Tag Archives: supplemental security income

Updated – How many people receive Social Security in your state?

Posted on by

Updated to December 2012, the newest release of Social Security Congressional Statistics just became available online at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/factsheets/cong_stats/2012/index.html.  

These annual fact sheets present data on the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs, including the number of people receiving benefits and the amount of total monthly payments made in the United States, in each state, and in each congressional district within the state. Information is also provided for the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

For all locations, information is available in html, pdf and Excel formats.

North Dakota information is at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/factsheets/cong_stats/2012/nd.pdf

Minnesota information is at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/factsheets/cong_stats/2012/mn.pdf

South Dakota information is at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/factsheets/cong_stats/2012/sd.pdf.

Current through December 2011, Social Security beneficiary information by state and individual county is at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/oasdi_sc/index.html. Note that OASDI stands for the three Social Security programs, Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.

Also through December 2011, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient information by state and county is at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/ssi_sc/2011/index.html.

You can own a home and receive SSI

Posted on by

Q:  Can a person who owns a house and car receive Supplemental Security Income?

A:  Yes, depending on the details.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a low-income program for people at least age 65, and disabled or blind adults or children. Resource limits exist for SSI, with resources defined as items you own or can convert to cash including bank accounts, property and vehicles. There are income limits also. SSI is a very different program from Social Security, although people apply for it at Social Security.

Not everything you own counts as a resource. If you live in it, your home including the land it is on, generally is not counted toward resource levels. If you own the home but do not live in it, both home and land will probably count as resources. One vehicle usually does not count as a resource either. 

Maximum SSI monthly amounts in 2013 are $710 for an eligible individual and $1,066 for an eligible couple, reduced by other income including Social Security benefits. Resource maximums are $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. Subject to the SSI income limits, people can receive both SSI and Social Security benefits because they are two different programs. 

As with a home or vehicle, other resources might not count towards SSI resource levels. Most household goods, some insurance and some burial funds usually are not included.

Not all income counts for SSI either. For example, portions of wage and self-employment income, pensions, and State or local assistance based on need are not counted. 

SSI information is at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pgm/ssi.htm and in SSA publication 05-11000, Supplemental Security Income.

To apply for SSI or ask questions, contact Social Security. Call the national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or contact your local SSA office.

American Sign Language now on SSA website

Posted on by

The Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov, now has an informational video in American Sign Language. 

Through the Multilanguage Gateway, information in many different languages is available. American Sign Language was added a few days ago.Reach the Multilanguage Gateway at top right of the Social Security homepage. Click on the “Other Languages” link. In that area, you can also change the entire website into Spanish, increase website text size for easier reading and learn about other Social Security website accessibility tools.

The American Sign Language (ASL) section has a thirteen-minute video titled “Social Security, SSI, and Medicare: What you absolutely need to know about these vital programs in American Sign Language.” 

Click on the Multilanguage Gateway American Sign Language link to view this video. Not fluent in ASL? The video is also spoken aloud and transcribed. 

Budget update in March SSA newsletter

Posted on by

Did You Know? You can read and subscribe to a free, monthly, Social Security Administration electronic newsletter at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/newsletter/.

Along with other articles, the current Social Security Update has highlights from the March 14, 2013, testimony before Congress by Carolyn Colvin, Acting Commissioner of Social Security.  

Her testimony before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, discussed service delivery challenges facing the agency including budget issues, related to and separate from sequestration. Read her full testimony at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/legislation/testimony_031413.html.

