SSA Announces Benefits Increase for 2013

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has some good news to millions of its recipients.

In its recent press release, the agency announced that it will increase the monthly social security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits by 1.7 percent in 2013.

Accordingly, the said increase in Cost-of-living Adjustment (COLA) will start with benefits that more than 56 million social security beneficiaries will receive in January next year, while the increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will start on December 31 of this year.

Moreover, the agency explained in its press release that some other changes that take will effect every January of each year are based on the increase in average wages.

Consequently, the increase would definitely mean that the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax or the so called taxable maximum will increase as well.

Out of nearly 163 million wage earners who will pay social security taxes next year, about 10 million will pay higher taxes due to the increase in the taxable maximum, according to the agency.

Incidentally, the announcement came to light after news surfaced about the agency’s alleged plan to reduce its office hours to cut cost. However, the said plan was opposed by several organizations for some reasons.

Although it would be a good news to recipients, taxpayers, on the other hand, will definitely not be pleased with the announcement, according to several Los Angeles social security claim lawyers.

Nevertheless, they are still pretty impressed that despite the financial downfall experienced by the federal agency, it still finds ways to provide the needs of seniors and individuals with disabling condition who cannot cope with the increasingly high cost of living.

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SSA Erred in Paying Disability Benefits

During an 18-month investigation conducted by the chamber’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, it was revealed that the Social Security Administration (SSA) improperly paid disability benefits in more than a quarter of cases examined between 2006 and 2010.

The said investigation headed by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn revealed that of 300 disability cases that they randomly selected, more than 25 percent of which received benefits without properly addressing insufficient, contradictory, and incomplete evidence.

According to Sen. Coburn, the bipartisan report presents information gathered over the past few years and concluded that the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are swinging on financial bankruptcy. 

In its 136-page report, the senate focused on notable benefits rulings made by SSA’s administrative law judges, including the one in Oklahoma who was found to have awarded more than $1.6 billion in lifetime benefits in just a matter of three years. It appeared from the investigation that Judge Howard O’Bryan of Oklahoma City approved approximately 90 percent of more than 5,400 cases between 2007 and 2009 and most of them are surprisingly confirmed without hearings.

Other than that, the report further discovered that the agency added 5.9 million Americans to the disability benefit rolls since January 2009. Therefore, in 2010, 10.6 million people were receiving over $128 billion in disability benefit payments. Also, the report concluded that several administrative judges used ‘cut and paste’ images of medical records in favorable award decisions instead of including written analysis.

In a Capitol Hill hearing, Sen. Coburn noted that although the purpose of the disability benefit program is to make sure that all Americans will have a secured source of income once they become disabled and can no longer work, it should be kept in mind that such law means being unable to work any job in the national economy.

Meanwhile, in response to the previous investigation, the SSA has undertaken a strong set of initiatives since the time when most of the questioned cases were resolved. The agency has recently made substantial progress according to the agency’s spokesperson, Mark Hinkle.

Unfortunately, each erred decisions possibly cost billions of taxpayers’ money, according to several Los Angeles social security disability lawyers. Nevertheless, they admire how the senate and the agency worked together to crack down frauds and other improper conducts related to disability benefits.    

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82-year-old Social Security Disability Fraud Sentenced with Home Confinement

It was not an extra-ordinary case of a social security disability fraud. Its only difference is that the accused is a female octogenarian. Therefore, she was sentenced with a little consideration.

According to reports, the 82-year-old woman identified as Evelyn Baptiste of Montgomery County was charged for stealing social security benefits.

According to court documents, the amount of disability benefits that Baptiste pocketed amounted to $186,000.00.

Incidentally, during an internal audit done early this year, authorities discovered that Baptiste was receiving two social security checks each month. One was the traditional payout that are being sent to retirees and the other one was the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) that are being given to help unemployed, elderly, and disabled citizens. However, the latter was being sent under another’s name but to the same address where Baptiste live.

Unfortunately, it took decades before officials discovered Baptiste’s fraudulent act. Therefore, the total amount of her disability earnings had climbed up to hundreds of dollars.

Last May, Baptiste was officially charged with two counts of social security fraud by the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General wherein she pleaded guilty to both charges.

Moreover, during the arraignment, U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker agreed to set aside the federal guidelines in ruling over Baptiste’s case considering the latter’s age and since she was a first-time offender as well. However, it does not exclude Baptiste from being sentenced for her misconduct. The said presiding judge sentenced her with six months of home confinement and five years probation.

Subsequently, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz likewise agreed with Tucker’s resolution and claimed that Baptiste’s age and declining health condition made her an impossible inmate.

Based on data gathered by the Justice Department nationwide over the past couple of years, out of 170 defendants sentenced with federal crimes, only a few dozens were octogenarians. In fact, only three of them were female.

Furthermore, according to Baptiste’s legal representative, the accused can only reciprocate $50 dollars a month due to her medical expenses, car insurance, housing costs, and other household bills.

Apparently, it was a fair decision, commended a Los Angeles SSI lawyer. Although criminal acts usually does not have exemption to the rules, elderly offenders like Baptiste should be at least given with such consideration.

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Children Conceived through In-vitro Fertilization Cannot Be Supported with Social Security Income?

After seven months of battling for Social Security Income (SSI), the mother of a pair of twins that was conceived through in-vitro fertilization months after her husband died recently received an unfortunate news.

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that children conceived with a dead father’s frozen sperm are not entitled to Social Security Income (SSI) if they were not eligible to inherit property from their father under federal law.

In a previous blog post authored by Rodney Mesriani, the full story of Karen Capato’s in-vitro fertilization was featured.

It was actually a long, complex story that started when the Social Security Administration previously denied Karen Capato’s claim for SSI in behalf of her twins prompting her to file an appeal. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court where she won.

However, the Social Security Administration (SSA), through its commissioner, Michael J. Astrue, filed a motion for reconsideration, and the higher court agreed and set a hearing for the final verdict.

The Supreme Court eventually declined her appeal, leaning on the interpretation of provisions of the Social Security Act.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in her ruling that the technology that made the twins’ conception and birth possible was not considered valid by Congress, as evidenced by provisions enacted in 1939 and 1965. Justice Ginsburg added that the law was designed to primarily benefit those survivors supported by the decedent wage earner during his or her lifetime.

The major provision was one calling for the Social Security Administration to look into state laws regarding inheritance in determining whether an applicant is the child of the subject parent, Justice Ginsburg explained.

The Capatos resided in Florida where the decedents’ last will was signed and authenticated. Therefore, they must abide with Florida’s law concerning inheritance. Under the Florida law, a child born after a parent’s death may only inherit property of the parent if the child was conceived during the parent’s lifetime.

Unfortunately, the twin’s mother conceived the twin 18 months after the death of her husband through in-vitro fertilization.

The answer to the question “If children conceived through in-vitro fertilization can be entitled to SSI claims?” will definitely vary depending on the state’s law. Just take the case of the Utah boy who was conceived by his mother two years after the death of his father.

Although the boy’s father wished to father a child during his lifetime, he did not specify the said wish in his last will. Therefore, the boy will definitely not qualify for the SSI claims and other properties of his father as dictated under the Utah law.

Although looking to state law to decide on conceived children’s eligibility for SSI claims is burdensome, it somehow made clear that the Congress is still open for a different approach, according to a Los Angeles SSI lawyer.

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