Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today hosted at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the agency’s sixth public hearing on Compassionate Allowances. Commissioner Astrue joined Susan B. Shurin, Acting Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, and other Social Security officials in listening to testimony from some of the leading experts on cardiovascular disease and multiple organ transplants regarding possible methods of identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for both adults and children.
“Compassionate Allowances and the Quick Disability Determination process are making a real difference for disabled Americans by ensuring those with devastating disabilities receive their benefit decisions quickly and accurately,” Commissioner Astrue said. “This fiscal year, about 150,000 people will benefit from these fast-track disability processes. With this hearing, we continue to look at broader categories of conditions to determine if a subset or certain diagnosis might clearly meet our disability standards and qualify as a Compassionate Allowance.”
Social Security implemented Compassionate Allowances in October 2008 to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants with medical conditions so severe that their conditions by definition meet Social Security's standards. There currently are 88 specific diseases and conditions that qualify as a Compassionate Allowance. To learn more and to view a web cast of today’s hearing, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.
“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in America,” said Commissioner Astrue. “More than 95,000 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant and nearly 4,000 are added to the waiting list each month. Today’s hearing will help us move one step closer to ensuring quick and accurate disability decisions for those with the most severe conditions.”
Submitted by Social Security... on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 19:11
Mary Philips: I owed so much to so many people. I noticed that my depth perception was off, that I couldn't tell how close I was to the car in front of me, and if the signals - all of a sudden I was seeing doubles of everything; taillights, signals. And the lines on the road were crossing themselves, and it totally scared me. Frankly, I was scared to get out. I had heard stories about the SSDI process, the overwhelming denial rates, and the time it took to receive an award.
Choosing Allsup was the best thing I ever did. They took care of everything. I never had to talk to Social Security Administration directly. I knew I needed help, but I was concerned about the cost of representation. I was surprised to learn that the fee for representation is regulated by the federal government. The payment comes from the monies the government owes the clients. Allsup does not get paid until they obtain your award. Fortunately, Allsup is successfully 97% of the time. I owe so much to so many people, specially Allsup, they helped me when I needed it most.
Submitted by Social Security... on Thu, 10/28/2010 - 17:04
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Don Esra.
Don Ezra: You know how sometimes you're asked two of the three people you'd most like to meet? Well, in my case, I've met one of them, and I've got to know them a little bit. Yes, you know who I'm talking about; Placido Domingo. No, no, I don't mean Placido Domingo, I don't actually want to meet him; he's very talented, very famous, but he's not the person. The reason I mentioned him is that is that the economic editor of London's Sunday Telegraph Newspaper has said, "Dr. José Piñera is the Placido Domingo of the pension world. Grab, beg, borrow or steal a ticket to hear him speak." Well, that's the treat you've got in store for you.
Dr. Piñera is the architect of the world's first privatized Social Security System in Chile while he was minister of labor and Social Security from 1978 to 1980. So why did we ask him to be our keynote speaker? Because we want the same thing in The States? No, we are neutral in that debate. Some years ago George Rustle and Mike Philips identified Social Security reform as potentially a huge change-agent as to how Americans think about retirement, how we think about investing. Just as the introduction of Social Security itself way back in the 1930s changed the perception of the nation and the actions of the nation. And as a player in the financial field, we want to understand the different possible directions that Social Security reform can go in, so we can prepare ourselves, in advance, for success in every scenario. Well, like it or not, one possible direction is the creation of individual accounts. Dr. Piñera has not only done this successfully 25 years ago, he's been asked for input, he's been asked for advice by scores, literally scores of governments all over the world. United States under President Clinton, United States under President Bush; both, the U.K. under Prime Minister Blair, Russia, where he held a 4 hour meeting with President Putin at his dacha outside Moscow. China, Poland, Sweden, Mexico, you name it, they've asked him for input and advice. We bring you the best, he is the best.
One of the ways that I've analyzed Social Security myself, is that depending on its design, it can made subject to basic forms of risk. One is market risk. What if the markets fall, when would you stop withdrawing money from individual accounts? That's a risk. The other risk is political risk. Given that the "pay as you go" arrangements by definition are greatly underfunded and, therefore, subject to amendments periodically by the political process, how are so called promises going to be changed in the future, as is inevitable.
