits in victims’ names. After the applications were approved, the resulting payments were unlawfully deposited into accounts within the money laundering network, including accounts held by Irona and Conde. After receiving criminal proceeds, Irona and Conde took elaborate steps to dissipate the funds and obscure their source and destination. ...

Tiny Feet Scurrying Around Over Your Head

     From a Cleveland television station:

The Social Security office in Middleburg Heights, on Pearl Rd., is temporarily closed due to a raccoon infestation.

People trying to take care of business Wednesday at the office found locked doors and signs stating the closure. ...

Michael Murphy, President of Local 3448 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said problems with raccoons inside the office have been building.

“These employees were reporting concerns of noises above the ceiling as far back as January,” Murphy said. “The staff said five raccoons were removed from the building as of yesterday.” ...

    I've had racoons in my attic. Getting rid of them is expensive. Keeping them from coming back may be even more expensive.