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Social Security judges must resolve 500 to 700 disputes per year. A watchdog says that might be too many.

  July 30, 2021 | By Joe Davidson, The Washington Post

Social Security Administration officials contend it’s just an “expectation” that its administrative law judges should decide 500 to 700 cases annually. But the judges say the disciplinary actions lodged against those who fall short indicate “quota” is a more accurate description. A government watchdog report says the productivity rules imposed on the judges, whose job…

The Time Tax

  July 27, 2021 | By Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic

Not long ago, a New York City data analyst who had been laid off shortly after the pandemic hit told me she had filed for unemployment-insurance payments and then spent the next six months calling, emailing, and using social media to try to figure out why the state’s Labor Department would not send her the…

‘I’m going to go broke’: This is how rising inflation feels for an American who’s living on disability insurance

  June 25, 2021 | By Elisabeth Buchwald, MarketWatch

Lately, just about everything is costing Todd Richardson more than it did before the pandemic. He’s paying $2 more per pound of chicken wings, his cable and electricity bills have also gone up by $100 since before the coronavirus pandemic, and he’s anticipating that his landlord will raise his rent from $750 to $1,100. But…

Social Security needs a budget boost post-pandemic to serve the public

  June 24, 2021 | By Mark Miller, Reuters

Our worries about Social Security often focus on the program’s solvency issues, which threaten benefits if left unresolved. But right now, we face a more immediate challenge: how to fund the Social Security Administration (SSA) as it climbs out of the COVID-19 crisis so that it can serve the public efficiently and equitably. Social Security’s…

Social Security Weathered Covid-19 Better Than Expected, but Long-Term Challenges Remain

  June 11, 2021 | By Kate Davidson, The Wall Street Journal

When the coronavirus pandemic plunged the U.S. into a recession last year, it portended another blow to the health of the Social Security system. An anticipated decline in payroll-tax revenue and increase in disability claims were expected to erode the program’s reserves and pile pressure on the government to respond. Instead, the near-term finances of…

“Obsolete jobs” prevent people from receiving disability payments

  June 11, 2021 | By David Hidges, WBTV

A WBTV Investigation into social security shows thousands of people are denied disability claims every year because of jobs that are out-of-date. The Social Security Administration uses a guide called the Dictionary of Occupational Titles that hasn’t been updated since 1991, even as technological advancements have made many of the jobs described in the book…

Social Security Is Rethinking How It Runs Customer Service After Covid

  May 28, 2021 | By Mark Miller, The New York Times

When the pandemic struck last year, the Social Security Administration shut down its national network of more than 1,200 offices as it scrambled to protect the public and its employees from the coronavirus. The agency, which served 43 million visitors in those offices in 2019, was forced to meet immense technological and administrative challenges practically…

The safety net program Congress forgot

  April 23, 2021 | By Rebecca Valla & Matthew Cortland, The Hill

$794 per month. Imagine that as the only income you have to get by on. That’s the harsh economic reality for millions of people with disabilities and seniors who rely on Supplemental Security Income, or SSI — a critical but paltry program administered by the Social Security Administration that’s been left to wither on the…

Justices decisively reject imposing issue exhaustion on Social Security claimants

  April 23, 2021 | By Ronald Mann, SCOTUSblog

The Supreme Court on Thursday firmly rejected the government’s request that the court impose an “issue-exhaustion” requirement on Social Security claimants. In Carr v. Saul (consolidated with Davis v. Saul), all parties agreed that those claimants must take their claims first to the Social Security Administration – and these claimants did that. The question was…

State foster care agencies take millions of dollars owed to children in their care

  April 22, 2021 | By Eli Hager & Joseph Shapiro, NPR News

Tristen Hunter was 16 and preparing to leave foster care in Juneau, Alaska, when a social worker mentioned that the state agency responsible for protecting him had been taking his money for years. Hunter’s mother died when he was little, and his father later went to prison, court records show, leaving him in a foster…

Trump holdovers are denying Social Security benefits to the hardest working Americans

  April 7, 2021 | By Nancy Altman, The Hill

When we talk about infrastructure, we can’t forget about the people who make it happen: Millions of Americans who build skyscrapers, assemble cars, dig mines, and clean hotel rooms. They work in some of the most physically demanding jobs in our country. After decades of backbreaking labor, many of these workers’ bodies break down. They…

Closed Social Security Offices Hinder Applying for Supplemental Security Income

  March 26, 2021 | By Sharon Jayson, AARP

The most important piece of paper taped to the front door of the Social Security Administration (SSA) office in southwest Austin, Texas, has a phone number, a fax number and a web address. Across the country, fax, phone and website have been the only ways that people can initiate contact with the agency since March…

SSA lifts temporary suspension dismissals

  March 19, 2021 | By White Mountain Independent

The Social Security Administration has lifted lifted the temporary suspension of issuing dismissals for untimely filed hearing requests and for failure to appear at a scheduled hearing. That temporary suspension was implemented in October. Effective March 8, absent a showing of good cause, they will resume issuing dismissals in cases involving an untimely filed hearing…

When Does COVID-19 Become A Disability? ‘Long-Haulers’ Push For Answers, and Benefits

  February 22, 2021 | By Gabrielle Emanual, NPR

When COVID-19 first arrived in the U.S., Jodee Pineau-Chaisson was working as the director of social services for a nursing home in western Massachusetts called Center for Extended Care in Amherst. By the middle of April, residents were getting sick. In early May, Pineau-Chaisson was tapped for a particular duty: “I was asked to go…

Arbitrator: Social Security Violated Labor Law Again in Dealings With Administrative Law Judge Union

  February 9, 2021 | By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

An independent arbitrator last week ruled that the Social Security Administration violated federal labor law when it moved to unilaterally implement a partial union contract on the Association of Administrative Law Judges, despite the fact that several issues remained up for negotiation. Over the last two years, Social Security and the ALJ union have undergone…

The Long Wait: Americans stuck waiting months for disability benefit decisions

  February 8, 2021 | By Rachel DePompa, FOX19

In the last decade, 110,000 Americans have died waiting for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, according to the Government Accountability Office. Each year, thousands of people appeal disability insurance denials, and many of them ultimately win. The issue: A backlog means appeals cases can take months or even years to get before a judge.…

Do People Who Have Long-Term COVID-19 Symptoms Qualify For Disability Benefits?

  February 3, 2021 | By NPR

AILSA CHANG, HOST: Some people who survive COVID-19 have debilitating symptoms many months later. As scientists scramble to explain what is going on and how to help, disability advocates are also scrambling. They’re trying to figure out whether these so-called long-haulers will qualify for disability benefits. Gabrielle Emanuel of member station GBH (ph) in Boston…

Biden Withdraws Trump Rule That Would Require People to ‘Prove’ Their Disability

  January 28, 2021 | By Leslie, Zukor, The Mighty

On Thursday, President Joe Biden withdrew a Trump administration rule that required more frequent disability reviews. The Trump rule would have singled out as many as 4.4 million recipients between the ages of 50 and 65 to prove they were still disabled. The end result would have thrown potentially thousands of people off Social Security Disability Insurance…

SSA’s disability case app modernization serving as building block to future transformation

  January 28, 2021 | By Federal News Network

The Social Security Administration used the project to modernize its Disability Case Processing System as a proof of concept. The question then became could SSA replicate the success of DCPS with other legacy, traditional waterfall programs. Sean Brune, the CIO of SSA, said the answer is a resounding “yes.” The agency is taking the success…

Another urgent item for Biden’s to-do list: The looming Social Security funding crisis

  January 22, 2021 | By Michelle Singletary, The Washington Post

When you inherit a mess, as President Biden has, everyone needs you to make their issue a priority. The coronavirus is still spreading, causing thousands of deaths each day, and we can’t get enough vaccine in the arms of people to stop it or at least slow it down. People are struggling to pay their…

Chairman Neal Eyes Broad-based Retirement Security Reforms

  January 12, 2021 | By National Association of Plan Advisors

The chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee has released a new legislative framework for the 117th Congress that includes an ambitious retirement policy agenda. In what has long been a priority for him, Committee chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) is calling for implementation of auto-IRAs and auto-401(k)s as part of the framework. He…

Biden Plans To Fix Social Security’s Short-Fall In 2034

  January 1, 2021 | By Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes

Social Security is falling short because of persistent wage inequality and political inaction; President-elect Biden has comprehensive plans to strengthen Social Security. The inequality of wage income and taxable wages is the most salient and unexpected reason for the Social Security revenue shortfall predicted in 14 years when Social Security will only be able to…

For thousands, Social Security checks aren’t even in the mail

  December 30, 2020 | By Joe Davidson, The Washington Post

The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog has bit it, again, for shortchanging beneficiaries, this time as employee and advocacy groups are pushing for the removal of its political appointees. A report from the agency’s inspector general’s office is replete with complaints about the agency failing to make people whole. Based on random sampling outlined in…

Santa Cruz County woman caught in Social Security bureaucracy wins court ruling

  December 28, 2020 | By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle

A Santa Cruz County woman was denied federal disability benefits in 2017, appealed and said she heard nothing until her lawyer contacted the Social Security Administration nearly two years later and learned she had been turned down. But federal officials insisted they had notified Julie Ashe promptly and said she had forfeited the right to…

Biden’s platform calls for big changes to Social Security. Here’s what could be on the table

  November 12, 2020 | By Lorie Konish, CNBC

President-elect Joe Biden ran on a platform that included proposals to shore up Social Security benefits while extending the program’s solvency. How his administration and the next Congress take shape will help determine just how many of those changes he may be able to put through. To experts and advocates for the program, the timing…

Social Security Seemed Like a Future Problem. The Virus Changed That.

