Jennifer Cronenberg, Senior Counsel, Director of Legal Information

Here at NOSSCR we are hard at work serving as your advocates with the Commissioner, the agency generally, and on Capitol Hill. This past week, NOSSCR was proud to represent you during hearings before Senate and House subcommittees where we heard directly from Commissioner O’Malley about the state of the agency, its need for vital funding, and his immediate plans to improve and revitalize the agency.

In preparation for these hearings, NOSSCR had many crucial conversations with Senators, Congressional representatives, and the Commissioner. These ongoing conversations ensure that the voices of the representative community are heard and that we are included as respected partners in the conversation about the agency’s direction.

Here are our key takeaways from those hearings:

• Wide Support for Representative Efficiency
  • The Commissioner acknowledged the importance of representative efficiency and committed to “one call—all questions answered.” For far too long, SSA’s telephone representatives have routinely refused to answer questions about more than one claim during a single phone call. After months of raising this issue with Congress and the agency, we have received assurances from Commissioner O’Malley that this is not SSA’s policy. Rather, agency telephone staff have been reminded that their goal is “to accurately, uniformly, and efficiently handle calls to completion.” (Should you receive pushback on this from your local offices, please report it directly to NOSSCR so that we can ensure the agency takes action).
  • We also saw open congressional support for a NOSSCR/SSA project to share more of SSA’s data with representatives to allow for calls, communications, and cost savings.

• Commitment to Modernization
  • When questioned about the outdated Dictionary of Occupational Titles, O’Malley acknowledged that the agency “should, at the very least, start removing these obsolete jobs.”
  • Regarding the agency’s acceptance of electronic signatures, the Commissioner noted that they have made substantial progress and “more is imminent.” We expect more exciting updates on this soon and will keep you posted as things progress.

• Overpayment Policy Changes
  • As of March 25, 2024, instead of withholding 100% of a Social Security disability benefit to recover an overpayment, the default recovery rate is now 10% of the monthly benefit.
    • Social Security’s notices will not reflect this change in policy until April 15^th, so for now, please inform your clients that they must call SSA to request a manual adjustment to this lower rate.
    • Even after the notices are changed in mid-April, SSA is reporting that their systems may still automatically withhold 100% for a few months until everything is updated, so it is crucial that you advise your clients to call SSA to receive this adjustment.
  • SSA will start from a neutral position as to fault so that the burden of proof shifts away from the claimant in determining whether there is any evidence that the claimant was at fault in causing the overpayment.
  • For beneficiaries who request to repay their overpayments on a payment plan, SSA will now allow for the approval of a repayment plan of up to 60 months (up from the prior 36 months).
  • The agency will make it easier for beneficiaries to request a waiver.
  • Read more about the agency’s overpayment policy changes here.

• Return to Work
  • There was Congressional encouragement to better utilize the Ticket to Work program.
    • The Commissioner agreed that SSA needs to improve their promotion of the program, educate frontline SSA staff, and make changes necessary so Employment Networks (EN) can submit information on behalf of claimants.
    • SSA will also consider more staffing to improve the return-to-work processes.

You can read the Commissioner’s written testimony below: