Social Security Administration Announces New Efforts to Simplify SSI Applications

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Today, the Social Security Administration announced a large step in a multi-year effort to simplify processes for people who are applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) by starting to offer an online, streamlined application for some applicants starting in December. SSI provides monthly payments to people with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income and resources.

The initial step - known as iClaim expansion - aims to establish a fully online, simplified iClaim application that leverages user-tested, plain-language questions, prepopulated answers where possible, seamless step-by-step transitions, and more. The online application aims to reduce the time spent applying as well as the processing time for initial claim decisions.

"Over the past year, we have asked many applicants and advocates - as well as our workforce - how we could make the SSI application process easier and simpler. Now, we are taking an important first step to do just that," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "People in our communities who need this crucial safety net deserve the dignity of an application process that is less burdensome and more accessible than what we now have, and we're committed to achieving that vision over the next few years."

The rollout of the iClaim expansion will generally be available to first-time applicants between 18 and almost 65 who never married and are concurrently applying for Social Security benefits and SSI. A goal of the second phase - currently targeted for late 2025 - is to expand this to all applicants.

The Federal Register Notice that supports this effort was published today and reflects changes based on what Social Security previously received. To read it, please visit Federal Register :: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request.

Subsequent SSI simplification steps will incorporate lessons learned from the iClaim expansion into in-person, phone, mobile, and paper-based processes for SSI applications. As part of that, the agency plans to develop a separate simplified child SSI application.

All of these efforts will support and streamline the way Social Security's staff technicians and applicants work together, providing an applicant journey that reflects continuous feedback gathered from the agency's Customer Experience team, particularly from underserved communities.

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Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced nine new Compassionate Allowances (CAL) conditions and revisions to two existing CAL conditions: Bainbridge-Ropers Syndrome, Costello Syndrome, Adult Heart Transplant Wait List - Status Levels 1-4, Child Heart Transplant Wait List - Status Levels 1A/1B (revised existing condition), Histiocytic Malignancies, Histiocytosis Syndromes (revised existing condition), Neonatal Marfan Syndrome, PACS1 Syndrome, Plasmablastic Lymphoma, Renal Medullary Carcinoma, and Snijders Blok-Campeau Syndrome.

The Compassionate Allowances program quickly identifies claims where the applicant's medical condition or disease clearly meets Social Security's statutory standard for disability. Due to the severe nature of many of these conditions, these claims are often allowed based on medical confirmation of the diagnosis alone. To date, more than one million people with severe disabilities have been approved through this accelerated, policy-compliant disability process, which now includes a total of 287 conditions.

"I am steadfastly committed to reducing the amount of time people wait to receive a decision on their disability claim, and we are making progress," said Commissioner O'Malley. "Compassionate Allowances helps in this effort by accelerating the disability application process for people who are likely to get approved for benefits due to the severity of their medical condition."

When a person applies for disability benefits, Social Security must obtain medical records in order to make an accurate determination. The agency incorporates leading technology to identify potential CAL conditions and make quick decisions. Social Security's Health IT brings the speed and efficiency of electronic medical records to the disability determination process. Through electronic records transmission, Social Security is able to quickly obtain a claimant's medical information, review it, and make a determination faster than ever before.

For more information about the program, including a list of all CAL conditions, please visit www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances.

To learn more about Social Security's Health IT program, please visit www.ssa.gov/hit.

People may apply online for disability benefits by visiting www.ssa.gov.

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Today the Social Security Administration announced that customers who created an online account (e.g., mySocial Securityaccount) before September 18, 2021, will soon be required to transition to a Login.gov account to continue access to their online services. Over five million of these account holders have already transitioned to Login.gov.

The agency is making the changes to simplify the sign-in experience and align with federal authentication standards while providing safe and secure access to online services.

"mySocial Securityis a safe and secure way for people to do business with us," said Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley. "We're excited to transition to Login.gov to access our online services, streamlining the process and ease of use for the public across agencies."

Account holders are encouraged to sign-in now. When the user logs in, they will be presented with an option to easily transition to Login.gov. Once their account is successfully linked, a confirmation screen will appear, and they will have immediate access to their personal mySocial Securityservices or other service that they were attempting to access.

Existing Login.gov or ID.me account holders do NOT need to create a new account or take any action.

mySocial Securityaccounts are free, secure, and provide personalized tools for everyone, whether receiving benefits or not. People can use their account to request a replacement Social Security card, check the status of an application, estimate future benefits, or manage the benefits they already receive. For more information visit Create an Account | my Social Security | SSA.

For more information about Login.gov, including their 24/7 customer phone and chat support, visit Help | Login.gov.

