Posts Tagged ‘Social Security’
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced the agency is providing helpful health care information and website links to the more than three million individuals who apply each year for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits. The website links take disability applicants to two U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) websites – www.healthfinder.gov where they will find information and tools to help them better understand and cope with their conditions; and www.healthfinder.gov/rxdrug where they may be able to get help paying for prescription drugs.
“This year over three million Americans will apply for disability benefits. Whether they meet the statutory test and qualify for benefits or not, almost all of them are facing difficult economic and medical challenges. One of the advantages of our fully electronic system is that our notices can provide applicants with valuable information provided by HHS that might help them make good choices faster,” Commissioner Astrue said. “Twenty five years ago, I had the experience of filing for disability benefits on behalf of my seriously ill father. It would have been a blessing to have had easy access to this kind of important information.”
The website at www.healthfinder.gov provides detailed information about specific diseases. For example, an applicant with breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, or other diseases can go to the site to gather information about diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, ongoing research, and local resources available to people with those diseases. The website at www.healthfinder.gov/rxdrug links people to the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, which directs people to information on reduced cost or free prescription drugs offered by drug companies, state and local governments, and local organizations.
The helpful health care links also are available on Social Security’s website at www.socialsecurity.gov/applyfordisability.
How will Electronic Records Express affect my work routines?
The fax and secure website options should integrate easily with existing work processes. If your records are already electronic, you will be able to upload files directly instead of printing. If your records are on paper, you can use the website by scanning, instead of photocopying your records or you can fax your records.
Why is the letter with the barcode so important?
The letter with the barcode is important because it helps us link the records or information you send to the applicant’s unique disability folder and make any appropriate payment to you. If you do not include the letter with the barcode as the first page, there may be significant delays associating the information with the applicant’s electronic disability folder and making payment to you.
How will I know whether my electronic record transmission was successfully received?
When using the secure website, you’ll receive an immediate tracking information page which you can print or store electronically for your records. When sending by fax, your fax machine should indicate a successful transmission including the number of pages that were sent.
Can I amend my reports?
You may choose to amend your reports by sending new information; however, the original reports you sent will remain part of the electronic file.
Will this change the amount that I am paid for my reports?
No, the compensation will remain the same. However, you may notice resource savings when you send records electronically to Social Security.
How will I know the applicant is giving informed consent to have their records sent electronically?
Social Security complies with all laws and regulations regarding release of medical and school records. Form SSA-827, “Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration,” which accompanies every request for health and school records from Social Security, contains language that specifically permits electronic processing.
Are the Electronic Records Express options compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act?
Yes, both the online and fax options comply with the goals of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). If used in conjunction with a properly designed and implemented HIPAA plan, these options can add significant value to safeguarding the security of your patient data.
Are the Electronic Records Express options compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act?
Yes, both the online and fax options comply with the goals of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). These options can add significant value to safeguarding the security of your student data.
How can I send in evidence when my client’s case is an electronic case?
You can submit evidence directly to your client’s case file by using your office fax or through the Social Security secure Electronic Records Express website. Both of these methods require that you use the specific barcode provided for your client by the state Disability Determination Services (DDS) or the Social Security hearing office that is handling your client’s disability claim. For example, if your client’s case is at the hearing level, you would contact that hearing office to obtain a barcode for your client.
What hardware or software will I need to use the secure website?
Most common Internet browsers will support the secure website. If you experience issues or difficulties, call the Social Security Electronic Records Express Help Desk at 1-866-691-3061 or send them an email at electronic-records-express@ssa.gov for assistance.
Are there costs to use the secure website?
No. The government provides this service free of charge.
Often employers ask to see an employee’s Social Security card. But, do you really need to see the card? Since 1936, Social Security has issued over 30 different versions of the Social Security number (SSN) card which makes it difficult to recognize a valid card. Sometimes when you ask an employee to show you their card they can’t find it. In either case, you don’t have to send them to a local Social Security office.
Consider using the free Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) which allows registered employers to quickly verify whether a person’s name and SSN match Social Security’s records. It saves you and the employee time. For more information about SSNVS visit Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information. Learn more about the New Security Features of the Social Security Card.
Social Security Hearings Backlog Down for First Time in Decade
Productivity and Processing Times Also Improve
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that for the first time since 1999, the agency has ended the year with fewer disability hearings pending than in the prior year. Social Security ended fiscal year (FY) 2009 with 722,822 hearings pending compared to 760,813 hearings pending at the start of the year, a reduction of more than 37,000 cases. Over the same period, the average processing time for these cases improved from 514 days in FY 2008 to 491 in FY 2009.