  October 28, 2020 | By Tara Siegel Bernard, The New York Times

Social Security has always seemed like a future problem, with experts long predicting a benefits squeeze in the decades ahead. But the coronavirus has put tens of millions of Americans out of work, and economists are predicting that the recovery will take years. That means the future is now. If nothing is done to shore…

Larson, Davis Request on Study on SSA Customer Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  September 15, 2020 | By Rep. Larson Press Release

Today, House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT) and Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking them to conduct a study on service delivery by the Social Security Administration (SSA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The COVID-19 crisis presents…

110,000 Americans Died Waiting for Social Security Disability Benefits in Last Decade

  August 28, 2020 | By Frank Konkel, Nextgov

More than 1% of the 9 million Americans—or 110,000 people—who filed an appeal for government disability benefits through the Social Security Administration between fiscal 2008 and 2019 died before receiving a decision from the federal agency. Another 48,000 Americans filed for bankruptcy awaiting a benefits decision from the Social Security Administration between fiscal 2014 and…

SSI awards for the disabled lowest in 20 years — needs congressional attention

  August 26, 2020 | By David A. Weaver, The Hill

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program is one of the largest means-tested programs in the country. It provides modest payments to 8 million low-income seniors, disabled adults, and families with disabled children. Although the cash payments are important, totaling $55 billion in 2018, the program is also the gateway to Medicaid, which helps these families…

Appealing a claim for Social Security payments still takes far longer than it should

  August 21, 2020 | By Jared Serbu, Federal News Network

When the Social Security Administration denies someone’s claim for supplemental or disability payments, there are a lot of ways to appeal that decision. But the process can and often does take years. The delays are so significant that members of Congress wanted to know how many Americans are dying or getting forced into bankruptcy while…

Preventing Social Security benefit cuts is a top priority for Americans in 2020 election, survey finds

  August 19, 2020 | By Lorie Konish, CNBC

When Americans go to the polls this November, preventing Social Security benefit cuts will be one of the top issues on their minds. That’s according to a  poll conducted by Data for Progress, a progressive think tank, and released with Social Security Works, an advocacy organization. The results show that protecting Social Security ranked among…

Almost 110,000 Americans died while waiting for a Social Security disability hearing

  August 14, 2020 | By Aimee Picchi, CBS

The Social Security program, known for its retirement benefits, also provides disability payments to people of all ages who can’t work because of a physical or mental condition. But the process required get those benefits can be a bureaucratic nightmare, with applicants — who tend to be older and poorer than most Americans — sometimes…

Social Security’s safe with us, Mnuchin says

  August 12, 2020 | By Doug Sword, Roll Call

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that the Trump administration will “create a level of certainty” to encourage businesses to participate in President Donald Trump’s payroll tax holiday, and that after November’s election a victorious Trump would push legislation “to fully top up” Social Security’s finances. Trump on Saturday ordered Mnuchin, who oversees the IRS,…

Pa. group sues feds over delayed $500 payments for children of low-income, disabled Americans

  August 3, 2020 | By Daniel Moore, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As Congress resumes negotiations for another economic relief package this week, thousands of low-income and disabled Americans have been blocked from receiving $500 checks for their dependents — a lingering issue from the first COVID-19 aid package that federal officials have suggested could delay the checks until 2021. Last week, five Pennsylvanians and a Philadelphia…

Ways and Means Democrats Introduce Legislation to Protect Seniors and People with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Crisis

  July 29, 2020 | By House Ways & Means Committee

Today, Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT) introduced the Fairness for Seniors and People with Disabilities During COVID-19 Act, legislation to protect seniors, surviving spouses, children, and people with severe disabilities from being forced to repay extra Social Security…

Column: GOP slips an attack on Social Security into its coronavirus relief bill

  July 28, 2020 | By Michael Hiltzik, LA Times

Social Security advocates who breathed a sigh of relief when Senate Republicans rejected President Trump’s demand to place a payroll cut in the latest coronavirus relief bill exhaled too soon. The version unveiled Monday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) incorporates a provision even more menacing for Social Security (and Medicare too). This is…

Congress must act now to fix a Social Security COVID-19 glitch and expand, not cut, benefits

  July 8, 2020 | By Nancy Altman, The Hill

Opponents of Social Security are latching onto the worldwide pandemic and resulting economic collapse to, at best, undermine confidence in Social Security and, at worst, slash its modest benefits. Here are the facts. Despite fearmongering to the contrary, Social Security will continue to pay benefits in full and on time. Social Security has a reserve of…

Opinion analysis: Court strikes down restrictions on removal of CFPB director but leaves bureau in place

  June 29, 2020 | By Amy Howe, SCOTUSBlog

In response to the 2008 financial crisis, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency with approximately 1,500 employees that tackles everything from payday loans to financial literacy programs and helping consumers navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The director of the CFPB, Kathy Kraninger, was appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the…