Those of us making up this audience today live with market risk. We're familiar with it, we understand it, we cope with it, it doesn't terrify us. For us, political risk is probably much less manageable and much less predictable. But you know, there's another world. I was a delegate at a recent White House conference on aging and most of the delegates there worked directly with the elderly and the poor. Now what I learnt from them is they know nothing about markets. Markets terrify them. They fear losing everything, yes everything; a 100%. They fear losing it all to a force they don't understand and are forced they can't control. In contrast, they understand the political process very well. They know how to petition for what they want. They know what gives them mental comfort. For them, individual accounts are very worrisome things to contemplate. My point is, remember, we in this room are not a typical consumer of Social Security.
So, because we in the States have never been exposed to individual accounts in Social Security, we've known 70 years of defying benefits. We haven't been exposed to individual accounts, so we bring you in person, the person who can explain how it all works better than anybody else: Dr. José Piñera.
José Piñera: Thank you very much, that was a very generous introduction and I feel very honored to be able to speak at the … summit and have all of you as my audience. It is true I come from Chile, a very long and very narrow country at the end of South America. But please, I do not want to tell anybody a lesson. I do believe that globalization also means the exchange of ideas. I do believe that there are universal ideas. I do believe in the power of ideas. And that's why let me tell you what we did in Chile 25 years ago, and you will be able to decide whether it's useful for your country.
I studied economics in the University of Chile that at that time was almost a fully owned subsidiary of Chicago Economics. So I had very good free market economics. And I leant how free markets, private enterprise, individual responsibility can create prosperity and democracy. At that time, I remember that during my years there, I was always worried about the problem of poverty. We were, of course, a very poor country. But more than poverty in young age, when even a poor person can work hard and maybe get a better wage if he is a good worker … I was terribly worried about the problem of poverty in old age. A person who is 75, 85 years old, especially if she is a woman who live much longer than men, they do not have the ability to work. The physically, the psychological possibility of earning another income. So they depend completely on Social Security. And I was amazed that after a lifetime of paying, in Chile or in other countries, 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, in some countries even 35% of their income, to some sort of Social Security system, they will end up in old age living in quiet desperation.
So I decided to study this problem in depth, and then I went and had my master's degree in economics at Harvard University and I spent a lot of my time precisely thinking about the problem of poverty in old age. And my conclusion was that there was an enormous mistake in the essence of an unfunded defined benefit, pay as you go, Social Security System. I thought that that system … is not a Chilean or an American idea. You may know that that idea comes from Chancellor Bismarck in Prussia. That is why I always say nowadays Marx is dead but Bismarck is still very alive all over the world. Chancellor Bismarck created the first pay-as-you-go system. Now he was a very good politician and therefore in an age in which the average expectance of living of a Prussian was 45 years old, he set the retirement age at 65. That is, he promised great benefits, but with the hope that nobody will receive it. But a great Austrian economist, Friedrich Hayek, spoke about the law of unintended consequences. Sometimes politicians, leaders do an action - they say, "We'll create this little government program", and they do not know how that program can eventually become a huge problem for the country. So Bismarckian idea spread around Europe, came to the U.S and then President Roosevelt, of course, in very difficult time with the great depression, capital markets were not working. So nobody could criticize President Roosevelt for not having begun a different sort of system at that time.
And, of course, it came also to my country, incidentally, ten years before the U.S. We began in 1925. So by 1980 our system was going bankrupt. A defined benefit, especially at a national level, has what I call a "fatal flow" in destroying the link between contributions and benefits. Benefits are defined by different laws than contributions, and the contributions ...
New Call Center Will Help Agency Handle Growing Demand for Services
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today joined Congressman John Tanner and local officials at a groundbreaking ceremony for the agency’s new teleservice center (TSC) in Jackson, Tennessee. The Jackson TSC will be the first new call center opened by Social Security in more than a decade. When completed, it will create almost 200 new jobs for residents in the Jackson area.