“Our backlog reduction plan is working, and progress is accelerating,” Commissioner Astrue said. “Even in the face of a significant increase in our workloads as a result of the worst recession since the Great Depression, we have reduced the hearings backlog for nine consecutive months. Thanks to the efforts of thousands of hardworking Social Security employees and the additional funding we received from President Obama and the Congress, we have exceeded our backlog reduction goal for this year.”
To achieve its backlog reduction goals, the agency has embarked on the largest expansion in decades of its capacity to hear disability appeals. This year, the agency hired 147 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and 850 support staff and plans to hire 226 additional ALJs plus support staff in FY 2010. To provide flexibility to assist the most backlogged hearing offices, the agency opened three new National Hearing Centers (NHCs) in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Baltimore, Maryland; and Chicago, Illinois. The agency also has aggressive plans to open 14 new hearing offices and 4 satellite offices by the end of next year with the first of those new offices opening in Anchorage, Alaska in the next few months.
In addition to reducing the number of cases awaiting a hearing decision, the agency again targeted the oldest and most difficult cases for processing. Beginning in FY 2007 with 65,000 cases that were 1,000 days old or older, the agency has continually attacked its “aged” cases. This year, the agency targeted 166,838 cases that were 850 days or older and virtually eliminated this entire universe of cases. The goal in FY 2010 has been reset again to eliminate cases over 825 days old.
Social Security’s ALJs also continue to increase their productivity. The agency averaged 570 dispositions (2.28 per day) per available ALJ in FY 2009, an upward trend that has continued for the last three years.
For more information about Social Security’s hearings process and backlog reduction initiatives, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/appeals.
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SSA Press Office 440 Altmeyer Building 6401 Security Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21235
410-965-8904 FAX 410-966-9973
Prompt Passage of Economic Recovery Act Payment for 2010 Needed
Law Does Not Provide for a Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2010
With consumer prices down over the past year, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 57 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2010. This will be the first year without an automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) since they went into effect in 1975.
“Social Security is doing its job helping Americans maintain their standard of living,” Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security said. “Last year when consumer prices spiked, largely as a result of higher gas prices, beneficiaries received a 5.8 percent COLA, the largest increase since 1982. This year, in light of the human need, we need to support President Obama’s call for us to make another $250 recovery payment for 57 million Americans.”
The Social Security Act provides that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase automatically each year if there is an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year to the third quarter of the current year. This year there was no increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009. In addition, because there was no increase in the CPI-W this year, under the law the starting point for determinations regarding a possible 2011 COLA will remain the third quarter of 2008.
Some other changes that would normally take effect in January 2010 based on the increase in average wages also will not take effect, even though average wages did increase. Since there is no COLA, the statute prohibits an increase in the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax as well as the retirement earnings test exempt amounts. These amounts will remain unchanged in 2010. The attached fact sheet provides more information on 2010 Social Security changes.
Information about Medicare changes for 2010, when available, will be found at www.Medicare.gov. The Department of Health and Human Services has not yet announced if there will be any Medicare premium changes for 2010. Should there be an increase in the Medicare Part B premium, the law contains a “hold harmless” provision that protects about 93 percent of Social Security beneficiaries from paying a higher Part B premium, in order to avoid reducing their net Social Security benefit. Those not protected include higher income beneficiaries subject to an income-adjusted Part B premium and beneficiaries newly entitled to Part B in 2010. On September 24th, the House passed legislation by 406-18 that would, on a fully paid-for basis, prevent abnormally large premium increases. The President is calling on the Senate to enact this legislation before it becomes too late for the Social Security Administration to update its computer systems to implement this needed change.
For additional information about the 2010 COLA, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.
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SSA Press Office 440 Altmeyer Building 6401 Security Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21235
410-965-8904 FAX 410-966-9973
Social Security Files Statement of Interest in California Lawsuit Challenging Furlough of Federally-Paid State Disability Workers
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the Department of Justice, on behalf of the Social Security Administration, has filed a “Statement of Interest” in Union of American Physicians and Dentists v. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, which is currently pending in a state trial court in California. The Union of American Physicians and Dentists includes employees of the California Disability Determination Services Division (DDSD), Department of Social Services, who evaluate Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income claims. The Federal government fully pays for the salaries and overhead costs for these employees.