No Money, No Lawyer, No Justice

  June 22, 2020 | By Kathryn Joyce, The New Republic

In 1954, Kevin Green got his Social Security card and started picking cotton for $3 per hundred pounds in a tiny agricultural town in California’s Central Valley. He was five years old. One of seven children, he used the money to buy school supplies. He kept working—and paying into the Social Security system—through high school,…

Dearth of disability-related Covid-19 data can confound response efforts

  June 12, 2020 | By Bonnielin Swenor, STAT

fter a few days of feeling feverish, exhausted, achy, and having an intermittent sore throat, I feared the worst: Covid-19. I immediately self-quarantined. My husband begged me to call the doctor, but I didn’t see the point, as I knew I would be told to get tested. For me, that medical advice was complicated by…

Americans take a dim view of raiding their Social Security to cover pandemic expenses, poll finds

  May 22, 2020 | By Lorie Konish, CNBC

Americans could use a financial boost. How to get that money into people’s hands has been a hot topic of debate. Democrats have proposed expanding unemployment insurance and giving Americans as much as $2,000 per month to get back on their feet. Meanwhile, one Republican proposal has called for giving Americans $11,000 now in exchange…

The poor lose out (again) on stimulus payments

  May 13, 2020 | By Jonathan Stein & Richard Weishaupt, Daily News

The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout has revealed the brutal inadequacy of the so-called American safety net. One of the crucial measures to help people in need and also boost the economy have been the economic impact payments. Unfortunately, this stimulus money is not reaching millions of people who need the help the most.…

SSI and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries have until May 5 to claim $500 stimulus checks for their dependents under age 17

  April 30, 2020 | By Tanza Loudenback, Business Insider

The IRS has announced a fast-approaching deadline for people who normally don’t file a tax return but receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs benefits. By Tuesday May 5, anyone who gets these federal benefits, didn’t file a tax return in the last two years, and has dependent children under age 17 must use…

IRS backs down and won’t require Social Security recipients to file tax returns for stimulus checks

  April 1, 2020 | By Lorie Konish, CNBC

People who receive Social Security benefits and who do not submit tax returns will not have to file in order to get a government stimulus check. The announcement by the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday night reverses earlier guidance that said those people would have to file simple returns in order to…

Social Security recipients to get checks under coronavirus stimulus bill. Here’s how

  March 27, 2020 | By Hayley Fowler and Brian Murphy, The News & Observer

Millions of Americans are about to receive stimulus checks from the government — including recipients of Social Security. Adults who learn less than $75,000 a year will receive $1,200 under the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package Congress has crafted to help ease an economic downturn caused by the spread of COVID-19. An additional $500 will…

Update on Services During COVID – 19 Pandemic From Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security

  March 19, 2020 | By SSA

“I want you to hear directly from me how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our services. The first thing you should know is that we continue to pay benefits. Be aware that scammers may try to trick you into thinking the pandemic is stopping your Social Security payments but that is not true. Don’t be…

IRS and Social Security close field offices across the country as some federal services start shrinking in response to the coronavirus

  March 17, 2020 | By Lisa Rein and Kimberly Kindy, The Washington Post

The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday began closing field offices in Northern California, Seattle, Puerto Rico and the New York City area to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus — and all of its tax counseling sites for the elderly. The Social Security Administration closed 1,400 field and hearing offices Monday night. Federal courts…

SEC Institutes Telework-Only Thanks to Robust Remote Work Program

  March 10, 2020 | By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday instructed employees at its Washington, D.C., headquarters to work remotely until further notice, after an employee began treatment for “respiratory symptoms.” Although it is not yet clear whether the employee has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said mandating telework is a precautionary measure. “Even with increased…

Thousands Of Non-English Speakers To Be Denied Disability Benefits Under New Rule

  March 6, 2020 | By Arthur Delaney, HuffPost

Ly La is a 50-year-old refugee from Myanmar with an artificial valve in her heart whose doctors say she can’t do physically demanding work. The government turned her down repeatedly for disability benefits, but she won her claim on appeal last year. An administrative law judge noted her myriad health problems and also the fact…

Argument analysis: Justices divided in challenge to CFPB structure

  March 3, 2020 | By Amy Howe, SCOTUSBlog

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed by a single director, who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve a five-year term. Once that director is in office, she can only be removed by the president for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” This morning both a California…

Democratic Lawmakers Warn Proposed Social Security Rule Could Be Illegal

  February 25, 2020 | By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

Several top Democratic lawmakers last week called on the Social Security Administration to abandon a controversial proposal to take some disability cases out of the hands of administrative law judges, suggesting the plan could violate federal law. Last December, the agency proposed regulations that would allow appeals judges to hear standard disability cases, arguing that…

Is my life worth $1,000 a month? The reality of feeling undervalued by federal disability payments.