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When people become disabled under the statutory definition the Social Security Administration must follow, the agency helps them meet their basic needs and sustain a higher quality of life. Social Security administers disability benefits through two programs: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Under both programs, the agency follows a five-step process to determine if an adult has a qualifying disability.

In response to President Biden's Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government, the agency is proud to announce changes that will reduce administrative burdens for applicants and help more people with disabilities receive government benefits and services if they are eligible. On April 18, 2024, Social Security published a final rule, "Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process: Including How We Consider Past Work."

The final rule announces updates that will improve the application process for disability benefits and reduce the time applicants wait for a decision. The new rule simplifies step four of the process, which assesses whether a person applying for disability benefits can perform any of their "past relevant work."

"This new rule will lessen the burden and time our applicants face when filling out information about their work history and will make it easier for them to focus on the most current and relevant details about their past work," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "It also improves the quality of the information our frontline workers receive to make decisions, improving customer service, and reducing case processing time and overall wait times."

Under the final rule, beginning June 22, 2024, when determining past relevant work, the agency will review only five years of past work. The previous policy required people to provide detailed information about 15 years of work history, which was difficult for individuals to remember and often led to incomplete or inaccurate reporting. Also, the agency will no longer consider past work that started and stopped in fewer than 30 calendar days. The new rule makes it easier for people applying for benefits by focusing on their most recent relevant work activity while still providing enough information to continue making accurate determinations.

This final rule is one of several regulation updates Social Security is publishing to improve its disability program. The agency recently announced it will reduce barriers to access the SSI program by updating the definition of a public assistance household (See Social Security to Expand Access to SSI Program by Updating Definition of a Public Assistance Household). The agency also announced it will exclude the value of food from SSI benefit calculations (See Social Security to Remove Barriers to Accessing SSI Payments). Additionally, the agency announced it will expand its rental subsidy exception, currently only in place for SSI applicants and recipients residing in seven States, as a nationwide policy (See Social Security to Expand SSI Rental Subsidy Policy).

The agency continuously examines programmatic policy and makes regulatory and sub-regulatory changes as appropriate. For more information on the SSDI and SSI programs - including who is eligible, how to apply, and how Social Security makes a disability determination - visit Disability | SSA and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) | SSA.

To read the final rule, "Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process: Including How We Consider Past Work," visit Federal Register :: Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process, Including How We Consider Past Work.

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Social Security administers disability benefits through two programs: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

While the agency's disability decision process remains sound, it continually seeks improvements to ensure its disability programs remain current and to ease the burden on customers. In determining disability claims for adults, Social Security may have to evaluate whether a person can adjust to other work that exists in significant numbers in the national economy. To make this determination, the agency considers a person's capacity to do work-related activities, as well as consider their age, education, and work experience.

When making a finding of "not disabled," for the purpose of benefit eligibility the agency must support the finding with evidence that an individual can adjust to work that exists in significant numbers in the national economy. The agency uses the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and its companion publication, the Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the Revised Dictionary of Occupational Titles, as reliable sources of information about such work.

The agency has identified 114 DOT occupations with jobs that exist in very limited numbers, if at all, in each of the nine U.S. Census divisions of the country. Based on this finding, the agency will not use these occupations to support a "not disabled" finding at the last step in the evaluation process for disability determinations.

The agency also identified 13 DOT occupations where federal courts have questioned supporting evidence of a "not disabled" finding. The agency is implementing additional evidence requirements for these occupations.

"It makes sense to identify occupations that now exist in very limited numbers in the national economy," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "By making this update, our decision makers will no longer cite these jobs when denying a disability application."

On June 22, 2024, the agency published new public guidance and instructions about these changes. The agency anticipates that, as a result, it will only consider the most relevant occupations when determining if someone applying for disability benefits could perform other types of work.

In the longer term, Social Security continues to analyze data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Requirements Survey, which will inform future updates.

These changes add to a growing list of policy updates that Social Security is publishing to improve its disability programs. For example, the agency recently announced it will reduce barriers to access the SSI program by updating the definition of a public assistance household (See Social Security to Expand Access to SSI Program by Updating Definition of a Public Assistance Household). The agency also announced it will exclude the value of food from SSI benefit calculations (See Social Security to Remove Barriers to Accessing SSI Payments).

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This year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) celebrates 50 years of administering the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. President Richard Nixon signed the bill in 1972, and in January 1974, SSA began issuing the first SSI payments to nearly 4 million eligible people. The goal of the SSI program was to aid aged, blind, and individuals with disabilities with very limited income and resources.

Fifty years later, the SSI program remains a lifeline by providing cash assistance to about 2% of the U.S. population, approximately 7.5 million people, with limited income and resources, including nearly 1 million low-income children with disabilities. SSI benefits can help pay for basic needs like rent, food, clothing, and medicine, reducing the number of people in extreme poverty, and alleviating the burden on other family members.

