Category Archives: Social Security

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
Rate

2008

2009

Employee

7.65%

7.65%

Self-Employed

15.30%

15.30%

NOTE:
The 7.65% tax rate is the combined rate for Social Security and
Medicare.  The Social [...]

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

Baby Boomer Retirement – What Effect Will It Have On Social Security Solvency?

Written On January 24, 2008 By Bob Kraft

(This post was written for inclusion in the upcoming Facing Up blog carnival on Social Security.)
What effect will aging Baby Boomers have on the Social Security retirement and disability programs? Huge might be an understatement. The Baby Boom generation is defined as those roughly 80 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964. The first of [...]

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

Road Map For Filing For Social Security Retirement Benefits

Written On January 1, 2008 By Bob Kraft

The Dallas Morning News had an excellent beginner’s guide to Social Security retirement this week. As the nation’s baby boomers begin to hit the early retirement age of 62, there will be literally millions of new retirement applicants. The News article is a great primer for planning to file for benefits. Please read the entire [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Social Security

Another Editorial About Social Security Disability Backlog

Written On December 27, 2007 By Bob Kraft

Yesterday I mentioned an editorial in the San Antonio Express-News decrying the terrible Social Security disability claims backlog. Another similar editorial ran this month in the It. Louis Post-Dispatch. This one highlights a claimant who died shortly after being told he was not sick enough to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Here are excerpts:
Mark [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Social Security

Social Security Administration Announces 2008 Cost Of Living Adjustment

Written On December 11, 2007 By Bob Kraft

The Social Security Administration has announced the COLA for 2008. It will be 2.3%, down from the 3.3% COLA for 2007. The following information is from NOSSCR, and the chart below is from the Social Security Administration.
Title II beneficiaries will see the 2.3% increase effective with December benefit payments received in January 2008. SSI beneficiaries [...]

Posted in Social Security, Social Security Disability

Link of the Day – Social Security Administration Announces 2008 Cost Of Living Increases

Written On October 20, 2007 By Bob Kraft

The Social Security Administration has announced Social Security benefits cost of living increases for 2008. In the information pasted below, the first number in each instance is for 2007, and the second number is for 2008.

2008 SOCIAL SECURITY CHANGES

o Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA):
Based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from [...]

Posted in Government, Link of the Day, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Link of the Day – Benefits Increase From Social Security Administration

Written On August 9, 2007 By Bob Kraft

The Social Security Administration provides a helpful page on their Web site that updates the amount a person can earn and still be available for disability benefits. This amount, for the various categories, changes each year because it has a cost of living factor built in to the calculations. Here is a statement from the [...]

Posted in Link of the Day, Social Security, Social Security Disability