Nearly everyone, Democrats and Republicans, agree that the backlog of Social Security disability claimants waiting for a hearing is unacceptable, but they also disagree why the backlog of more than 1 million people waiting for a hearing keeps getting worse. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report that seems to have an… Read more »
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Appropriations Bill Calls For Social Security Cuts
Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have passed appropriation bills to fund the budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins in October 2019, and both bills call for $11 billion to fund Social Security’s operating budget, which is a cut from the current fiscal year. The House and the Senate, which… Read more »
Trump Names Astrue And Fichtner To Social Security Advisory Board
President Donald Trump announced two nominations to the Social Security Advisory Board. One nominee, Michael Astrue, was appointed to the remainder of an existing board position that expires Sept. 20, 2022, and the other nominee, Jason Fichtner, was nominated for a position that is set to begin Oct. 1, 2018. Astrue is the former commissioner… Read more »
Administration Not Yet Complying With Federal Judge’s Order
A federal judge overturned a major portion of President Donald Trump’s executive order that weakens government unions, but so far, there is no indication that the president or his administration is willing to obey the ruling. The Washington Post reported that the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice are “considering options,” but so… Read more »
The Social Security Trust Funds
We hear about the Social Trust Funds often. We hear about Social Security going broke in less than 20 years and this relates directly to the Trust Funds, but what are they? The Social Security Trust Funds are the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds. These funds are accounts… Read more »
Report Shows Increased Staffing Levels Would Reduce Backlog
Nearly everyone, Democrats and Republicans, agree that the backlog of Social Security disability claimants waiting for a hearing is unacceptable, but they also disagree why the backlog of more than 1 million people waiting for a hearing keeps getting worse. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report that seems to have an… Read more »
Processing System Developed In 2016 Only Responsible For 4 Percent Of Claims
The tortoise-like pace the Social Security Administration is known for in processing, developing and scheduling Social Security disability hearings also applies to the processing of claims at lower levels of the system, but the Disability Case Processing System (DCPS), developed in 2016, was supposed to change that. Unfortunately, the DCPS, which is a common system… Read more »
Social Security In The News
Periodically news stories appear about the mismanagement of Social Security benefits. Because scammers have tried for years to access personal information of others, with the objective of stealing Social Security funds, it is somewhat valuable to stay on top of the more significant stories related to these topics. Here are a few recent stories related… Read more »
Immigration Policy Doesn’t Do Social Security Any Favors
Some people may not understand how Social Security works. As we work and pay taxes into Social Security, some people may believe they are paying for their own Social Security benefits down the road should they become disabled, or when they retire. This would seem to make sense since a person’s monthly benefit, whether they… Read more »
The Social Security Trust Funds
We hear about the Social Trust Funds often. We hear about Social Security going broke in less than 20 years and this relates directly to the Trust Funds, but what are they? The Social Security Trust Funds are the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds. These funds are accounts… Read more »