“Our teleservice centers handle more than 60 million calls each year and we are facing an ever increasing demand for our services as more and more baby boomers reach retirement age,” Commissioner Astrue said. “The new Jackson call center will help us further improve service to the millions of Americans who call our toll-free number. The new permanent federal jobs we are bringing to Jackson and the State of Tennessee are an added benefit for the area.”
The Jackson TSC will provide additional capacity the agency needs in the Eastern and Central time zones, where more than two-thirds of the calls to Social Security’s toll-free number originate. Social Security currently has 33 TSCs operating in locations all across the country. All centers take calls from throughout the U.S. and provide service via Social Security’s national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Live service is available from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Automated service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Social Security is working closely with the General Services Administration to facilitate the process for building the new TSC. The Jackson call center will be located at 257 BancorpSouth Parkway and is expected to open by late 2011.
Submitted by Social Security... on Fri, 09/24/2010 - 19:56
Ken "Wasko" Waszkiewicz, the independent candidate running for U.S. Congress in the 4th district of Colorado, offers an interesting solution for Social Security:
Ken Waszkiewicz: My name is Ken "Wasko" Waszkiewicz, and I am the independent candidate running for US Congress in the Fourth District of Colorado. And I want to discuss with you Social Security. And that system may have been a good idea when it first came out in 1935 to assist the elderly, or to assist the poor, to assist the widows that resulted after the war. But in 2010, that system is broken. It is 14.5 trillion dollars of unfunded liability. It's the biggest ponzi scheme of all time. And our government is in charge of it. It went from being a retirement fund to a giant piggy bank for Congress to use to fund wars and pork projects. And whether you believe it will go belly up in five years or 50 years, the fact is it's not a sustainable system. It will break. It is yet another government program that infringes on our freedoms, by making this mandatory contributions.
But what do you do? How do you end this program? You've got people who are just paying into the system. And you've got people who paid into the system their whole lives. And they're about to retire or are retired. What do you do?
Well, this is my solution. For the people 50 and over, you have two options.
a) You can continue to pay into the system and receive any benefits that you get when you retire. Or
b) stop paying into the system. And when you retire, only receive the benefits that you paid into it up to that point when you got out.
For the people 30-50, that's my age group, you have two options:
a) continue to pay into the system, have it taken out of your paycheck and receive any type of benefit when you retire that you might get when you retire.
b) get out of the system. Stop paying into it. And forfeit all the money that they've taken from you to that point. I would gladly do that. Get me out of the system. You can keep all the money that you've taken from me. And you can use it to invest in the people 50 and over, who are about to retire or are retired.
For the people 30 and under, you only have one option. And that's to get out of the system. Stop paying into it. And forfeit all the money that the government has taken from you to that point. You weren't going to get anything when you retired anyway. So you might as well end this system now.
And if you go back to my flat tax idea, I have a video on kenwasko.com that discusses my flat tax. And in there, there's a 30 percent that I allocated for the people to invest in their future. This is a great place for you to invest in your retirement, which could be in a retirement fund that you want to invest in. You may want to invest in your community, because that's how you see your retirement being or going. You might want to invest in your child's future, your child's schooling and stuff like that to... That might be your retirement plan.
The point is that you, the people, get to decide where your money goes and what your future is going to hold. Not some government agency over there 2,000 miles away in Washington. Nobody will take care of you better than yourself. Because it's your life at stake, not theirs.
Lastly, the Social Security number. What do you do with this identification number that we've had. First of all, it's 2010. And a nine digit number is not very secure. We need to look at a universal ID system. Something that uses your fingerprint, or your retina to identify you. Something that you can use to go to the grocery store, go to a DMV, or go anywhere that you need to make a payment. Or identify yourself using this. Not some nine digit number.
My name is Ken "Wasko" Waszkiewicz, and I am the independent candidate running for US Congress in the Fourth District of Colorado. And this is my solution for Social Security.
