Category Archives: Social Security

President Signs 2010 Budget Bill – SSA Gets 10% Increase

Written On January 18, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Congress has passed an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama. As expected, the Social Security Administration will receive a 10% increase over the FY 2009 appropriation.
This increase will allow SSA to proceed with its ODAR hiring plans: 226 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), 950 support [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Sending Corrected Benefit Notices

Written On December 11, 2009 By Bob Kraft

This press release was posted today by the Social Security Administration:
The Social Security Administration earlier this month mailed notices that contained incorrect January 2010 payment dates.  These erroneous notices went to about 6 million beneficiaries who receive their payments on either the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month, and are part of the [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Obama Proposes Extra One-Time Payment to Social Security Recipients

Written On October 15, 2009 By Bob Kraft

As a follow-up to the last post, the press is reporting today that President Obama is proposing a one-time payment of $250 to Social Security recipients and others to partially make up for the lack of a cost-of-living-adjustment in 2010. The payments would be made sometime next year, and would go to all Social Security [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Veterans Benefits

No Social Security COLA for 2010?

Written On October 15, 2009 By Bob Kraft

This is a press release from the Social Security Administration:
Prompt Passage of Economic Recovery Act Payment for 2010 Needed

With consumer prices down over the past year, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 57 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2010.  This will be the first year [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security to Test Use of Microsoft’s HealthVault in Disability Process

Written On August 29, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced Thursday that the agency has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to test the use of Microsoft’s HealthVault application in the disability process.  HealthVault is a free online service that enables people to gather, store and manage their families’ health information, and share that information with their [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Administration Settles $500M Class-Action Claim

Written On August 12, 2009 By Bob Kraft

The Los Angeles Times reports, “Up to 200,000 people who were cut off on unfounded suspicions that they were felons evading law enforcement or prosecution will receive back payments. Legal advocates for the poor, elderly and disabled secured a $500-million class-action settlement Tuesday for as many as 200,000 people whose Social Security benefits were suspended [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Continuing Work in Congress to Reduce Social Security’s Backlog

Written On March 30, 2009 By Bob Kraft

With the average waiting time to get a hearing before an administrative law judge taking well over a year, Congress is always considering ways to reduce Social Security’s disability backlog. Claimants are often required or at least encouraged by their long-term disability insurance companies to file for Social Security Disability benefits. But not all such [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Administration Tops List of Desired Minority Employers

Written On February 28, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Everyone knows the Social Security Administration assists those who wish to receive retirement, survivors, and disability benefits. But did you know the Social Security Administration is also at the top of the list of desired employers of minority groups? After readers of “Equal Opportunity Magazine” named the federal agency as the one for whom they [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Stimulus Package To Give $250 to All Social Security Disability Recipients

Written On February 19, 2009 By Bob Kraft

The Social Security Administration has announced that the one-time $250 stimulus payment to SSD and SSI recipients will be paid by late May of this year. Here is the official announcement:

President Obama recently signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This act provides for the one-time payment of $250 to individuals who get [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

The Economists Who Missed the Housing Bubble Are Coming After Your Social Security

Written On February 17, 2009 By Bob Kraft

In a recent article by Dean Baker in Talking Points Memo, he considers the consequences of a rumored task force to be comprised of economists unable to see the $ 8 trillion housing bubble that gave rise to the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Baker finds the timing of this move questionable given that [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Is First Government Agency To Use Nationwide Health Information Network

Written On December 16, 2008 By Bob Kraft

Press release from the Social Security Administration today. This is a little scary to me.
The Social Security Administration announced today that it will be the first government agency to utilize the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN).  Beginning in early 2009, Social Security will receive medical records for some disability applicants electronically through the NHIN [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Featured Link – Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST)

Written On December 5, 2008 By Bob Kraft

The Social Security Administration has a new feature on their Web site. In their words:
The Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST) helps you find out if
you could get benefits that Social Security administers. Based on your
answers to questions, this tool will list benefits for which you might
be eligible and tell you more information about how to [...]

Posted in Disability, Featured Link, Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Administration Releases 2009 COLA Numbers

Written On October 17, 2008 By Bob Kraft

Based
on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third
quarter of 2007 through the third quarter of 2008, Social Security and
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a 5.8
percent COLA for 2009.  Other important 2009 Social Security
information is as follows:
       

         

            

             
Tax
  [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Administration Admits Challenges

Written On September 29, 2008 By Bob Kraft

In a recently announced "Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2008 – 2013" the Social Security Administration lists the challenges the agency faces. I agree with this list, although I might add a couple of items to it. The Social Security Administration’s service to our clients is deteriorating, which is bad for our clients and bad for [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Launches New Retirement Estimator

Written On July 30, 2008 By Bob Kraft

The Social Security Administration has made available a new online tool for calculating retirement benefits. Here is the description from the Social Security Administration Web site:
Social Security is proud to announce the new “Retirement Estimator” at www.socialsecurity.gov. Getting a personalized online estimate of your future retirement benefits is now easier than ever before.
The Retirement Estimator [...]

Posted in Featured Link, Social Security

Social Security’s New Homepage

Written On June 16, 2008 By Bob Kraft

I received this announcement today from the Social Security Administration:
Social Security’s New Homepage
Social Security has redesigned its homepage to make it more welcoming and user- friendly.  The new page is cleaner, easier to navigate and makes better use of graphics.
While the look of our homepage has changed, the web addresses have not.  Favorite sites [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Recipients Can Get Their Monthly Payments On Debit Cards

Written On June 10, 2008 By Bob Kraft

As reported in the Dallas Morning News today, the Social Security Administration is going to make life a little easier, and cheaper, for Social Security recipients. As the system stands now, recipients of retirement or Social Security disability benefits can get their monthly payments directly deposited electronically into their bank accounts. But those who don’t [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Disabled Often Wait Years For Social Security Disability Payments

Written On April 6, 2008 By Bob Kraft

The Dallas Morning News today published an article decrying the absurd delay between the time a disabled person files for Social Security disability benefits and the time an Administrative Law Judge finally makes a decision on the claim. Here are excerpts from the article, headlined  "Disabled often wait years for Social Security payment":
Now that most [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Danger Ahead For The Social Security System

Written On March 25, 2008 By Bob Kraft

According to a CNN story today, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is warning about the same dangers I mentioned in a January post on this blog — we’re about to run out of money for Social Security and Medicare. Here are excerpts from the article:
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, saying that Social Security is
"financially unsustainable," called Tuesday [...]

Posted in Medicare, Political and/or Judicial, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Social Security Administration Hires New Administrative Law Judges

Written On March 4, 2008 By Bob Kraft

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced this week that the agency has begun making offers to 144 of the 175 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) it will hire this fiscal year. Due to litigation and budget cuts, the agency has about ten percent fewer ALJs than it did a decade ago. During that [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability