Blog

We realize it may be a stretch for ordinary people to want to keep up with the comings and goings of the Social Security Administration, but sometimes circumstances permit where someone does want to follow the latest news regarding the agency due to a possible retirement or disability interest. This blog is an ongoing piecemeal… Read more »

Most Americans don’t give Social Security a second thought, especially if they are in their 20s, 30s and 40s, but once someone reaches their 50s the first thoughts about Social Security benefits may pop into the head, but people should learn about Social Security well before that. Decisions made about Social Security benefits can determine… Read more »

Social Security’s Acting Commissioner Nancy Berryhill released a message to all Social Security and Disability Determination Services employees to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Social Security’s Compassionate Allowance program for Social Security disability benefits. The Compassionate Allowance initiative was implemented to quickly identify diseases and other medical conditions that, by definition, meet Social Security’s standards… Read more »

We have previously looked at some important changes made to Social Security in the 1990s and 1980s, but changes made in the 1970s might have made the largest impact to Americans. The 1970s brought us the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, a needs-based program for low-income elderly and disabled Americans. Prior to SSI, three different… Read more »

The Treasury Department said the country’s budget deficit grew by $779 billion during President Donald Trump’s first fiscal year in office. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently told Bloomberg that recent ballooning deficits and debt were “disappointing, but it’s not a Republican problem,” even though the deficit increased by 77 percent from the $439 billion… Read more »

A local Massachusetts media outlet reported Tuesday that the Social Security office in Springfield had to be evacuated after a report was made of a suspicious package. The city’s fire department was called to investigate after a Social Security employee opened a package that contained an unidentified white powder. Bernard Calvi, a spokesperson for the… Read more »

Social Security made a lot of changes to programs during the 1990s. Some people would say these changes were for the better and some people would say these changes for the worse, but regardless, the changes made during the 1990s changed Social Security programs forever. After President Bill Clinton was elected in 1992 there was… Read more »

Some people may think all the work is over when they receive notice that they have qualified for Social Security disability benefits, but that is not the case. Simple things like working or receiving other financial assistance can impact your Social Security benefits. Many people learn this the hard way because they were unaware of… Read more »

Previously we reported that Social Security beneficiaries could expect a 2.8 percent increase in benefits for 2019 based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2018, which is how the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is calculated. Social Security has now confirmed this… Read more »

The Social Security Administration has proposed new regulations for representative payees to coincide with new legislation passed in August of 2018. Representative payees are appointed by Social Security to manage Social Security benefits for people the agency had determined to be unable to handle their own finances. The new regulations limit who can serve as… Read more »