The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds and the long-range outlook remains unchanged. The combined assets of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2037, the same as projected last year. The Trustees also project that program costs will exceed tax revenues in 2010 and 2011, be less than tax revenues in 2012 through 2014, and then permanently exceed tax revenues beginning 2015, one year earlier than estimated in last year’s report. The worsening of the short-range outlook for the Social Security Trust Funds is due in large part to the recent economic downturn.
In the 2010 Annual Report to Congress, the Trustees announced:
The projected point at which the combined Trust Funds will be exhausted comes in 2037 – the same as the estimate in last year’s report. At that time, there will be sufficient tax revenue coming in to pay about 78 percent of benefits.
The projected point at which tax revenues will fall below program costs comes in 2010. Tax revenues will again exceed program costs in 2012 through 2014 before permanently falling below program costs in 2015 -- one year sooner than the estimate in last year’s report.
The projected actuarial deficit over the 75-year long-range period is 1.92 percent of taxable payroll -- 0.08 percentage point smaller than in last year’s report.
Over the 75-year period, the Trust Funds would require additional revenue equivalent to $5.4 trillion in present value dollars to pay all scheduled benefits.
“The impact of the current economic downturn continues to be felt by the Social Security Trust Funds,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “The fact that the costs for the program will likely exceed tax revenue this year is not a cause for panic but it does send a strong message that it’s time for us to make the tough choices that we know we need to make. I applaud President Obama for his creation of the Deficit Commission so we can start the national discussion needed to ensure that Social Security remains a foundation of economic security for our children and grandchildren.”
Other highlights of the Trustees Report include:
Income including interest to the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $807 billion ($667 billion in net contributions, $22 billion from taxation of benefits and $118 billion in interest) in 2009.
Total expenditures from the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $686 billion in 2009.
The assets of the combined OASDI Trust Funds increased by about $122 billion in 2009 to a total of $2.5 trillion.
During 2009, an estimated 156 million people had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes.
Social Security paid benefits of $675 billion in calendar year 2009. There were about 53 million beneficiaries at the end of the calendar year.
The cost of $6.2 billion to administer the program in 2009 was a very low 0.9 percent of total expenditures.
The combined Trust Fund assets earned interest at an effective annual rate of 4.9 percent in 2009.
The Board of Trustees is comprised of six members. Four serve by virtue of their positions with the federal government: Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee; Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security; Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services; and Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor. The two public trustee positions are currently vacant. President Obama nominated two individuals to serve as public trustees, and the Senate Finance Committee held hearings on July 29 for both trustee nominees. Their confirmations are pending.
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today opened in St. Louis, Missouri the agency’s fifth National Hearing Center (NHC). The St. Louis NHC is the largest in the nation and is co-located with two other new Social Security facilities -- the National Case Assistance Center (NCAC) and the Midwest Training Center. Together these three facilities will bring over 200 new federal jobs to St. Louis. The project, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was completed in just ten months and is the fastest the General Services Administration has ever delivered a project of this size, quality, and type.
“The St. Louis NHC will help us reduce the backlog of disability cases in those areas of the country where citizens with disabilities are currently waiting far too long for a hearing decision,” Commissioner Astrue said. “For the City of St. Louis and the State of Missouri, these facilities will bring new permanent federal jobs.”
The St. Louis NHC will be staffed by 100 people -- 18 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and 82 support staff. The NHC uses state-of-the-art electronic video technology to hold disability hearings remotely throughout the country to reduce backlogs. St. Louis initially will hear disability cases for Cleveland, Ohio and Minneapolis, Minnesota – cities with two of the most backlogged hearing offices in the nation. Social Security has additional NHCs in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Baltimore, Maryland, Falls Church, Virginia, and Chicago, Illinois.
The NCAC and Midwest Training Center will employ 102 people. The NCAC will provide decision-writing assistance to backlogged hearing offices throughout the U.S. The Midwest Training Center will enable the agency to train Midwest and western employees closer to home – saving taxpayers money by reducing the travel costs associated with employee training.
“The new Social Security facilities in St. Louis are prime examples of Recovery Act dollars at work,” said Commissioner Astrue. “I applaud the General Services Administration and the Social Security staff who worked tirelessly to open these new facilities in record time. The result will be better service for disabled Americans and increased job opportunities for residents of the St. Louis area.”
