Memorial Day

Trying To Stir Up Trouble

Our old friend Andrew Biggs is up to it again. Biggs was put in a research position at Social Security by the Bush White House in order to work on Social Security privatization plans. Biggs campaigned with President Bush for the partial privatization of Social Security while working at Social Security. He later received a recess appointment as Deputy Commissioner of Social Security.

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has now published a study by Biggs claiming that people born in 1947 are the new "Notch Babies." Biggs bases this, somehow, on the facts that there was no cost of living adjustment for this year's Social Security benefits while there was a large COLA the year before. Basically, those retiring a year earlier benefited from the big COLA while those retiring later do not.

The "Notch Baby" reference is an obvious attempt to invoke an earlier, similarly bogus, controversy. Anyone who is trying to be taken seriously would stay miles away from the term "Notch Baby," a fact that Biggs knows well.

It is impossible for the human mind to devise any system that guarantees that there will never be anyone complaining of unfairness, a fact well known to lawyers like myself. Social Security COLAs are designed to be and are a neutral system. Any alternative system would produce its own allegations of unfairness. Certainly, what Biggs would prefer, a privatized system, would produce massive unfairness.

Fortunately, so far, Biggs' study, unlike the "Notch Baby" controversy, appears to have gained no traction.

Social Security Goes With Lexmark

From a press release:

Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE:LXK - News) announced today that it has been awarded a five-year blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for the purchase of monochrome and color laser printers and multifunction products (MFPs) by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The estimated value of the BPA is expected to reach $127 million.

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Tell Your Story

From a press release:

A new effort to gather stories about the importance of Social Security in our society has been launched. The Social Security Stories Project is seeking story submissions from the public, with a goal of receiving 1,000 stories by the end of July. The stories will then be reviewed for possible inclusion in a new book to be published in honor of the 75th anniversary of Social Security on Aug. 14, 2010. ...

“We are hoping the younger generations will interview their parents and grandparents on the subject which is why our website offers interview questions,” says Barbara Burt, executive director for the Frances Perkins Center, a nonprofit organization leading the project as part of its mission to honor and learn from Frances Perkins (the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet). A pioneering woman in and ahead of her time, Perkins was U.S. secretary of labor for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She was champion of the New Deal, close friend and advisor to FDR.

Social Security Wants Employees To Retire

Looks like Social Security is eager for its employees to retire. From an e-mail sent to all Social Security employees:

From: ^Human Resources Internal Communications
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 10:58 AM
Subject: Availability of Early Out Retirement for 2010 -- INFORMATION

To: All SSA Employees

From: Reginald F. Wells
Deputy Commissioner
for Human Resources

Subject: Availability of Early Out Retirement for 2010—INFORMATION

This is to inform you that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is offering early out retirement to all employees except:

All employees in the Office of the Chief Actuary; and All employees in the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

By July 1, 2010, all eligible employees who wish to retire must advise their immediate supervisor of their intent to separate through the early out program and contact their servicing personnel office (SPO) to initiate their retirement processing. All employees must separate by August 31, 2010.

Supervisors should ensure that all employees under their supervision (including those on extended leave) receive this information.

AGE, SERVICE, AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible, employees must have completed 20 years of creditable service and be at least 50 years of age, or have at least 25 years of creditable service at any age. (This must include 5 years of civilian service). Employees must be serving under a non-time-limited appointment and have been continuously on SSA's rolls since November 16, 2009. In addition, employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) must have served in a CSRS position for at least 1 year out of the 2 years immediately before retirement. This last requirement does not apply to employees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). ...

That Predicted Social Security Employee Retirement Wave ...

That predicted wave of Social Security employee retirements? It may not be happening. At least, the predicted retirement wave of federal employees generally is not happening The Federal Times reports that the number of retirements of federal employees dropped last year to its lowest level in seven years.

Has anyone seen any numbers on employee retirements just at Social Security?

ALJ Gender

Someone who says that he or she is a Social Security Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has tried to figure out the gender breakdown of Social Security's ALJ corps based only upon their names. From the ALJ Discussion Forum:

January 2010 Reporting	Total	% of Total
male name	947	71%
female name	312	23%
initials only used	39	3%
unisex (shortened or epicene) name	38	3%
total alj unique names	1,336	100%

I am sure that Social Security knows the exact breakdown but I do not recall it ever being released.