In her testimony, Ms. Colvin noted services provided by the Social Security Administration in Fiscal Year 2012. In part, she said:

“Few government agencies touch as many people as we do. The programs we administer provide a financial safety net for millions of Americans, and many consider them the most successful large-scale Federal programs in our Nation’s history. The responsibilities with which we have been entrusted are significant. In FY 2012, we:

· Paid over $800 billion to almost 65 million beneficiaries;
· Handled over 56 million transactions on our National 800 Number Network;
· Received over 65 million calls to field offices nationwide;
· Served about 45 million visitors in over 1,200 field offices nationwide;
· Completed over 8 million claims for benefits and 820,000 hearing dispositions;
· Handled almost 25 million changes to beneficiary records;
· Issued about 17 million new and replacement Social Security cards;
· Posted over 245 million wage reports;
· Handled over 15,000 disability cases in Federal District Courts;
· Completed over 443,000 full medical continuing disability reviews (CDR); and
· Completed over 2.6 million non-medical redeterminations of SSI eligibility.”

Also within her testimony, Ms. Colvin stated ongoing budget driven challenges facing the agency, related to and separate from sequestration.  In part, she said:

“The current budget situation is exacerbating the negative effects of over two straight years of funding levels nearly a billion dollars below the President’s budget requests. With fewer employees to serve our customers, we are seeing serious signs of service deterioration. Examples include:

- This week, close to 12,000 visitors to our field offices will have to wait over 2 hours to be served, a figure that has almost tripled in just the last 4 months;

-The average wait time for field office visitors without an appointment increasing by 40 percent, from just 21 minutes in FY 2010 to about 30 minutes through January of FY 2013;

-Our 800-number average busy rate increasing from 4.6 percent of all calls in FY 2010 (which equates to 2.6 million calls) to about 15 percent of all calls through January of FY 2013 (which equates to 3.3 million calls and puts us on-pace for a projected 10.5 million calls for FY 2013); and

-Our average speed of answer for the 800-number more than doubling from about 3.5 minutes in FY 2010 to over 7.5 minutes through January of FY 2013.”

Several articles are in Social Security Update each month. Read and subscribe to this free electronic newsletter at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/newsletter/.

 

 

Phishing – computer fraud warning

Posted on by

The Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov, has a warning about a “phishing” computer fraud. 

This particular warning is about a false email message pretending to promote use of my Social Security accounts. An unsolicited email contains links not related to the Social Security Administration, which, if followed, could result in theft of your personal information.

Emails of this type are not from Social Security. SSA does not send emails to promote my Social Security nor does agency personnel make cold calls for this. Official Social Security letters are sent by regular surface mail.

Establishing your my Social Security account is a good idea. The direct link to do so is http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount/ or reach it through the Social Security homepage, www.socialsecurity.gov.

A personal my Social Security account can be established by anyone at least age 18, with different services available depending if the person is receiving Social Security benefits or not.

Protect your personal information. Read the phishing alert at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount/internetphishingalert.html.

Representative payee – use of Social Security funds

Posted on by

Representative payees are routinely appointed for children. With rare exception, a child under age 18 will have a representative payee appointed to handle his or her Social Security benefits. If the child remains eligible past age 18 and assuming no capability issue exists, benefits are sent to him or her directly, without a representative payee. Social Security benefits for children are essentially the same whether due to a parent’s retirement, death or disability. 

Based on a question received this week, today’s topic involves the use of Social Security funds received on behalf of a child by the representative payee. How SSA funds are to be used is the same for an adult.

The child involved receives Social Security survivor benefits through the work record of a deceased parent. The surviving parent, representative payee for the child’s SSA benefits, is employed and taking care of the usual family expenses. Since the parent is handling expenses, the question was if they could save the Social Security survivor benefits for future need. With some caveats, the general answer is yes.

Referring to A Guide For Representative Payees, SSA publication 05-10076, the primary use of Social Security funds is to make sure the beneficiary’s basic day-to-day needs for food and shelter are met. Here, the child is the beneficiary but this applies to adults as well. After basic needs are met, Social Security benefits can be used for the person’s medical and dental care, if not covered by health insurance, and for personal needs, such as clothing and recreation. Remaining funds are to be saved for future need, preferably in an interest-bearing account, separately identified as belonging to the beneficiary.