  February 10, 2020 | By Sue Kerr, Public Source

My personal income puts me at the federal poverty level, even though I have a graduate degree and more than 30 years of both paid and unpaid work experience. Because I am disabled and no longer able to do most paid work, I receive about $1,000 through Social Security Disability Insurance [SSDI]. Our household income…

Fraudulent Social Security calls now No. 1 phone scam: Senate report

  January 30, 2020 | By Emily Disalvo, The Hill

Social Security impersonation calls are now the nation’s most-reported phone scam, according to an annual report from the Senate Aging Committee released Wednesday. Fraudulent IRS calls were the most prevalent scam the previous five years. The typical scam involves a robocall from someone impersonating the Social Security Administration (SSA) and asking for the recipient’s personal…

Disabled workers in SC roll the dice when drawing judges to decide their benefits

  December 13, 2019 | By Mary Katherine Wildeman, The Post and Courier

Sick and injured workers face a brutal game of chance when they apply for federal disability benefits: their odds hinge as much on the judge they are assigned as on the facts of their case. American workers give 6 percent of their paychecks to the Social Security Administration just in case they lose their jobs…

Larson, Buchanan, Wyden, Cassidy Introduce Know Your Social Security Act

  December 10, 2019 | By Rep. Larson Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John Larson (D-CT), Ways and Means Committee Member Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Finance Committee Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced the Know Your Social Security Act. The legislation will clarify the requirement for the Social…

Dorcas Hardy, first woman to lead Social Security Administration, dies at 73

  December 4, 2019 | By Adam Bernstein, Washington Post

Dorcas R. Hardy, who rose through President Ronald Reagan’s political circle to become the first female commissioner of Social Security, a role in which she sounded an early alarm about the entitlement program’s projected shortfalls as baby boomers approached retirement, died Nov. 28 at her home in Spotsylvania, Va. She was 73. The cause was…

Julián Castro Is the Latest Democratic Candidate to Release a Disability Plan

  November 13, 2019 | By Abigail Abrams, Time

Julián Castro on Wednesday became the latest Democratic presidential candidate to unveil a policy aimed at expanding the rights of people with disabilities, promising to help the more than 60 million disabled Americans access “dignified work, decent housing, quality education, affordable health care, to live independently and achieve self-sufficiency.” The plan says it will build…

Pete Buttigieg Is The Latest Presidential Candidate To Release An Exclusive Disability Plan— The Most Comprehensive One Yet

  November 4, 2019 | By Sarah Kim, Forbes

According to a New York Times/Siena College poll of likely Democratic candidates, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, surpasses former Vice President Joe Biden for second runner-up. Senator Elizabeth Warren is first, slightly ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders. The presidential candidates have been under scrutiny of the disability community for ignoring them as a…

The Future of Administrative Law Judge Selection

  October 29, 2019 | By Jack Beerman, The Regulatory Review

Administrative law judges (ALJs) are the workhorses of the administrative state. They preside over thousands of hearings annually in areas such as disability benefits, international trade, taxation, environmental law, occupational safety, and communications law, to name a few. There are nearly 2,000 ALJs employed by 28 agencies in the federal government, as compared to 870…

At 69, she’s still paying off $12,000 of student debt — including out of her Social Security checks. It isn’t just a millennial problem.

  October 23, 2019 | By Shannon Najmabadi, The Texas Tribune

If 69-year-old Lynda Sue Costley wants to shower, she has to go to a friend’s house. Her trailer, on a gravelly road outside Amarillo, hasn’t had running water since 2014 — when her husband died from cancer. She spent the little savings she had on his medical care, she said, and hasn’t repaired the burst…

Elijah Cummings, longtime Baltimore congressman, dies age 68

  October 17, 2019 | By CNN

NOSSCR Note: We are profoundly saddened by the death of Congressman Elijah Cummings from Maryland early this morning. His death is a huge loss for Social Security in particular and human rights in general. Elijah Cummings has died: The Chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee was 68. He died at Johns Hopkins Hospital…

SSA, AFGE reach new collective bargaining agreement after contentious saga

  October 4, 2019 | By Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Network

After more than a year of tense negotiations, the Social Security Administration and the American Federation of Government Employees have finally reached an agreement on a new, six-year contract. The new collective bargaining agreement, which SSA management and AFGE representatives signed late last week, settles months of disagreements between the two parties and offers both…

Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul — Don’t Let These People Starve

  September 17, 2019 | By Laurence Kotlikoff, Forbes

Dear Social Security Commissioner Saul, I write to relay two Social Security horror stories with the hope that you can help these people and take steps to prevent similar cases. The first involves Christopher Carriero, who lives in Georgia (302 Victoria’s Circle St. Mary’s, Ga. 31558). He’s receiving Social Security disability benefits. He has three…

Ernst calls for Congress to fix Social Security ‘behind closed doors’

  September 5, 2019 | By Rachel Frazin, The Hill

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said at a recent town hall that lawmakers should discuss changes to Social Security “behind closed doors,” sparking criticism from Democrats and advocacy groups. Ernst made the comments Saturday, according to a video posted by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge. The remarks began to receive wider attention after being reported…

