Public Benefits Task Force

On June 5, 2018 the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. Social Security is NOT going bankrupt.

The OASI Trust Fund (retirement and survivors’ benefits) is projected to become depleted in late 2034, as compared to last year’s estimate of early 2035, with 77 percent of benefits payable at that time. The DI Trust Fund (disability benefits) will become depleted in 2032, extended from last year’s estimate of 2028, with 96 percent of benefits still payable.

With no action from Congress, Social Security can continue to provide 100% of the retirement benefits people are owed until 2034. After that, even if absolutely no changes were made, beneficiaries would still receive 77% of their benefits. People receiving disability benefits will get their full benefit check until 2032 and, if Congress makes no changes, they will receive 96% of their benefits thereafter.

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

Information on income and resource eligibility for the Medicare Savings Programs (QMB & SLMB) and what those programs cover. 

https://www.ncoa.org/wp-content/uploads/medicare-savings-programs-coverage-and-eligibility.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=01c43fc8-0f86-4817-b0c9-ba9070abef70

Trump Signs Bill Adding Protections For Social Security, SSI Recipients

by Shaun Heasley | April 17, 2018

Individuals tasked with handling Social Security payments for people with disabilities will be subject to greater scrutiny under a new law signed by President Donald Trump.

The president signed the measure known as the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018, or H.R. 4547, late last week after it was unanimously approved by Congress.

The legislation will impose greater oversight on representative payees who manage Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for those who need assistance.

Specifically, the law bars people with certain types of criminal convictions from acting as representative payees and prevents individuals who have representative payees themselves from serving in that capacity for others. And, it will give beneficiaries more say in who handles money on their behalf by allowing Social Security recipients to make a list of their preferred payees in order of preference.

Meanwhile, the legislation will require that protection and advocacy groups in each state — federally-mandated organizations that provide legal assistance and advocate for people with disabilities — conduct more reviews of representative payee performance on behalf of the Social Security Administration.

In addition to enhancing oversight, the measure will also eliminate a requirement that parents or spouses living with a person with a disability complete an annual accounting form for representative payees.

“This new law is great news for the millions of Social Security beneficiaries who rely on a representative payee to help them manage their benefits,” said U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, who sponsored the legislation. “Not only will it provide much-needed accountability for the representative payee program, but it also puts measures into place that ensure newly selected representative payees are qualified and trustworthy.”

According to the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, some 6.2 million individuals or organizations act as representative payees on behalf of about 8 million beneficiaries. Such representatives are assigned if the agency determines that a person’s mental or physical condition prevents them from being able to manage their benefits.

Proponents of the legislation cited concerns from the Government Accountability Office, the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, the National Academy of Sciences and the Social Security Advisory Board about how Social Security officials have administered the representative payee program.

“For too long dishonest representative payees have exploited and abused people with disabilities without fear of being discovered,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, an umbrella group for the nation’s protection and advocacy organizations. “That stops today. We are thrilled to see that Congress has acted to protect the more than 8 million Americans who currently have representative payees.”

From Justice in Aging:

The Soc. Sec. Admin. releases data the average time (in months) from the date of the hearing request until a hearing was held for cases closed in the Office of Hearings Operations' hearing offices or national hearing centers.

Baltimore City   17 months

Natiional Hearing Cntr, Balt.  17.5 months

Dover, DE  17 months

Morgantown, WV  21 months

Washington 20 months

https://www.ssa.gov/appeals/DataSets/01_NetStat_Report.html

The Social Security Administration has announced that based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2016 through the third quarter of 2017, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will increase 2.0 percent in 2018.

The 2.0 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 61 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2018. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 29, 2017.

The monthly SSI Federal Payment Standard will increase to $750 for an individual and to $1125 for a couple.

The Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) monthly threshold will be $1180. The Trial Work Period (TWP) monthly threshold will be $850.

One will need to earn $1320 in 2018 to receive credit for a quarter of coverage.

Here is a link to a fact sheet that contains more facts and figures for Social Security benefits in 2018: https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/colafacts2018.pdf

The Social Security Administration has added three new Compassionate Allowances conditions:

CACH--Vanishing White Matter Disease-Infantile and Childhood Onset Forms

Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy, and

Kleefstra Syndrome

Compassionate Allowances are a way to quickly identify serious diseases and other medical conditions that meet Social Security's standards for disability benefits.

The Compassionate Allowances program identifies claims where the applicant’s disease or condition clearly meets Social Security’s statutory standard for disability. Many of these claims are allowed based on medical confirmation of the diagnosis alone, for example pancreatic cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and acute leukemia.

For more information about the program, including a list of all Compassionate Allowances conditions, please click here

or go to https://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm.

From the Center on Budge tand Policy Priorities:

"It is important to emphasize that, at this time, the ACA is still law and its provisions are still in place. People’s coverage hasn’t changed, and open enrollment is on schedule for November."

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The bill now moves to the Senate, where the bill will likely change and then to a conference committee or a vote on the Senate bill in the House.

This process will take time, and we have no way of knowing now what provisions, if any, will be enacted and signed into law. We do know that many people who gained coverage due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are confused and worried about what is going to happen to their coverage. It is important to emphasize that, at this time, the ACA is still law and its provisions are still in place. People’s coverage hasn’t changed, and open enrollment is on schedule for November. 

As passed by the House, the AHCA would dramatically reverse the gains in coverage that we’ve made since the passage of the ACA. For an in-depth look at the key provisions in the AHCA, please see a summary of the AHCA from our friends at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

We will continue to follow the progress of this bill, and will keep you informed of any updates as it proceeds through the Senate. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities website at www.cbpp.org includes numerous papers and resources on the AHCA and is updated on an almost daily basis with new material.