Thread: Paycheck of Last Resort: One Million New Applicants for S.S.

Paycheck of Last Resort: One Million New Applicants for Social Security Disability

Mac Slavo
August 22nd, 2011
SHTFplan.com
55 Comments

The evidence is mounting, and the trend cannot be ignored. As Americans lose millions of jobs to foreigners and a collapsing economy, there is only one place left to go for a monthly paycheck. The government.

Laid-off workers and aging baby boomers are flooding Social Security’s disability program with benefit claims, pushing the financially strapped system toward the brink of insolvency.

Applications are up nearly 50 percent over a decade ago as people with disabilities lose their jobs and can’t find new ones in an economy that has shed nearly 7 million jobs.

Claims for disability benefits typically increase in a bad economy because many disabled people get laid off and can’t find a new job. This year, about 3.3 million people are expected to apply for federal disability benefits. That’s 700,000 more than in 2008 and 1 million more than a decade ago.

New congressional estimates say the trust fund that supports Social Security disability will run out of money by 2017, leaving the program unable to pay full benefits, unless Congress acts. About two decades later, Social Security’s much larger retirement fund is projected to run dry as well.

Source: Huff Post

The American people have been left with very few options.

The only thing keeping the economy from completely buckling at this point are emergency programs like unemployment insurance, food stamps, and as the numbers suggest, social security disability.

And, while many in Washington and expert financial circles believe these programs will be enough to keep us afloat, consider the challenges faced by each:

â–* Unemployment insurance expires at 99 weeks. Chances are there will be no extension for those who are unable to find work, which means that once you hit the two year mark, you’re pretty much on your own. Not only will you no longer receive benefits, you’ll no longer be counted as a viable laborer based on the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ unemployment algorithms.

â–* It is becoming increasingly difficult to feed a family with food stamps alone. Some commodities have risen nearly 100% over the last three years, and with population increases and government policies in the energy sector, which fuel everything from fertilizers and the combines that harvest the land to the trucks that transport food, we will continue to see price increases. Food stamps already buy at least 10% less today than they did a year ago. Expect this dwindling of purchasing power to continue.

â–* The government is looking for new and innovative ways to manage social security. If the proposed austerity measures, which include raising the retirement age and means-testing benefits (not giving as much to the people who had their own savings accounts), don’t make it harder on you, then you can be assured that inflation will. As real price inflation increases, and government CPI fails to adjust appropriately, the social security checks will remain the same while the price of essentials like energy, food, clothing and rent increases.

It’s not just the Social Security Disability program that’s insolvent. It’s everyone and everything, including the whole of the United States government.

A brief visual overview:

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opiUSeay ... r_embedded

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/p ... y_08222011

This story has been out for a few years. However the government is reviewing SSDI claims and will try to get those that are no longer valid out of the system. The obstacle is that probably all of those claimants have by now realized they can get legal help to try to retain their status. I doubt that this administration will have much backbone to stand up to the machinations of lawyers.

As our actual productive capability diminishes the remaining scraps will be fought over by lawyers desperate to prop up their $500,000/yr salaries.

Nobody saw this coming, right?

August 22, 2011

Social Security Disability fund is nearly broke

Rick Moran
11 comments

From Daily Kos: 7/22/11

Funny how this [Social Security] Surplus story so quickly fell off the National radar screen,

Apparently the Social Security Trust Fund facts, have left the building ...

Only to be replaced by the sky-is-falling, slash everything, Austerity Chicken Hawks, in their place ..

Senator Bernie Sanders: 3/15/11:

Today on ABC's Top Line, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) dismissed the talk of Social Security going broke as "total nonsense" and said, "Social security has a $2.6 trillion surplus. Could pay out every benefit owed for the next 26 years," he said. "It is not going bankrupt and it is not going broke."

Headline in AOL's Daily Finance blog: 8/21/11:

Social Security Disability Payments May Cease in 2017

The Congressional Budget Office has come out with a new analysis that says the ability of the Social Security disability fund to make payments may end in 2017. The estimates depend, of course, to some extent on the economy. The CBO's 2011 Long-Term Projections for Social Security reports that "as more members of the baby-boom generation (that is, people born between 1946 and 1964) enter retirement, outlays will increase relative to the size of the economy, whereas tax revenues will remain at an almost constant share of the economy. As a result, the shortfall (in the Disability Insurance (DI)) fund will begin to grow around 2017. The fund that provides Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) may not be able to make payments after 2040.

