SSI Benefits Increase by 3.6 Percent in 2012

January 31st, 2012 by chris

The Social Security Administration raised benefits for retired and disabled workers for the first time since 2009, providing a 3.6% increase to adjust for the cost of living.

Nearly 55 million Social Security beneficiaries saw an increase in benefits beginning December 30, 2011, when SSI benefits for January, 2012 were issued.

There was no cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 2010 or 2011 due to stagnant levels in the Consumer Price Index as compared to the 2008 level in those years. Consumer costs raised significantly enough in 2011 to trigger the increase for 2012 benefits.

In addition to raising the payable benefits for SSI recipients, the new changes will also impact the paychecks of U.S. workers. While the tax rate for Social Security remains the same at 6.20%, the total maximum subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes, known as OASDI, has been raised from $106,800 to $110,100. The SSA estimates that this will impact approximately 10 million workers who fall between this range out of the nation’s 161 million workforce.

Other changes in 2012 will impact the total amount the Social Security recipients who are working can earn before impacting their benefit status. This applies for disabled, retired and low-income workers, each of whom are allowed to work a small amount while still falling under their respective category within the SSA.

Social Security Deductions May Increase, Too

Under the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which is designed to keep more money in the paycheck of middle-income workers, deductions of the OASDI were decreased by 2 percentage points from 7.65% to 5.65% throughout 2011.

The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 continued these deductions through the end of February, 2012, but they may revert to their regular rate unless similar legislation is passed.

The higher deduction rate will see more money going into the Social Security system, but less in the pockets of workers.

SSA to Review Disability Appeals Process

December 21st, 2011 by chris

An investigation being commissioned by the Social Security Administration is looking to answer the question – why are some judges approving so many Disability claims while other are approving so few?

Roughly 1,500 administrative-law judges throughout the country hear appeals for Social Security cases, and a recent study of their decisions shows an apparent difference in their standards for decision-making on Social Security Disability claims.

According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, one judge in Houston awarded benefits in only 13 percent of his cases last year, while another judge in Kingsport, Tenn., saw fit to award benefits in 99 percent of the cases he heard.

Social Security judges, who essentially are employees of the Social Security Administration appointed for life, hear appeals cases that have been denied twice before at the state level.

The Social Security Disability Insurance program is designed to offer financial and health-care benefits to Americans who are unable to work. Some 10.6 million Americans are expected to receive $130 billion in benefits in 2011.

Facing a crush of new applications each year, in addition to 771,318 applicants in the backlog in 2011, the SSDI program could run out of funds by 2017 under its current system.

The new independent review of the Social Security Administration, to be led by the Administrative Conference of the United States, will suggest ways that can not only make the appeals process based more on merit for those truly in need, but also save the SSA millions of dollars by denying more claims that are unfounded.

In one such step already being implemented, applicants at this stage of the appeals process are no longer being informed beforehand of the judge in their case. This is designed to prevent SSDI applicants and their attorneys from shopping around to find a judge more likely to approve the claim.

Another focus of the study, looking to reduce redundancy in the Social Security process, will attempt to suss out why so many federal courts – which represent the next higher level in the appeals process – are overturning decisions by Social Security judges who deny benefits to applicants.

The findings of the study won’t bring immediate changes when they are issued next November, but could serve as a blueprint for Congress or the Social Security Administration to issue new rules.

Lawmakers Look to Close Representative Payee Loophole

December 6th, 2011 by chris

The US Senate has introduced a new bill that would make it more difficult for Social Security Disability checks to be cashed by a person other than the payee. The move comes after a Pennsylvania woman was found holding several mentally disabled government benefit recipients captive and cashing their checks.

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is sponsoring legislation that would allow Social Security Administration officials access to existing government databases to identify violent criminals who are seeking representative payee status for another person’s benefits, according to the Washington Post. In effect, this would force all potential representative payees to undergo a criminal background check through the SSA.

It’s already illegal for convicted felons to be representative payees under a 2004 law aimed at cracking down Social Security fraud, but recent events show that the existing legislation did not go far enough to prevent this form of abuse.

Linda Ann Weston has been charged with kidnapping and other offenses after four malnourished mentally disabled adults were found in a basement boiler room in her Philadelphia home on Oct 15. Weston and three other defendants allegedly had been seizing control of the captives’ disability checks.

“The horrors that took place … are deeply troubling, and we must do everything we can to ensure this never, ever happens again,” Sen. Casey said at a news conference with Philadelphia police. “This legislation will ensure that the Social Security Administration has the resources and the tools it needs to stop another situation like this in its tracks.”

Weston was convicted and served prison time for allegedly allowing a man to starve to death three decades ago, which should have barred her from cashing disability checks under the 2004 law that requires payees to disclose if they’ve ever serve a year or more in prison. However, due to lack of fraud-prevention resources in the Social Security Administration, Weston’s criminal past went unnoticed.

Casey’s new bill, set to be introduced in the Senate by the end of the year, would give the SSA more access to existing government databases, such as the FBI’s National Crime Information Center system. It would also increase the number of fraud cases initiated, as the increased policing power would allow the SSA to investigate a wider range of potential offenses.

New Compassionate Allowance Conditions May Speed SSDI Applications

November 16th, 2011 by admin

For many people claiming Disability through the Social Security Administration, the waiting is the hardest part.

Due to massive backlogs and the complex appeals process, many disabled Americans find they must wait months or years before finding themselves eligible to receive SSDI.

Thankfully, the wait may be shorter for those suffering from what the SSA calls “Compassionate Allowance Conditions,” which allow a Social Security applicant to have his or her claim fast-tracked. In October, the SSA announced 13 new conditions that qualify for Compassionate Allowance.

All of the new conditions eligible for the Compassionate Allowance program are related to immune system and neurological disorders, including:

  • Malignant Multiple Sclerosis
  • The ALS/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex
  • Pulmonary Kaposi Sarcoma
  • Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
  • Primary Effusion Lymphoma
  • Angelman Syndrome
  • Lewy Body Dementia
  • Lowe Syndrome

“Social Security handles more than three million disability applications each year and we need to keep innovating and making our work more efficient,” Commissioner of Social Security Michael J. Astrue said. “With our Compassionate Allowances program, we quickly approved disability benefits for more than 60,000 people with severe disabilities in the past fiscal year. We have made significant improvements, but we can always do more.”

The new additions to the program bring the total Compassionate Allowance Conditions recognized by the SSA to 113.

Conditions already on the Compassionate Allowance list include certain cancers, adult brain disorders, and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.