“For many months we have been trying to convince California officials that furloughing DDSD employees does not save the state a single penny, and actually costs the state money. It also unnecessarily harms their citizens with disabilities and their civil servants,” said Commissioner Astrue. “Unfortunately, our arguments have fallen on deaf ears. We hope our Statement of Interest will awaken state officials to the irreparable damage their furlough policy is causing.”
California’s furlough of DDSD employees costs the state $849,000 per furlough day in administrative funding. More importantly, each furlough day results in a delay costing California’s disabled citizens over $420,000 in much-needed Social Security benefits.
The Statement of Interest notes that California’s furloughs of DDSD employees are inconsistent with the state’s obligations and responsibilities under the Social Security Act. Specifically, implementing regulations obligate California to provide adequate facilities and qualified personnel to carry out the disability determination function and, “to the best of its ability, facilitate the processing of disability claims by avoiding personnel freezes, restrictions against overtime work, or curtailment of facilities or activities.”
“As Vice-President Biden noted in his recent letter to Governor Edward Rendell, Chair of the National Governor’s Association, ‘During these difficult economic times, it is critical that we all do what we can to ease the financial burdens on the American public,’” Commissioner Astrue said.
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SSA Press Office 440 Altmeyer Building 6401 Security Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21235
410-965-8904 FAX 410-966-9973
Social Security Announces New Enhancements to Online Retirement Estimator
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the online Retirement Estimator, available at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator, now can provide immediate and personalized benefit estimates to people who have enrolled in Medicare but have not yet filed for Social Security benefits. Previously, these “Medicare only” beneficiaries would need to contact a local office in order to obtain an estimate of their benefits. Currently, about a half-million people file for Medicare each year and delay filing for Social Security benefits.
“Social Security’s Retirement Estimator has been a huge success – with the agency providing over four million personalized retirement estimates to Americans since its launch last year,” Commissioner Astrue said. “With more people delaying retirement beyond the Medicare eligibility age, it is critical that they also have access to this easy-to-use online tool.”
The Retirement Estimator is interactive and allows users to compare different retirement options. For example, a person can change retirement dates or expected future earnings to better determine the impact on their future benefits and decide the best time to retire. The Retirement Estimator presently is the highest-rated government online service in customer satisfaction and, according to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index, it exceeds the ratings of private sector online innovators like Netflix and Amazon.
Commissioner Astrue also announced next year the Retirement Estimator will be the first of Social Security’s online services, and the first in all of government, to be made available in Spanish. “Social Security serves a diverse population and we already offer services by phone and in-person in a variety of languages,” Commissioner Astrue noted. “Offering the Retirement Estimator in Spanish will be an important step in making our online services even easier for everyone to use.”
To learn more about the Retirement Estimator go to www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.
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SSA Press Office 440 Altmeyer Building 6401 Security Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21235
410-965-8904 FAX 410-966-9973
Here is how you get an application for social security
Below you will find the SS-5 Form in Portable Document Format (PDF). To print the PDF version, you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader software. If you do not already have this special software, see their page on downloading and printing PDF documents.
After you download the Adobe Acrobat Reader, come back to this page and download the PDF version of the SS-5:
SS-5 in 
SSA forms must be printed on 8 1/2″ x 11″ white paper. You must print the form with blue or black ink to be acceptable to SSA.
NOTE: if you live abroad, and cannot obtain 8.5 x 11 paper, the use of A4 size paper (8.25 x 11.7) is the only acceptable alternative.
What if my name changed?
If you legally change your name because of marriage, divorce, court order or any other reason, you need to tell Social Security so that you can get a replacement card. If you are working, also tell your employer. If you do not tell them when your name changes, it may:
- Delay your tax refund; and
- Prevent your wages from being posted correctly to your Social Security record, which may lower the amount of your future Social Security benefits.
If you need to change your name on your Social Security card, you must show them a recently issued document as proof of your legal name change. Documents Social Security may accept to prove a legal name change include:
- Marriage document;
- Divorce decree specifically stating you may change your name;
- Certificate of Naturalization showing a new name; or
- Court order for a name change.
If the documents you provide for a legal name change do not give enough information to identify you, then you also must show two identity documents including:
- One document in your old name; and
- A second document with your new legal name.
In addition to your name, these documents must also contain identifying information or a recent photograph.
If you are a U.S. citizen born outside the United States and their records do not show you are a citizen, you will need to provide proof of your U.S. citizenship. If you are not a U.S. citizen, Social Security will ask to see your current immigration documents.
The new card will have the same number as your previous card, but will show your new name.