Social Security Turns 82!

The Social Security Administration (SSA) delivers services through a nationwide network of over 1,400 offices that include regional offices, field offices, card centers, teleservice centers, processing centers, hearing offices, the Appeals Council, and their State and territorial partners, the Disability Determination Services. They also have a presence in U.S. embassies around the globe.

The Social Security Act was first signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935 where he stated that “The success or failure of any government must be measured by the well-being of its citizens.” The Act established one of our nation’s greatest social and economic achievements: a law that at its very core was meant to allow people to meet their basic needs at the most vulnerable times in their lives.

The SSA began as an independent agency, then in 1939 it was made part of sub-cabinet agency, and then on March 31, 1995 was returned to an independent agency status during a ceremony at their headquarters in Baltimore. At this ceremony, President Clinton commented on the importance of the Social Security program, stating that “for millions of Americans, [the Social Security Act] transformed old age from a time of fear and want to a period of rest and reward. It empowered many American families as well, freeing them to put their children through college to enrich their own lives, knowing that their parents would not grow old in poverty.”

Social Security provides benefits for: Old age (retirement), Survivors, and Disability.

You can read more here: http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/ssact-toc.htm

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

What Are My Retroactive Benefits, And Why Are They Taking So Long?

Retroactive benefits (or back-pay) are the benefits that accrue while you wait for your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim to be granted. In theory, you will begin receiving your monthly benefits and then the retroactive benefits are released within the next three months. However, we have been seeing extreme delays in the release of these retroactive benefits over the last year or so.

Some local Social Security offices are estimating that it is taking certain payment centers an additional eight to twelve months to release these retroactive benefits. The reason being cited is that the payment centers are extremely backlogged and understaffed, and that Social Security is concentrating on meeting the demands of getting the monthly benefit started as the first priority. Essentially, the processing of retroactive benefits is being pushed to the back burner.

If you can prove a “dire need” situation, then Social Security will try to release your retroactive benefits sooner. For example, retroactive benefits may be released sooner if you can show that you lack the resources to obtain food, critical medication or medical treatment, or shelter. You can submit eviction notices, foreclosure notices, shut-off notices, and other items to substantiate the claim that your case meets the “dire need” standard to expedite the retroactive benefit processing. Additionally, claimants who suffer from terminal illnesses or are designated “wounded warriors” from active duty injuries may also see their retroactive benefits processed more quickly than other beneficiaries.

Please contact us if you are interested in applying for disability benefits, or if you are looking for help with an existing claim!

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

Social Security 2017 Trustees Report

On July 13, 2017, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report on the current and projected financial status of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) trust funds.

The combined asset reserves of the OASDI trust funds are projected to become depleted in 2034, the same as projected last year, with 77 percent of benefits payable at that time.

In the 2017 Report to Congress, the trustees also announced:

-The combined trust fund reserves are still growing and will continue to do so through 2021. Beginning in 2022, the annual cost of the program is projected to exceed income.

-The DI trust fund will become depleted in 2028, extended from last year’s estimate of 2023, with 93 percent of benefits still payable.

-The projected actuarial deficit over the 75-year long-range period is 2.83 percent of taxable payroll – 0.17 percentage point larger than in last year’s report.

You can view the full 2017 Trustees Report at www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/TR/2017/.

By: Thomas A. Klint of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®