Social Security’s administrative appeals operation, under the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, is the largest administrative judicial system in the world. ALJs conduct hearings and will issue approximately three-quarters of a million decisions this year. For additional information about Social Security’s hearings and appeals process, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/appeals.
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency is submitting legislation to Congress that would prohibit states, without the Commissioner’s prior authorization, from reducing the number of state personnel who make disability determinations for Social Security or the hours they work below the amount the agency authorizes.
“It is long past time that states end these unconscionable furloughs and hiring freezes that needlessly harm citizens with disabilities,” Commissioner Astrue said. “States realize no fiscal savings whatsoever from these actions and this legislation would prevent needless delays in the disability determination process. I am grateful for the President’s support and urge Congress to move quickly to help us make this provision the law of the land.”
More than a dozen states have implemented furloughs and hiring freezes that affect the federally paid state workers who make disability determinations for Social Security. The state agencies that employ these workers in their disability determination service (DDS) components receive 100 percent of their funding from the Federal government. Accordingly, states do not save any money by imposing furloughs and hiring freezes on federally funded employees. Rather, they slow benefits to some of the most vulnerable citizens – for example, furloughs in California in fiscal year 2010 delayed payment of over $11 million in benefits to more than 40,000 citizens with disabilities. State-imposed furloughs and hiring freezes also reduce state income tax revenue and increase unemployment in the state.
“The members of Local 1000 have always believed that furloughing federally funded positions doesn’t make economic sense and that has been proven in California during these past 18 months that Governor Schwarzenegger has imposed furloughs on state employees,” Yvonne Walker, President of Service Employees International Union Local 1000 said. “I applaud Social Security for initiating legislation that would prevent further bad economic policy from going forward. This provision will not only help DDS workers, but the claimants who rely on the services our members provide.”
“We commend the Commissioner for his forceful and dedicated leadership in taking this bold action,” said Susan X. Smith, President of the National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE). “Our members are witness to the impact the current economic recession has had for disabled citizens and we are working hard to meet the dramatic increase in claims for benefits. These furloughs further compound the problems faced by disabled citizens by creating unnecessary delays in the processing of their claims. NADE urges quick action with regards to this legislative proposal.”
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that Social Security is asking members of the public, as well as current and former employees, to help the agency celebrate its 75 years of public service by sharing their personal stories and reflections about how Social Security has touched their lives. To share your story, go to www.socialsecurity.gov and click on the box that says “Social Security Celebrates 75 Years of Public Service.” Selected stories will be edited for content and brevity and posted for everyone to read.
“On August 14, the most important and successful domestic program in our nation’s history turns 75,” Commissioner Astrue said. “For three quarters of a century, Social Security has provided a financial lifeline to millions of Americans. As we approach our anniversary, Social Security remains a solid foundation for retirees, the disabled, and survivors. I encourage everyone to visit our website, share their stories, and join me in wishing Social Security a happy 75th anniversary.”
Social Security is asking people to tell how the program made a difference in their lives and the lives of their family and friends. For example:
How did it feel to receive your first retirement check?
Tell us if you received survivors benefits when a loved one died.
How has the Social Security disability program helped you?
How did a Social Security Administration employee go above and beyond to provide you with great service?
Current and former Social Security Administration employees: Share your memorable stories of service.
Social Security also will soon launch a video contest “How Social Security Has Made a Difference in My Life.” Submitted videos will be posted on the agency’s YouTube channel and the winning video will be posted on www.socialsecurity.gov. Details of the contest will be posted on the website later this week.
Social Security invites the public to view a special photo gallery that takes them on a brief journey through the agency’s 75-year history. The photo gallery is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/75thanniversary. A more extensive collection of history-related materials that presents both the institutional history of the Social Security Administration and the history of the Social Security program is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/history.
I work full time with a very nice annual income and do not plan to retire for many years to come. I will reach the age of 66 in February of 2011 which is when I can start collecting at the 100% level. My dilemma is do I start collecting at age 66 or wait the four years when I am 70? I ask, as the difference in my monthly check is $800
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