Laid off workers are also putting financial pressure on disability insurance as well. Some Americans are allowed to make use of the benefits from both of the Social Security programs which worsens the financing problem further. The total number of people who receive some kind of payment from the Social Security funds totals 56 million now. The CBO points out that this year, "Social Security's outlays will total $733 billion, one-fifth of the federal budget; OASI payments will account for about 82 percent of those outlays, and DI "payments, about 18 percent."

Nobody saw this coming right? Complete surprise. Who woulda thunk it.

Color me an "Austerity Chicken-Hawk" but maybe - just maybe - we should perhaps, sort of, you know, kind of do something about it? Like we could have in 2007. As we should have in the debt ceiling debate.

The only time Democrats talk about social security is either to brag about inventing it or use it to frighten the beejeebees out of old folks with tales of how Republicans are going to break into their homes and steal their checks. On how to fix the monster, they are silent.

Lots of silent Democrats on the Hill today.


http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/201 ... broke.html

Are Illegals Bankrupting Social Security?

On the Rense Radio NetworkSocial Security Card Used to Read "Not for Identification"According to an article run yesterday, the Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI) program is quickly approaching insolvency.

"Much of the focus in Washington has been on fixing Social Security's retirement system. Proposals range from raising the retirement age to means-testing benefits for wealthy retirees. But the disability system is in much worse shape and its problems defy easy solutions.

This year, about 3.3 million people are expected to apply for federal disability benefits. That's 700,000 more than in 2008 and 1 million more than a decade ago." (Source) http://news.yahoo.com/social-security-d ... 19318.html

Statistically, there is a 40% chance that you will suffer a long-term disability before you reach age 85. When I sold insurance, I always recommended purchasing a disability policy. Blue collar workers have a higher probability of being disabled than white collar workers. Now, with the ecomnomic collapse on the near horizon, I wouldn't trust in any insurance company to remain solvent enough to pay long-term disability benefits. Insurance companies rely on investment income to stay in business.

But I digress. Here is a list of potential benefits from the Social Security Program, besides retirement:

Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) – You are only eligible for these benefits if you have paid a certain amount of Social Security tax over a period of time, enough to have disability insurance coverage in force. In general, you must have paid at least a certain amount of Social Security tax in at least twenty calendar quarters during the forty calendar quarters before your total disability began. In other words, you must have worked and paid Social Security tax for about five out of the last ten years before you became totally disabled. There is a different, easier rule for people whose disability began before age 30. Everyone must prove that he or she became disabled while disability insurance coverage was in force or they are not entitled to benefits, no matter how serious the medical condition is now. If your DIB claim is approved, the monthly payment you will receive is set by your earnings (and Social Security tax payments) during your working career. There is no minimum rate, and the maximum a person can receive at this time is $1,300 a month. There is a cost-of-living raise in the monthly payment at the start of most years. In many cases, your dependent children will also get benefits in addition to your own.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – SSI can be paid whether or not a person has paid in enough Social Security tax to get disability insurance benefits. You must be disabled under the same rules as for disability insurance, or be blind, or be over 65. You must also have very little income or property, because this benefit is based on financial need. Social Security looks at all other income and property in the household you live in, not just your own, and the value of any support (like free room and board) you may get from others, to determine whether you are financially eligible for SSI. Social Security does this in addition to deciding if you are disabled. Also, some children 18 or younger with a severe disability can get a monthly benefit if their family income is low enough.

Disability Widow/Widower Benefits (DWB) – This is a special disability benefit for certain widows and widowers, based on the Social Security tax paid by his or her deceased spouse. In order to qualify, you must be between ages 50 and 60, have been married for at least 10 years to the person who was covered under Social Security at the time of his or her death. Also, you must have proof that your disability was severe enough to meet the rules within seven years of your spouse’s death, with some exceptions for those already receiving other kinds of Social Security benefits. If you are awarded DWB benefits, your monthly rate is determined by your spouse’s income and Social Security tax payments. However, a surviving spouse’s pension can usually be paid at the age of 60, regardless of any disability.

Disabled Adult Child Benefits (DAC) – In order to be eligible, you must be a child of a person already receiving Disability Insurance Benefits or Retirement Benefits, or who died while covered for Social Security. You must be at least 19 years old, and you must prove your total disability began before the month you turned age 22, and is continuing. The monthly benefit rate is based on a percentage of your parent’s rate. Therefore, it is different in each particular case. (Source) http://www.austinlawservice.com/social.html

The Social Security Administration states that about 10 million people get benefits for disability in the U.S. The annual cost is about 9 billion dollars. (Source) http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/basicfact.htm This is a drop in the bucket when you realize that Wall Street got 1.2 Trillion dollars in secret loans from the Fed. (Source) Morgan Stanley alone got the equivalent of 10 years of what this country spends on SSI disability benefits.

