Disability News Blog

Kaiser News Reports:

After Russ Hillard developed Huntington’s disease, a devastating neurological disorder, he lost his $35,000-a-year job as a welder and, with it, his health insurance.

His wife, who was working part time, had insurance, but it didn’t come close to covering the medical bills for the incurable disease, which causes uncontrolled movements, emotional problems and the loss of cognitive abilities. Eventually, Hillard qualified for Medicare, which covers disabled people under 65 after a two-year waiting period. But the coverage didn’t kick in until after the family went deeply into debt and had to take out a $20,000 loan on their home in Methuen, N.H. …

Under federal rules, most people with disabilities who are younger than 65 aren’t eligible for Medicare until more than two years after they qualify for Social Security disability income. A coalition of more than 65 organizations led by the Medicare Rights Center has been pushing Congress to do away with the waiting period. But the effort has stalled because of the high cost to the federal government – an estimated $113 billion over 10 years …

Some groups, including the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, are going their own way, asking Congress for specific waivers from the Medicare waiting period for their diseases.

Columbus, Ohio (CNN) — President Barack Obama pledged Wednesday that the Social Security system won’t be privatized while he is in the White House.

In a town-hall style meeting with a few dozen residents of Columbus, Ohio, Obama said “modest” changes can keep the government pension system solvent for decades.

Republicans have called for transforming the government program to a private savings account as a way to help keep it going as America’s aging population stresses its financial health.

“It will not be privatized as long as I’m president,” Obama said to applause, noting that the economic recession and Wall Street collapse would have devastated the savings of retirees under a privatized Social Security system. Se Link to story here:

A White House-created commission is considering proposals to raise the retirement age and take other steps to shore up the finances of Social Security, prompting key players to prepare for a major battle over the program’s future. Under consideration are raising the retirement age and reducing benefiots for higher-income retirees. See the entire story in the Wall Street Journal here:

Social Security, the most successful domestic program in our nation’s history, is celebrating its 75th anniversary. …

Today, millions of retirees live in dignity thanks to their monthly Social Security benefit payment. Over the decades, Social Security expanded to not only protect against the risk of poverty in old age, but also the economic risk of career-ending disability and the premature death of a worker. …

As we celebrate 75 years, I reflect on how Social Security was there for my family, how proud I am to work for this remarkable program, and how lucky I am to lead such a talented and compassionate work force.

I have two wonderful children who entered the work force in the past year. One is being called up for active military duty in October and the other will teach inner-city children. It is imperative that they and millions of other young Americans have confidence that we will continue to honor the great inter-generational contract that is Social Security.

It is in this spirit that President Barack Obama established the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform that in December will make recommendations regarding the future of Social Security. …

From a letter to USA Today:Dick Armey, chairman of FreedomWorks, is dreaming in his piece “Let’s upend Social Security” (Opposing view, Retirement income debate, Tuesday). Eliminating Social Security and putting it in each worker’s hands would be the scam artist’s bonanza. I get calls every day from scammers peddling precious metals, movie investments, “green” energy and other things. Remember financiers Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford?
If the so-called experts at Lehman Bros. and Bear Stearns couldn’t get it right, how would the average Joe who doesn’t have training or expertise in the financial field? And if the economy went south, as it did the past few years, how many workers would spend their retirement instead of investing it?

Marvin Chosky; Bedford, Texas

From today’s Los Angeles Times: Even Social Security’s friends sometimes get bollixed up in the bamboozlements of its enemies. The best example of that may be the “lockbox” scheme promoted by Al Gore during the 2000 presidential campaign. Gore was trying to defuse concerns that the government had “stolen” Social Security’s money, but in the process he handed the bamboozlers another weapon.

The focus of the concern was the condition of the Social Security trust fund. As my Sunday column explains, this concern is wholly fabricated; the trust fund is just fine. But the idea that Social Security’s surplus should be somehow sequestered, left untouched until it’s needed to pay benefits, is foolish and dangerous.

Why? Because that money is being banked over a period of 50 years or more. Plainly, if its value is not to be utterly destroyed by inflation over that time, it must be invested. But in what? Gold bars in the basement of Ft. Knox, like the hoard James Bond saved from destruction in “Goldfinger?” Towering mounds of cash? Diamonds? See column here:

The New York Times Reports today:

“The Social Security Administration is about to terminate cash assistance for thousands of indigent refugees who are severely disabled or over the age of 64.

“You will lose your Supplemental Security Income on Oct. 1,” the agency says in letters being mailed to more than 3,800 refugees.

“All fled persecution or torture. Many are too old or infirm to work and are not yet eligible to become United States citizens.

“Federal law sets a seven-year limit on payments to refugees. The maximum federal payment is $674 a month for an individual and $1,011 a month for a couple. In 2008, Congress provided a two-year extension of benefits for elderly and disabled refugees, asylum seekers and certain other humanitarian immigrants, including victims of sex trafficking.

“The extra eligibility period is now ending, and Congress has not taken action to extend it.”
See link to article here:

According to the Social Security Administration, three out of every 10 workers entering the workforce will become disabled at some point in their careers. So, what is the best way to get disability insurance that supplements your Social Security disability coverage? Most larger employers offer short and long term disability coverage to their employees and they offer (generally) very affordable rates. If your employer offers this coverage, you should strongly consider it and be sure to ask if you have the option to pay the premium with before tax or after tax dollars.
See Boston Globe story here:

“It’s three months before your birthday and an envelope from Social Security appears in your mailbox.

“Before you dismiss it as junk mail, take another look. The statement tells you how much you can expect to collect when you retire or how much your survivors will get if you die or become disabled…

“Why is the Social Security statement important to you?
The statement is an important financial planning tool. It offers a glance at past earnings to provide an estimate of how much you would receive as a supplement to your retirement income, survivor benefits, disability and Medicare, along with how much you would receive if you qualified right now.

“In the event something should happen to you, such as disability or death, knowing how much your family can expect from the survivor benefits will help you determine how much life insurance you should have, so that you do not buy too much or too little…” See Full story here:

This MarketWatch article on raising the retirement age has a good point – if that were done in tandem with relaxing the standards for disability payments, it would make some sense.

“… If he really wants to fix Social Security, Boehner should propose increasing the “early retirement age” or ERA, too, Mitchell said. Right now, people in the U.S. can and do claim benefits at 62, the current early retirement age, and get a reduced benefit.

“Boehner’s plan to raise the NRA to 70 without boosting the ERA would mean that early retirement benefits would be lowered by 45%,” she said. “This could be an unexpectedly big hit to many retirees, which could be fixed by boosting both the ERA and the NRA in tandem, since Americans tend to take their benefits at the ERA.”

“Munnell agreed that increasing the NRA and ERA make sense, but it must be done in ways that protect those who truly need Social Security before the normal retirement age. Raising both will hurts those who have a short life expectancy, such as some minorities, and the 20% or so of people who claim Social Security early for health reasons.

Right now, people who claim benefits early tend to be either in poor health or to have a good pension. “If we raise the early retirement age, we need to have a disability benefits system with relaxed criteria,” Munnell said. “It needs to be flexible.”

“Mitchell said the U.S. has a disability benefits system for people who are severely disabled and cannot work. “So I believe that it makes sense to move the entire set of retirement ages up for those who are able to keep on going — move the early age to 65 and then have it creep up to 67, for instance,” she said.” See article here: