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 of recent stories that have involved Social Security. Some are tidbits and some are important things that should be known in the world of retirement or disability and others are just interesting stories and nothing more.
Not Too Surprising
A news story from WPBN/WGTU in Michigan reports that a man was arrested at the Pere Marquette Township Social Security office for allegedly punching a hole in a wall inside the office.
The man was arrested for damaging property. According to the Mason County Sheriff’s office, the man became upset and loud inside the Social Security office because he felt he was receiving unfair treatment. He was asked to leave and shortly thereafter allegedly punched the wall.
Unfortunately anger like this is not uncommon. Social Security has long wait times and stringent rules related to programs that upset many people, but that is certainly no call for what this man allegedly did.
The Demand For Social Security Services Will Remain High
From the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Social Security estimates that the population of people age 65 and older will grow by 18 million people from 2016 to 2025 and another increase of more than 20 million people is expected by 2050. This is not good news for Social Security considering the agency is already extremely understaffed and recent wait times for services have dramatically increased. Here is an example of the magnitude of services Social Security provided in 2016:
- Processed about 5.1 million retirement, survivors and Medicare claims, and nearly 2.7 million initial disability claims.
- Completed nearly 667,000 disability reconsideration decisions and more than 652,000 requests for hearings.
- Conducted about 2.5 million Supplemental Security Income (SSI) non-medical re-determinations and 850,000 full medical Continuing Disability Reviews (CDR).
- Completed approximately 16 million requests for new and replacement Social Security cards.
Is the United States Spending A Lot On Disability Payments?
The answer to that is a big fat NO. The Center on Budget and Policy recently released a report that shows the United States spends a comparatively small amount of gross domestic product on public disability benefits compared to other nations. In fact, if you combine disability pensions and other incapacity benefits, the United States spends less than 1.5 percent in gross domestic product, which is well below average compared to other nations. There are actually 26 other nations that spend more. Just five of these nations include Sweden, Australia, Ireland, England and Spain. So if you’ve ever heard disability critics complain about how much the United States spends on providing payments to the disabled, they clearly are making up their own argument without any facts.
Hildred Appointed to Social Security Board
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan recently appointed Kim Hildred to a six-year term on the Social Security Advisory Board. Hildred is the former staff director of the Subcommittee on Social Security, House Ways and Means Committee.
