On the eve of the 74th anniversary of Social Security, nearly nine in ten
(88%) Americans say Social Security is more important than ever as a
result of today’s economic crisis. Three-quarters of Americans say it is
critical to preserve Social Security even if it means that working
Americans have to pay higher taxes to do so, according to a poll
sponsored jointly by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI)
and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The poll of 1,488 Americans, conducted between July 7-14 by the
Benenson Strategy Group, sends a strong message to policymakers
about the value that Americans place on Social Security benefits for
themselves and the country as a whole – with over 75 percent of
Americans saying that Social Security is or will be an important part of
their retirement and nearly half of recipients stating that they would be
unable to afford food, clothing or housing without it.

“The recession underscores the critical role Social Security fills for
working families and retirees across the nation,” said Kenneth S. Apfel,
Chair of the NASI Board of Directors and Commissioner of Social
Security from 1997 to 2001. “On the eve of the 74th anniversary of the
signing of the Social Security Act, it is striking to see how deeply
Americans value the program, they want to preserve and improve it,
and they are willing to pay for it.” See full survey report here

Bloomberg reports today that the Social Security Administration has agreed to pay a total of $500 million to 80,000 people whose benefits were wrongly withheld by a federal program intended to deny payments to those fleeing arrest, the National Senior Citizens Law Center said.

The agreement was part of a class-action settlement given initial approval yesterday by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland, California, the center said in a statement.

The Social Security Administration used a computer system matching arrest-warrant names with agency data to deny benefits, according to the law center statement. The agency was attempting to carry out a law that seeks to prevent people from using government benefits to avoid arrest, the group said.

Many matches involved false or unproven allegations, minor infractions or dormant warrants, said the legal group, which represented plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit. See story here:

This unconfirmed news indicates that Social Security is planning for a significant expansion of hearing offices sites and judicial staff to address the backlog at the heaing offices:

“To provide the level of staffing needed to address rising appeals workloads, the agency is increasing the number of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) being hired from 1,450 to 1,600. The additional ALJs will be added in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 and 2012. To ensure that there is sufficient space available to house the additional staff and to address workload issues around the nation, the Commissioner has decided to increase the number of ODAR hearing and satellite offices. The final locations have been selected for 10 offices, with 5 additional locations to be finalized. The new offices are projected to be opened in the second or third quarter of Fiscal Year 2011. The new locations selected by the Commissioner are as follows:

Hearing Offices:

Rochester, New York
Paterson, New Jersey
Augusta, Georgia
Hoover, Alabama
St. Paul, Minnesota
El Paso, Texas
Columbia, Missouri
Moreno Valley, California

Satellite Office

Reno, Nevada

National Hearing Center

St. Louis, Missouri

Offices Pending Final Location Decisions

Hearing Offices

Tennessee – Jackson or Franklin
Indiana – Muncie or Terre Haute

Satellite Offices

Marquette, MI/Upper Peninsula area
Eureka, CA area
Montana – Helena or Missoula”

TIme Magazine reports today that Social Security officials expect an even larger spike in new disability claims than before, as aging, injured baby boomers tumble out of the work force and need income.

This is not good news, as the system was already bogged down at several points, and has been the target of unfavorable media reports documenting unconscionable waits for decisions on benefits.

Time’s article says that Social Security estimates they’ll receive 3.3 million new disability claims over the next year, up from their previous estimate of 3 million projected just five months ago.

The wave of new applications comes just as officials were making progress in curbing a massive backlog of disability appeals cases, which has plagued the agency for years. Also adding to the problem are recent moves in at least 10 states to furlough hundreds of employees that process initial benefit claims.See full Time article here: