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.
Members Of Congress Demand Social Security Stop Closing Offices
More than 100 members of Congress signed a letter to President Donald Trump asking the president to put a stop to closing Social Security field offices across the country in connection to a rash of office closings in Virginia, Wisconsin, Maryland and Illinois.
Citing an aging Baby Boom Generation, the letter insisted that Americans need more assistance from in-person Social Security employees and that field offices are in high demand. The letter also contended that closing of field offices creates hardships for seniors who have few other avenues to obtain the customer service necessary to obtain assistance with their benefits.
“Now is the time to declare a moratorium on the closure of SSA field offices. In the event that a specific office must be closed due to unique circumstances, another one should be opened serving the same population in a nearby location – it should not be “consolidated” into other offices, thereby reducing overall access to service in the local community. We urge you to act quickly before more damage is done to those seeking Social Security,” the members wrote in the letter.
Is Anyone Listening?
Yet another newspaper article highlighting the massive hearing backlog for disability claimants was issued by The Fresno Bee about the two-year wait before people can see an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), but is anyone listening? The hearing backlog is not limited to California and wait times continue to increase at virtually every Social Security hearing office in the country. Right now the national average for claimants to wait for a disability hearing is 601 days and in Fresno it is even 100 days longer than that. News agencies continue to report this story all across the country, but government has taken no action to provide Social Security the budget and resources it needs to reduce the hearing backlog.
Increasing Wage Cap Is One Way to Fix Solvency Gap
The latest report indicates that Social Security will not be able to meet 100 percent of benefit obligations beginning in 2034. This means that if nothing changes, those who collect benefits would only receive 75 to 80 percent of what they are truly owed beginning in 2034 because of a funding gap. Talk has existed for decades about how to solve this problem and one solution discussed, but not acted upon, is to increase Social Security’s cap on taxable wages. Right now only the first $118,500 a person earns is taxed by Social Security. Everything earned over that amount is not subjected to Social Security taxes. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that an increase on taxable wages could reduce the solvency gap between 25 and 90 percent, depending on the amount of increase and structure, which would lengthen Social Security’s solvency. Considering most Americans pay Social Security taxes on 100 percent of their earnings, this seems like a no-brainer.
