SSA Board of Trustees Annual Report Reveals SS Disability Trust Fund to Drain Three Years Earlier than Projected

In an annual report regarding the financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds, the SSA Board of Trustees revealed that the merged asset of the Old-Age and Survivor Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will run out by 2033. It is actually three years earlier than the SSA Board of Trustees projected last year.

The Social Security disability insurance, likewise, is expected to drain out by 2016, a couple of years earlier than originally projected.

Also, the Board of Trustees projected that by 2012, the cost of the OASDI program will exceed and continue to stay higher until the remainder of the 75-year period. 

The SSA Board of Trustees 2012 annual report announcements are quoted below:

•    The projected period at which the combined Trust Funds will be drained comes in 2033 — three years earlier than projected last year.  During that time, there will be enough non-interest income coming in to pay about 75 percent of scheduled benefits.

•    The projected actuarial shortage over the 75-year long-range period is 2.67 percent of taxable payroll — 0.44 percentage point larger than in last year’s report.

•    Over the 75-year period, the Trust Funds would require additional revenue equivalent to $8.6 trillion in present dollar’s value to pay all scheduled benefits.

SSA Commissioner Michael J. Astrue said that the Trustees’ annual report this year is disturbing. Such trouble about social security’s finances was not even anticipated way before. Commissioner Astrue added that the alarming report calls for the attention of the Congress. Apparently, Congress needs to act within four years to avoid cutting off the social security disability benefits.

The agency’s Board of Trustees has six members. Four of its members serve the federal government by virtue of their positions, while the two serve the public.

The other highlights of the Board of Trustee’s report were discussed at the agency’s official press release page.

The social security disability benefits program is a very helpful program for people who really need financial assistance, such as the elderly and the disabled. Hence, if the said disability benefits program will be automatically cut, a huge portion of the US population will be significantly affected. However, it is never too late, since Congress still has options to save the funds from exhaustion.

Social Security Administration Begins Paying Social Security Disability Insurance Electronically

It was last year when the Social Security Administration (SSA) began paying Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) via electronic payment to new recipients since the US Treasury Department phased out paper checks.

Meanwhile, for the old recipients, they still have until before March 1, 2013 to switch to electronic payment through an account of their choice.

Effective March 1, 2013, all social security disability insurance beneficiaries will receive their benefits via electronic means. Therefore, beneficiaries should carefully plan prior to the said date.

Beneficiaries who are still currently receiving social security disability insurance via pay checks may opt to have their benefits paid to them either through direct deposit into a traditional bank, and other financial institutions they prefer.

To switch their accounts, beneficiaries must visit their bank or other financial institutions.

This concept aims to slash huge amounts off the agency’s spending over the next decade. The agency is expecting to save up to $1 million for the next decade once the government refrains from issuing paper checks.

As the Social Security Act recommend, the government must provide monthly benefits to claimants who can no longer work due to their old age or severe disability. However, getting a positive result for Social Security Disability Insurance can be a long process. Therefore, expect that switching to an electronic account may probably take some time, too, that’s why it’s best to start its processing as soon as possible.

In case a problem occurs while you are switching for the electronic payment, don’t feel hesitant, since there are people who can answer all queries and guide you with any of your concerns regarding disability benefits.

Downsizing Company Affects Rising Social Security Disability Claims

Nowadays, some companies that were experiencing difficulties often strive to downsize in order to save money as well as to increase their productivity. This downsizing will then affect the increasing number of social security disability claims.

In 1995, downsizing has been highly commended for being one of the factors behind the increase in productivity growth.

Downsizing might be good in the economy. However, it does not always bring a positive result. Workers who are less productive often lose their job during the process. Usually, workers with ages 50 and above are those that are often kicked out of their job. Such workers may already have mental or physical problems that can limit their ability to perform their job well.

More often, terminated workers would have a hard time in finding a new job and eventually, they will end up opting to apply for a social security disability claim.

For many years, social security disability costs moderately, but in the past couple of decades the cost increased. Definitely it is due to the downsizing efforts done by most companies.

Obviously, a faster increase in productivity will mean an increase in the social security disability claim as well.

Meanwhile, economists describe social security disability as a political swamp and one of the main reasons why the federal expenditure and budget shortage are hard to deal with.

Apparently, choosing which one must prevail between the less productivity with less disability claims and the excellent productivity with high disability claims is difficult to do. It seems that there’ no way to go between both of them.

However, when it comes to approval of the social security claims, it still depends on the agency whether to grant or deny such applications. Sometimes, a claimant sees having social security disability lawyers as their advantage in filing for a claim.

Woman Gets in Jail For Social Security Disability Fraud

The Social Security Disability Insurance program is very helpful for the people who are in dire need of financial assistance due to their disability. However, heartless and fraudulent individuals often take advantage on the only benefits that the disabled people have.

A 23-year old woman named Teri M. Mozingo was sentenced with 11 months imprisonment for Social Security disability fraud. The fraud happened during her time of employment of at Bios Corp., an organization dedicated for caring for people with developmental disabilities.

Mozingo started her fraudulent act when she was asked to switch the accounts of the claimants from checks to direct deposit into Bios trust accounts. Instead of depositing the checks into the Bios trust account, Mozingo deposited the money into her own personal account.

In her guilty plea, Mozingo admitted that while she was employed at Bios Corp., she took payments from 15 Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income claimants within the stretch of Dec. 4, 2008 until fall of 2010.

To avoid getting caught, Mozingo deposited some of the money from one of her accounts into the Bios trust accounts and then created fraudulent accounting entries into the Bios’ record book.

Apparently, Mozingo thought of her plan very carefully from the beginning until the end. She even thought of a way to cover up her complex scheme. It was a very nice yet foolish idea. She didn’t even bother to realize the consequences if she’s ever been caught. It is true that some secrets cannot go unrevealed forever.

Mozingo was fired at Bios on September 2010 after the organization discovered her illegal act. Now, apart from her jail sentence, Mozingo is also required to pay a total of $58,889.93 in reimbursement still owed to Bios Corp. and she will be under the court supervision for three years.

Unfortunately, because of the little amount of money she got from her social security disability fraud, she was not only entitled for imprisonment but she also lost her job and is further required to pay almost double the amount she stole from the organization.

Social Security Administration Once Again Achieved High Recognition

In the latest press release launched by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in its official website, they proudly announced that once again, the agency ranks as one among the top ten “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government”. SSA is at the sixth (6th) place of the top ten.

The recognition not only identifies the administration’s efficiency in providing quality workforce but also proves that they are committed to treating their employees as its most valuable asset.

Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue expressed excitement for the recognition and said that he is very proud to be on the list again of the top ten “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government”. He is also proud of his employees who helped him achieve the appreciation that their administration had just received. He is very grateful as well that despite the obstacles that came their way through the years in service, his employees still bring out their best in supporting the administration.

The said recognition - awarded by the Partnership of Public service and American University’s Institute of the Study of Public Policy Implementation - was based on the results of the Official Personnel Management’s Federal Human Capital Survey. It is a government–wide assessment that determines the employees’ perception in the nature of their work.

The survey stimulates the agencies to establish an effective civilian workforce. It identifies the skills of both employer and employee in an agency and how they coordinate with each other to build an effective workforce. Of course to achieve this goal, employers must be a good leader and employees must be satisfied and dedicated to their jobs.

This is another great news from the Social security administration. Hopefully, in the next set of good news coming from the administration, maybe they can tackle about the beneficiaries and wage earners, particularly about the Social Security Disability. That will probably be the best good news everybody is waiting for.