Satanic Psychopathic lusts come first in Amerika. Unfortunately, so do those that aren't U.S. citizens:

"Here’s something hard to believe, but true. Our government is paying Social Security benefits to thousands of Mexicans who don’t live in this country, or were never entitled to benefits based on their own work record. A new report from the Social Security Office of Inspector General details the growing problem of thousands of Mexicans who routinely visit the United States once a month to establish a claim to Social Security benefits.

Who are these beneficiaries? The Inspector General’s report refers to these beneficiaries as dependents and survivors of other Social Security beneficiaries and subject to the Social Security Alien Nonpayment Provision (ANP) law. The ANP forbids payment of retirement, survivor and disability benefits when non-citizens have been outside the United States for more than 6 months. But as is so often the case with Social Security law, there are several exceptions; for example, if the non-citizen is from a foreign country that has its own social insurance system and meets certain conditions. Mexico is on the list of countries that meet the conditions of the exception." (Source) http://www.seniorsleague.org//index.php ... &Itemid=96

What most don't realize is that these illegals are double dipping. They collect welfare benefits from both the United States and Mexico.

"The Inspector General’s Office recently surveyed 4 field Social Security field offices along the border with Mexico in California and Texas. Each office provided services to about 1,000 such beneficiaries every month. Personnel say the number is increasing for three reasons:

1. Beneficiaries are telling other Mexicans about the Social Security benefits.
2. Mexican consulate officials are informing people about the availability of such benefits.
3. Survivor claims are increasing due to recent violence in Mexico.

One further reason for the growth is undoubtedly the growth in the primary beneficiary rolls, upon which the benefits of ANP dependents and survivors are based. According to the Inspector General, older non-citizens workers are now at the age and have worked in this country long enough to be potentially eligible to file claims for retirement or disability. The Inspector General has also said that those who worked using invalid, or non-work Social Security numbers issued prior to January 1, 2004, did not need valid work authorization in order to file a claim. Under current law the Social Security Administration uses all earnings, including those for illegal work, to determine entitlement to benefits.

U.S. law requires that, in order to meet the requirements, ANP beneficiaries must “establish physical presenceâ€

I've spoken to some of our Congressmen about the SSI debacle---allowing senior citizens from other countries to be sponsored for SSI benefits. This exposes a whole another angle. No wonder our entitlements system is going broke. Bu why are Republicans trying to change popular systems? Maybe it is THAT bad?

Early in the summer I was at a townhall of our neighboring states new (R)congresswoman. The crowd in a mostly Democrat portion of her district was going wild over her position supporting Paul Ryans Medicare reform. The most raucous townhall I have been to. Two older men in front of me nearly got in a fistfight, but the security guard intervened. This congresswoman is still fairly young, so her father attends her meetings---presumably as a bodyguard.

But here is just one more entitlement program that is bleeding us to slow death. I guess I should start a file. Medicare fraud is another area, where we need "loss prevention" before the horse is stolen.

Social Security Disability Insurance Program Overwhelmed



August 23, 2011
by Personal Liberty News Desk

The Social Security’s disability program has been flooded with requests and benefit claims from laid-off workers and an aging group of baby boomers, helping to push the system toward complete insolvency, The Associated Press reported. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08 ... nsolvency/

Applications to the program have increased up to 50 percent from over 10 years ago, as individuals with disabilities have struggled to find jobs in the current economy, according to the news outlet.

The current system will be unable to sustain itself at the current pace of applicants that are flowing in, adding to the backlog for the program that already exists. This problem has brought to light many of the inadequacies with the Federal organization, reported the AP.

New Congressional estimates lead experts to believe that the trust fund that provides money to the program will be bankrupt by 2017, something that may exacerbate the current situation, which has more than 700,000 more applicants for Social Security this year than in 2008, reported the news outlet.

There have been several measures enacted by the organization in an attempt to save money. For example, Social Security stopped mailing its statements to beneficiaries, something that could save the Federal program $30 million a year, The Boston Globe reported. http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-21/b ... ngs-record

http://www.personalliberty.com/news/soc ... 08_23_PLA_[P11649115]&rrid=238434262