Government Executive reports today: The economic downturn, inadequate funding and red tape are at the core of an increasing backlog of Social Security disability cases, panelists said during a roundtable discussion in Washington on Thursday.
The government has tried for years to reduce the number of cases awaiting review from administrative law judges, but the recession is a significant setback, said Alan Cohen, senior budget adviser for the Senate Finance Committee.
“Initial claims are going to skyrocket in 2010,” he said during the forum, organized by the Association of Administration Law Judges. “The tsunami hasn’t hit the administrative law judges here.”
At issue are cases where a claim has been rejected at the state level and is sent to Social Security Administration ALJs. Currently, there are about 750,000 cases pending, according to Cohen. SSA has set a goal of reducing the pile of pending cases to 466,000 by 2013 — a step SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue has told lawmakers would decrease average processing times from 500 to 270 days. See article here:

There are really two aspects to this question – can you work after you apply for benefits but before they are granted? Or, secondly, can you work after you are found to be disabled? One of the real quirks of our disability policy is that part time work can be damaging to your claim.

This is becoming more pressing as the waits for decisions lengthen into years. The answer is a very qualified yes. There must be at least six months of disability, and the work done must be well below the limit of SGA (SUbstantial gaingul activity)per month, $980 this year. It does make the claim very complicated, however. Consult an advocate before you embark on this.

As for people who are on benefits, as Charles Hall mentions in his blog today, “”Now there is someone at Social Security that the claimant can contact. As noted earlier, Social Security intends to make a concentrated effort to hire the disabled.”

Here is a list of the people who will be coordinating the hiring:

While we complain about the delays in Scial Securty disability, Charles Hall in his excellent blog points out that there is a parrallel universe in the world of VA disability:

From VA Watchdog dot Org:

According to the Monday Morning Workload Report (MMWR) of the Veterans’ Benefits Administration dated January 5, 2009, the backlog for veterans’ benefits claims stood at 808,607. Report is here
…http://www.vba.va.gov/REPORTS/mmwr/2009/010509.xls

The same report for May 11, 2009 shows the backlog at 916,456. That report is here … http://www.vba.va.gov/REPORTS/mmwr/2009/051109.xls

This is an increase of nearly 108,000 claims in the backlog in just a bit over four months … an increase of 13.3%. See Mr. Hall’s blog here:

For impact on the overall Social Security system, this new statistic is significant for several reasons. It impacts the maturity of the workforce, it demonstrates the desperation of people who are exhausting their unemployment benefits. But more importantly for disability claimants, it adds one more factor to the delays already plaguing Social Security,
The LA Times reports today: “Instead of working longer as the economy worsens, more Americans are calling it quits before age 66. The ramifications could be profound for the retirees, families, government and social institutions.

Reporting from Washington — Instead of seeing older workers staying on the job longer as the economy has worsened, the Social Security system is reporting a major surge in early retirement claims that could have implications for the financial security of millions of baby boomers.

Since the current federal fiscal year began Oct. 1, claims have been running 25% ahead of last year, compared with the 15% increase that had been projected as the post-World War II generation reaches eligibility for early retirement, according to Stephen C. Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration.: See full article here:

The Salt Lake Tribune says that “The absence of a cost-of-living adjustment … will be a shock to older Americans already hit by plummeting home values, investment losses and rising health costs,” The New York Times wrote earlier this month.

Senior groups were predictably up in arms. An AARP spokesman moaned that “most seniors have never been through a year in which there was no Social Security COLA.” Some liberal bloggers accused the Obama administration of betraying seniors. And there’s already talk of legislation to address this perceived inequity.

But the outrage is unwarranted. Seniors have never faced a year without a COLA, but that’s only because they’ve never experienced a year without inflation, which is what the Congressional Budget Office says is what’s happening now.

The COLA is not supposed to be a “raise” in Social Security benefits, even if seniors often see it that way. Rather, when the consumer price index, or CPI, rises…”