Typically when Social Security’s Inspector General issues a report and makes a recommendation to Social Security the agency agrees and advises it will take steps to follow recommendations, but not this time. Social Security rejected a recommendation by Inspector General Gail Ennis for the agency to study Social Security’s rule related to early retirement beneficiaries… Read more »
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Social Security Announces Surprising Personnel Changes
Social Security Announces Surprising Personnel Changes On the same day President Joe Biden was sworn into office Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul issued a press release announcing a surprising departure and equally surprising additions to the Social Security team. Below is a portion of the release that details the changes. In the Office of the… Read more »
New Administration Authorizes Freeze On Implementation of Rules
President Joe Biden directed his chief of staff, Ron Klain, to issue a memorandum to the heads of all departments and agencies to hold of on any action on any new or pending rules until the administration has had a chance to review, this includes new and pending rules at the Social Security Administration. Social… Read more »
Social Security Expanding Video Hearing Options During Pandemic
More than 10 months now many Social Security hearings offices have conducted disability hearings by phone, but now more offices are adding the capability of having video hearings through the Microsoft Teams platform. Each hearing conducted through this platform will allow the claimant, the judge, any experts, and the attorney to appear via video through… Read more »
Waiting Period Eliminated For Claimants Diagnosed With ALS
In the final days of 2020 Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed a law that would eliminate the five-month waiting period to collect Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for people who are diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Many have questioned the logic of making SSDI beneficiaries endure a five-month waiting period before… Read more »
People Who Don’t Know Speak
It is time for another version of People Who Don’t Know Speak. Every now and then we like to checkout Social Security’s blog that deals with different topics and programs Social Security offers. One feature these blogs offer is a place to comment about the content of the blog. Typically, if you read most stories… Read more »
Proposals To Expand Social Security Benefits May Have A Chance Now
Two bills, one each in the Senate and one in the House, would expand Social Security benefits for Americans. This idea seemed like a long shot when they were introduced in 2019, but the political landscape has changed and now Democrats are in control of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and the… Read more »
The Latest On Social Security Scams That Are Out There
Social Security has recently posted some updates to its COVID-19 page to make sure the public is aware of the latest scams that aim to steal private information from Americans. These scams seem to not be going away anytime soon. Considering all that is going on right now, the COVID-19 pandemic, the government issuing economic… Read more »
Plans for 2021
Now that a new legislative session has begun and a new president will be sworn into office soon members of Congress have begun to set their agendas for the upcoming session. One of these members, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, who is the House chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, recently released his legislative… Read more »
Those With Disabilities Should Have Ally In The White House Soon
For four years it seems that the Trump Administration has took steps to make qualifying for Social Security disability benefits more difficult. These steps include changing the criteria to Social Security’s medical determinations, increasing the number of Continuing Disability Reviews (CDR), which could result in more people being kicked off benefits, and new policies to… Read more »