Social Security Administration imposes hiring freeze with some exceptions

  August 9, 2019 | By Eric Yoder, The Washington Post

The Social Security Administration has imposed a hiring freeze on its headquarters in Woodlawn, Md., and in regional offices, while generally exempting positions involving direct service to the public. The freeze is one of the first actions by newly confirmed SSA Commissioner Andrew Saul and reflects the approach that President Trump took in imposing a general government-wide freeze…

Get a call from the Social Security Administration? It’s the latest government imposter scam

  July 13, 2019 | By Herb Weisbaum, NBC

Con artists tell lies — it’s how they make a living. Calling people and pretending to be with a government agency — IRS, Social Security, ICE, DEA, or the local sheriff’s department — is a ruse that’s been lucrative for years. But these imposter scams have now hit an all-time high. Here are a few…

Administrative Law Judge Union Accuses Social Security of Bad Faith Bargaining

  July 8, 2019 | By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

The president of a union representing the administrative law judges who adjudicate disability claims has accused the Social Security Administration of bargaining in bad faith. The accusation follows news that federal mediators declared the agency and union to be at impasse in negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement. Association of Administrative Law Judges President…

Congressional watchdog to investigate disability consultant doctors

  June 24, 2019 | By Mike Reicher, Tennessean

The Government Accountability Office plans to investigate the Social Security Administration’s use of consultant doctors to review claims, a congressman announced Monday. The announcement follows a Tennessean report that found some doctors in Tennessee were denying a high rate of applicants while reaping large sums in fees. In states across the country doctors also are…

Andrew M. Saul Sworn In As Commissioner of Social Security Administration

  June 17, 2019 | By Social Security Administration Press Release

Andrew M. Saul was sworn in today as the Commissioner of Social Security at the agency’s office in Washington, D.C. He will serve a six-year term that expires on January 19, 2025. Commissioner Saul expressed his gratitude at being chosen to serve as the Commissioner of Social Security. “The Social Security programs touch the lives…

Rural Health: Financial Insecurity Plagues Many Who Live With Disability

  June 12, 2019 | By Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR

Carol Burgos is worried her neighbors think she is bringing the neighborhood down. She lives in a mobile home park in a woodsy part of Columbia County, N.Y, just off a two-lane highway. The homes have neat yards and American flags. On a spring Saturday, some neighbors are out holding yard sales, with knickknacks spread…

He doesn’t speak English. Should that be considered in an application for disability benefits?

  June 10, 2019 | By Kimberly Kindy, The Washington Post

The Trump administration is expected to change a federal rule this summer that for decades has allowed thousands of older citizens with proven mental or physical disabilities to qualify for federal benefits if they are also unable to communicate in English. In its proposed rule change, the Social Security Administration says the inability to read,…

Kentucky Bar Association has not done enough for Eric Conn’s clients after fraud scheme

  June 7, 2019 | By Ned Pillersdorf, Opinion Contributor, Courier Journal

Next week thousands of lawyers will descend upon Louisville for their annual bar convention, which promises to be a festive and elaborate affair. In a remarkable message this week, the president of the Kentucky Bar Association boasted in considerable detail about the excellent financial condition of the bar. If he was expecting some type of…

Column: Ex-heads of U.S. Social Security Administration offer plan to fix agency’s customer service

  June 5, 2019 | By Mark Miller, Reuters

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A worsening customer service crisis at the Social Security Administration has prompted three of its former commissioners to urge the U.S. Congress to fix the annual budgeting process that has starved the agency of the resources it needs to do its job. A letter calling for administrative budget reforms signed by the…

Opinion analysis: Dismissal as untimely of Supplemental Security Income claimant’s request for review is final decision subject to judicial review

  May 29, 2019 | By Kathryn Moore, SCOTUSBlog

Section 405(g) of the Social Security Act allows for judicial review of “any final decision … made after a hearing” by the Social Security Administration. Yesterday, in a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court resolved in favor of the claimant, Ricky Lee Smith, a split among the courts of appeal as to whether a claimant has a…

Assessment of Work-Related Functional Abilities Is Important In Disability Determination

  May 9, 2019 | By The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

WASHINGTON – Assessments of a person’s ability to function at work provide important information for disability determinations, and many validated tests are available to assess work-related physical and mental functions. However, because no single test of function is likely to provide all of the information needed to evaluate an individual’s ability to work, it is important…

The other side of Eric Conn case: Lawyers, law students stepped up to help those he hurt.