Here, the parent is independently taking care of the child’s expenses. Since basic food and shelter plus additional financial needs of the child are met, saving the monthly Social Security survivor benefits for future need appears to be appropriate. If unmet needs existed, saving the Social Security benefits would serve little purpose and would not be in the child’s, or other beneficiary, best interests.

If you are now a representative payee or anticipate applying to be one for someone soon, review the representative payee section on the Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov. For often asked questions, go to the representative payee FAQ section. 

One more thing: unlike Social Security benefits, eligibility for the income based Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program has income and resource limits. Combined with other resources, saved funds can end SSI eligibility. If you are representative payee for a person receiving SSI, or if you receive SSI yourself, read What You Need To Know When You Get Supplemental Security Income (SSI), publication 05-11011.

Publications are available online, by calling the national toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or from any Social Security office.

 

 

 

 

On behalf of someone else: representative payee

Posted on by

The previous post was about working with the Social Security Administration concerning the benefits of another person. It was assumed that the other person could contact Social Security on their own but wanted you to do so for them. Today we move along to what happens if the person cannot help themself. 

Recall that Social Security cannot recognize power of attorney. Power of attorney is a legal process where one individual grants a third party the authority to transact certain business for that individual. They can be for different purposes but overall are not recognized by the Treasury Department for purposes of negotiating federal payments, including Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks. Having power of attorney does not let you transact business with Social Security on behalf of someone else. 

Perhaps Mom, Dad, a sibling or other adult is no longer capable of taking care of their business and you now handle all their affairs. It is no longer that you are helping as a convenience. You are handling affairs because the person no longer can do so themselves.

If so, file application to be representative payee. A representative payee is an individual or organization appointed by the Social Security Administration to receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits on behalf of a person who cannot manage or direct the use of his or her money. Acting on behalf of the person, a representative payee is responsible for everything related to Social Security or SSI benefits that a capable beneficiary would do for himself or herself. 

Appointment of a representative payee is not taken lightly. While minor children almost always require a representative payee, adult beneficiaries are presumed to be capable of managing their own benefits. Evidence must establish the need to appoint a payee for an adult.  

Being appointed means the representative payee agrees to follow Social Security Administration rules for handling of related funds, including reporting on how funds are used. Payees are appointed to manage Social Security and SSI funds only. A representative payee has no legal authority to manage non-Social Security related income or ­medical matters. As a representative payee, you must know what the beneficiary’s needs are so you can decide how benefits can best be used for his or her personal care and well-being. This is especially important if the person does not live with you. 

This helps protect beneficiaries. Even if you have power of attorney or are guardian for a parent or other adult, file a representative payee application if he or she is incapable of managing their own Social Security or SSI benefits. To learn more, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/payee  or read “A Guide For Representative Payees” at http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10076.html or available from any SSA office.

 

Working with Social Security on behalf of someone else

Posted on by

Summarizing the phone call, the woman was saying “I’m just trying to help my Dad and you are not letting me even though I have power of attorney” while the Social Security representative was trying to explain how the matter at hand could be resolved. 

How to work with the Social Security Administration concerning the benefits of another person is today’s topic.

Before Social Security can change a record, such as updating an address, we must verify not only who is contacting us but that they are the proper person to work with. For example, when a person receiving Social Security benefits calls the national SSA toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), or their local office, they are asked for information that the Social Security representative matches against information on the record. Assuming everything matches, the action requested is completed because the person is calling about his or her own benefits. If a change involves both members of a couple, we speak to both. 

If you are calling Social Security on behalf of a parent or another adult, one way to make this easier for everyone is for the person and you to both be by the phone. After verifying the identity of Mom, Dad or whomever you are helping, they could tell the SSA representative to speak to you and then hand over the phone. 

What about power of attorney? Power of attorney is a legal process where one individual grants a third party the authority to transact certain business for that individual. They can be for different purposes but overall are not recognized by the Treasury Department for purposes of negotiating federal payments, including Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks. In short, Social Security cannot recognize power of attorney. You might consider this a burden but the Social Security Administration is trying to protect our beneficiaries.  

