Playing Games With Stats Doesn’t Answer The Phone

      From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

For a “real lesson in torture,” try calling your local Social Security Administration office with a question.

That’s what Marcia Chestnut, a 62-year-old former housekeeper from Philadelphia, sardonically suggests.

In February, Chestnut — who lives with various disabilities — received a notice from the SSA saying her benefits would be cut off by April.

To find out why, Chestnut phoned her local SSA office every weekday for two months. She’d get put on hold for four hours or longer, then the calls would be disconnected.

“Live people don’t answer,” she said. “You’re not getting anybody who’ll talk to you.” …

We spend a lot of time calling Social Security offices on people’s behalf — sometimes 15 times a day,“ [a local advocate] said. ”We’re on hold for hours, then get AI bots spewing random information you never asked for before hanging up. …

Congressional Hearing Scheduled

      From a press release:

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08), Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Ron Estes (KS-04), and Work & Welfare Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (IL-16) announced today that the Subcommittees on Social Security and Work & Welfare will hold a joint hearing to discuss barriers to work and how policymakers can support opportunities for individuals with disabilities to establish, renew, or strengthen their connection to the workforce. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 2:00 PM …

     When they say “support”, they may mean “demand.”  Time limited benefits would be a possibility. That may be the next logical step for Republicans. Further work incentives are pointless. If you demand that they be half dead to get benefits, why are you surprised that they don’t go back to work? 

    Update: This hearing has already been postponed. No new date given. 

Another Data Point Suggesting That The Average Call Wait Time That Social Security Is Giving Out Is Wildly Optimistic

     A Las Vegas television station did its own checking on call wait times at Social Security and concludes that the 18.5 minute call wait time that the Social Security Administration is giving out is "wildly optimistic."

    I think this needs a Office of Inspector General investigation. 

Defining Deviancy Down

      The Washington Post has an article on the emails from Social Security to beneficiaries touting the passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Only at the end does it mention how wildly inappropriate the emails are. Apparently, they regard this as something only of interest to “left-leaning” groups.  It’s much the same with USA Today, CNN and NBC News. Apparently, the New York Times has taken off for the long weekend and hasn’t noticed the emails at all. By Sunday or Monday it may just be old news to them.

Happy Independence Day

 

Outrageous Abuse Of Social Security For Political Purposes

      I have trouble believing it but apparently Social Security sent out this e-mail yesterday to many Social Security benefits recipients. It didn’t go out to all of them. I’m on retirement benefits and I did not receive it. 

     This is wrong. It’s probably illegal. It’s misleading. The “Big Beautiful Bill” contains no provisions touching on the work done by the Social Security Administration.

Happy July 4th!

 

Taking A Hard Line On Ending Paper Checks

      From Emergency Message EM-25040 released yesterday:

… Effective immediately, the agency will comply with the relevant legal authorities in initial claims by removing references to an option to receive a paper check and directing people who insist on a paper check to apply to Treasury for a waiver.

In compliance with the law and enforced by the recently released EO, the following changes supersede current instructions in GN 02402.001and GN 02402.005 and are effective as of the date of this publication.

1. Updates to GN 02402.001

a. Section C bullet 4 is no longer applicable and has been removed. Effective immediately, technicians should no longer offer a temporary paper check option while waiting for Treasury contact regarding enrollment in electronic funds transfer (EFT) .
b. Section C bullet 5 should read:

“As of March 1, 2013, Title II beneficiaries and Title XVI recipients must select a form of electronic payment or if they allege a qualifying exemption, then apply for a waiver. Treasury is responsible for reviewing the request and making a determination. Instruct the individual to contact the U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Solution Center at 1-800-967-5042. Currently, SSA cannot accept a waiver application or approve a waiver request. Treasury will contact the individuals directly once they make a determination.”

c. Additionally, field offices are no longer required to maintain a list of financial institutions in their servicing area. …

      This will be much harder to implement than it sounds.