  April 25, 2019 | By Ned Pillersdorf, Lexington Herald Leader

Why do mountain folks detest attorneys? The answer is easy. Two words. One name. Eric Conn. Who can blame them? For the last four years thousands of mountain families have lived with this continuing dark cloud thanks to our neighbor who branded himself as “Mr. Social Security.” If you say the word lawyer , folks…

Social Security To Exceed Income by 2020, Run Out by 2034

  April 22, 2019 | By Alexa Lardieri, U.S. News & World Report

THE COST OF PAYING Social Security benefits in 2020 will exceed the amount of income the program collects for the first time since 1982. The 2019 annual report from the program’s trustees, published Monday, states that the shortage would force the program to dip into its $2.9 trillion trust fund in order to cover benefits.…

Schumer blasts long wait times and poor records at Rochester Social Security offices

  April 15, 2019 | By Sean Lahman, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Saying that the Rochester field office has one of the poorest records in the state, Sen. Charles Schumer on Monday called on the Social Security Administration to increase staffing to address long wait times and a backlog of cases. Schumer said the Administration’s internal reporting showed that the Rochester office only answered about 41 percent…

Former Conn clients optimistic about latest court ruling

  April 6, 2019 | By Mary Meadows, The Paintsville Herald

Some of the former clients of disbarred attorney Eric C. Conn have plenty to say about how his fraudulent practices have changed their lives over the past few years. More than 50 of his former clients turned out at a meeting on Tuesday to learn about a recent Court of Appeals decision that may help…

In veteran’s disability case, Supreme Court considers junking longtime deference to federal agencies

  March 27, 2019 | By Robert Barnes, The Washington Post

The Supreme Court debated Wednesday whether to overturn an important decision written by Justice Antonin Scalia for a unanimous court 22 years ago. There was a twist. At the oral argument, it was the late justice’s most devoted conservative acolytes who were anxious to junk Auer v. Robbins, which says judges generally should defer to…

Trump’s budget would eviscerate the social safety net but provide welfare for the rich

  March 12, 2019 | By Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

Much of the news coverage of President Trump’s proposed 2020 budget, which was released Monday, focuses on two aspects. One: It’s just a PR exercise, since presidential budgets never get enacted. Two: Trump’s demand for $8.6 billion to build his border wall sets up a new conflict with Congress and maybe another government shutdown. What…

Federal Employee Appeals Board’s Doomsday Has Arrived

  February 28, 2019 | By Eric Katz, Government Executive

The quasi-judicial agency that determines federal employees’ challenges to adverse actions will no longer have any Senate-confirmed board members starting Friday, leaving its capacity to operate at all in question. Mark Robbins, the loan remaining member on the Merit Systems Protection Board’s central panel, will leave the agency Thursday evening, when his term is set…

Working While Receiving Social Security Disability

  February 20, 2019 | By Rachel Hartman, U.S. News & World Report

To become eligible for Social Security disability benefits, you must be unable to engage in substantial gainful activity. However, you may be able to earn a small amount of income while receiving Social Security disability payments. “It is possible to qualify for Social Security disability benefits and still work in a limited capacity,” says Nick…

Pennsylvanians’ long wait on disability would worsen with Social Security changes | Opinion

  February 15, 2019 | By Dwight Evans, Brendan Boyle, and Jennifer Burdick, for the Inquirer

Adrianne Gunter’s multiple sclerosis had gotten so bad, she could no longer work or go to school. Desperate to make ends meet, she applied for Social Security disability benefits. Despite her well-documented illness, the Social Security Administration initially turned down her application, and she had to file an appeal. After waiting a burdensome 788 days…

Judge’s ruling pushes Puerto Rico to pursue SSI benefits

  February 4, 2019 | By Danica Coto, The Washington Post

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A U.S. judge said Monday that the federal government is violating the Constitution by prohibiting people who live in Puerto Rico from receiving Supplemental Security Income. The opinion was issued as Judge Gustavo Gelpi dismissed a lawsuit filed by the federal government seeking to recover more than $28,000 in SSI…

Long wait for Social Security disability benefits may get worse in Syracuse

  January 18, 2019 | By James T. Mulder, Syracuse.com

Syracusans waiting up to two years to collect Social Security disability insurance benefits may have to wait even longer now that the federal government has added another step to the appeals process. The new step which took effect in New York Jan. 1 requires people appealing disability application denials to request a second review, called…

Opinion analysis: Social Security cap on attorney’s fees applies separately to successful representation before a court

  January 8, 2019 | By Kathryn Moore, SCOTUSBlog

According to a unanimous opinion released today, Social Security law does not impose an aggregate cap of 25 percent on attorney’s fees for successful representation of a Social Security disability claimant before both the Social Security Administration and a court. Instead, a 25 percent cap applies separately to representation before the court. This is a…

Once denied disability benefits, Tennesseans face long waits to appeal

  January 6, 2019 | By Anita Wadhwani and Mike Reicher, Tennessean

Thousands of people denied federal disability payments die each year while they wait for their chance to appeal the decision. Congress in 2018 approved $90 million in additional funding for the Social Security Administration to reduce a backlog of people waiting to make their case to a judge that they were wrongly denied disability benefits.…

Denied: How some Tennessee doctors earn big money denying disability claims

  January 6, 2019 | By Anita Wadhwani and Mike Reicher, Tennessean

By the time Alan Chrisman was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer, he was too sick to work. The cancer had spread to his lungs. His doctors said he may never get better. Chrisman, 59, applied for disability, the federal safety net program he contributed to with every paycheck during his 30 years working as…