Some actions can be completed online at www.socialsecurity.gov. With a my Social Security account, people already receiving Social Security retirement, survivors or disability benefits or enrolled in Medicare can change their address and other contact information including bank information for direct deposit (electronic fund transfer) of payments. 

Today’s example assumes the person you are helping can contact Social Security on their own but wants you to make the contact for them. What happens if this person cannot help themself? Next time.

 

 

 

My friend said … is that really true?

Posted on by

Today’s post stems from a handful of phone calls received last week, all starting with a variation of “My friend told me that …” and ending with “… is that really true?” All the “friendly” information was wrong.  

Where can you get accurate Social Security information? Start at the official Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov. The web address has .gov, standing for government. If not .gov, it is not Social Security. Be sure you are at the official site.  

The Social Security website provides several ways to find information.  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) areas are at the top and lower right of the homepage. Check FAQ’s by topic area or by typing in keywords or questions. Use the Search Social Security block at top right of the homepage. Finally, homepage links to the different programs (Retirement, Disability, Survivors, etc.) bring you to lots of information about each program. 

National SSA webinars can be viewed through the website. See the link at bottom right of the homepage. 

The website is a great source of basic information. However, except for parts of the retirement planner pages and your established my Social Security account, personal information is not there. For personal information, contact Social Security. 

By calling the Social Security national telephone number, 1-800-772-1213, you can use automated telephone services to get recorded information and conduct some business 24 hours a day. If you cannot handle your business through SSA automated services, speak to a Social Security representative between 7:00am and 7:00pm, Monday – Friday, local time.  If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call the SSA toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778. When calling, expect questions to prove who you are.

National SSA phone representatives have the same computer information available to local offices. Appointments made at the national number print at the local office based on zip code. If phoning, you are encouraged to call use the national system first. However, if you want to call or visit your local office, do so. Public hours are more limited than those of the national phone system so check them first.

The above webinar link is for national Social Security webinars. Not at that link, you might find the November 2012, Social Security (Denver Region) webcast titled “Social Security Frequently Asked Questions” interesting.  Available at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/denver/index.htm, in approximately 20 minutes this free webinar discusses Social Security retirement, survivors and disability program topics, how benefit amounts are determined for individuals and spouses, how to replace a Social Security card, and more. It also highlights the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) area of the Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov.   

Perhaps your advice giving friends would enjoy watching it with you.

Newest Annual Statistical Supplement now online

Posted on by

The Annual Statistical Supplement, 2012 just became available online at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2012/index.html.  

There is a massive amount of interesting information here, not just concerning Social Security retirement (old-age), survivors and disability insurance (OASDI), but also about other programs including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment Insurance, Workers’ Compensation, Black Lung Benefits, and Veterans’ Disability Benefits. Each Table of Contents topic has a link to that section in html or pdf formats.

Specific information provided depends on the topic. At approximately 528 pages in length, you will find something in the Annual Statistical Supplement, 2012 to interest you. The Supplement includes more than 240 statistical tables of comprehensive data on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. Using Social Security as an example, topics include:

From the Highlights and Trends section, here are two interesting tidbits for you:  

“About 55.4 million persons received Social Security benefits for December 2011, an increase of 1,372,512 (2.5 percent) since December 2010. Sixty-nine percent were retired workers and their spouses and children, 11 percent were survivors of deceased workers, and 19 percent were disabled workers and their spouses and children.”

“OASDI benefit awards in calendar year 2011 totaled 5,567,020, including 2,577,647 to retired workers, 498,248 to their spouses and children, and 885,713 to survivors of insured workers. Benefits were awarded to 998,979 disabled workers and to 606,433 of their spouses and children.”

Again, more than just Social Security information is in the Annual Statistical Supplement, 2012. Enjoy.