How social insurance became “welfare” and “entitlements” — and what we lost in that process

  December 11, 2018 | By Theodore R. Marmor, Salon

Social insurance programs are at the center of American politics. In fiscal terms, Medicare and the Social Security Administration’s programs for retirement, disability, worker’s compensation, and worker’s life insurance amount to roughly 41 percent of the federal budget. This fiscal centrality, however, does not rest on anything like a broader, public understanding of what makes…

Twins sue Social Security over denial of benefits

  December 8, 2018 | By The Guam Daily Post

Two lawsuits have been filed against the U.S. Social Security Administration challenging the U.S. government’s policy of refusing to provide Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits to American citizens living on Guam. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of twin sisters Katrina Schaller of Barrigada, Guam; and Leslie Schaller of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The two complementary…

Have a Social Security Question? Please Hold

  November 21, 2018 | By Mark Miller, The New York Times

When Brenda Holt learned that the federal government planned to close her local Social Security office, she swung into action. That field office in Quincy, Fla., served Gadsden County in the state’s panhandle, where Ms. Holt is a commissioner; closing the office would force residents who needed help managing their benefits to travel 25 miles…

Former clients of disbarred attorney Eric Conn get reprieve from disability hearings

  November 8, 2018 | By Bill Estep, Lexington Herald Leader

Hundreds of Eastern Kentucky residents will get a reprieve from hearings to determine if they can keep receiving federal disability payments, and may have more evidence to use when the hearings resume. The Social Security Administration this week notified attorneys for the people that it would suspend the hearings for 60 days, until Jan. 7.…

Former clients of disbarred attorney Eric Conn get reprieve from disability hearings

  November 7, 2018 | By Bill Estep, Lexington Herald Leader

Hundreds of Eastern Kentucky residents will get a reprieve from hearings to determine if they can keep receiving federal disability payments, and may have more evidence to use when the hearings resume. The Social Security Administration this week notified attorneys for the people that it would suspend the hearings for 60 days, until Jan. 7.…

Supreme Court grants certiorari in four additional cases

  November 6, 2018 | By Tate Brown, Jurist.org

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in four cases Friday in addition to the Maryland cross case. In Smith v. Berryhill the court will answer the question of “whether the Appeals Council’s decision to reject a disability claim on the ground that the claimant’s appeal was untimely is a ‘final decision’ subject to judicial review…

Medical files from former Conn clients removed from law complex

  October 26, 2018 | By Shawn Allen, WYMT

In April we were told about thousands of medical files belonging to the former clients of Eric C. Conn found inside his Floyd County law complex in Stanville. In August U.S. Marshals seized the law complex, locking the doors and boarding up the windows, until a receiver of the files could be appointed. That receiver,…

Mitch McConnell says it out loud: Republicans are gunning for Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare next

  October 19, 2018 | By Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

All Washington seems to be buzzing this week over a single question: Is Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) deliberately trying to throw the election to the Democrats? At the root of the debate are interviews the Senate majority leader gave to Bloomberg and Reuters on Tuesday and Wednesday. McConnell identified “entitlements” — that’s Washington code for…

The Social Security myths you should know before the midterms

  September 5, 2018 | By Philip Moeller, PBS Newshour

Understanding how Social Security works is especially important as we approach November’s midterm elections. President Donald Trump said during his campaign that he would protect Social Security and Medicare. But he has done little to fulfill that promise since taking office. A Republican-controlled Congress approved his trillion-dollar tax cut last year, and the predictable increase…

Despite a judge’s disapproval, Trump administration is doubling down on Medicaid restrictions

  August 20, 2018 | By Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

In the real world, it has become clear that placing restrictions such as work and reporting requirements on Medicaid is disastrous. They’re legally dubious, for one thing — as a federal judge stated in late June when he tossed out work requirements imposed in Kentucky. More important, they lead to needy beneficiaries being thrown off…

Supreme Court Ruling to Shake Up Social Security Disability Claim System

  July 26, 2018 | By Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor

Changes in how the Social Security Administration (SSA) processes claims for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) could soon cause new headaches for group disability plans — and for the financial professionals who sell, service and administer the plans. Witnesses talked about the looming SSDI claim determination changes Wednesday, at a hearing organized by the House…

House Panel Passes Social Security Online Tools Act

  July 19, 2018 | By Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor

The House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security and Tax Policy passed on Wednesday the “Social Security Online Tools Innovation Act,” H.R. 3309, which requires the Social Security Administration to provide online tools to help individuals assess their disability benefits. The bill, which was reported to the full House, requires the Social Security…

Social Security recipients could be collateral damage of Trump’s workforce orders

  July 17, 2018 | By Joe Davidson, The Washington Post

President Trump’s recent executive orders are a serious assault on federal labor organizations, but it is taxpayers who could become collateral damage. Consider the Social Security Administration (SSA), which deals more directly with clients than most. It is on the front lines of the Trump-union clash, because officials there are enforcing his commands more aggressively…

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