"SSI works, and has for the last 50 years, because of hardworking and dedicated SSA employees. SSI is an effective yet complex program, and SSA employees work hard to ensure payments are accurate and timely," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "Recently, we made great progress in strengthening the SSI program by simplifying the rules and helping more people access these benefits. As we celebrate 50 years of SSI, we will continue to look for ways to improve the program and eliminate barriers."

The agency recently announced it will expand access to the SSI program by updating the definition of a public assistance household. (Refer to Press Release | Press Office | SSA) The agency also announced it will exclude the value of food from SSI benefit calculations. (Refer to Press Release | Press Office | SSA) Additionally, the agency announced it will expand its rental subsidy exception, currently only in place for SSI applicants and recipients residing in seven States, as a nationwide policy. (Refer to Press Release | Press Office | SSA)

The agency will commemorate SSI's 50th anniversary with local and national events throughout the year, including a celebration on June 5th hosted by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) featuring Commissioner O'Malley and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (Ret-IA).

For more information on the SSI program, including who is eligible and how to apply, visit Supplemental Security Income (SSI) | SSA.

To learn more about how the agency is working to remove barriers to accessing SSI payments, simplify the SSI application and improve customer service, visit Commissioner O'Malley's First 100 days Accomplishments | SSA.

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Olivia and Liam are once again America's most popular baby names, with 2023 being the fifth consecutive year that parents have chosen the monikers for their little ones. Also for the fifth consecutive year, Noah took the second slot for boys, and Emma for girls. Only one new name appeared in the Top 10 lists this year, with Mateo joining the boys for the first time.

Here are the top 10 boys' and girls' names for 2023:

Boys	Girls
1. Liam	1. Olivia
2. Noah	2. Emma
3. Oliver	3. Charlotte
4. James	4. Amelia
5. Elijah	5. Sophia
6. Mateo	6. Mia
7. Theodore	7. Isabella
8. Henry	8. Ava
9. Lucas	9. Evelyn
10. William	10. Luna

Every year, Social Security celebrates Mother's Day by announcing the 1000 most popular baby names. You can view the full list at www.ssa.gov/babynames, and see how popular your name was the year you were born and where it's ranked now.

"Happy Mother's Day to all the incredible moms in our lives. Your love, strength, and selflessness motivate us all, and we thank you for everything you do," said Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley. "Know that Social Security is here to help you continue to provide for your families - by securing a Social Security number for your child, filing for benefits for yourself or your family members, and so much more. We will never stop working for you."

Social Security's programs are particularly important for women, who made up 55 percent of adult Social Security beneficiaries in 2023. Women typically have longer life expectancies than men and earn less income over their lifetime due to the combined impact of the gender wage gap, caregiving responsibilities, overrepresentation in low-paid jobs, and more. Social Security also provides critical benefits to 2.6 million children, including nearly one million low-income children with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income benefits. People can visit www.ssa.gov to learn more about how Social Security's expanded digital services make it easier than ever for women and children to access critical benefits and services.

What's in a Name?

Parents apply for their child's Social Security card when they are born, making the agency America's top source for baby names. The agency began compiling the baby names list in 1997, with names dating back to 1880. Each year, the list reveals the effect of pop culture on naming trends.

It's clear that social media stars had a major influence on new parents in 2023. The fastest rising girl's name, Kaeli, went viral in 2023, rising a whopping 1,692 spots. Parents must have really smashed the 'like' button for YouTube and TikTok star Kaeli McEwen (also known as Kaeli Mae), who routinely promotes a clean, tidy, and neutral-aesthetic lifestyle. On the boy's side, trending in third place as the boy's fastest riser, is Eiden - perhaps it was TikTok creator Wyatt Eiden's 1.6 billion views and over 3 million followers that prompted this name's meteoric rise.

Powerful names also proved very attractive to parents in 2023. Emryn made her debut in the Top 1000 baby names after moving up 1,287 spots - Ryn translates to "ruler," so it is no shock to see Emryn becoming a leader amongst the girls. Meanwhile Chozen, the second fastest rising boy's name, fought up to number 813 in 2023. The character Chozen becomes a hero in the latest season of the hit Netflix show, Cobra Kai - wax on, wax off!

Here are the top five fastest rising boys' and girls' names in 2023:

Boys	Girls
1. Izael	1. Kaeli
2. Chozen	2. Alitzel
3. Eiden	3. Emryn
4. Cassian	4. Adhara
5. Kyren	5. Azari

Please visit www.ssa.gov/babynames to view the entire list and see where your name ranks now and over the past 100 years.

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The Social Security Administration recently published a final rule, "Expand the Definition of a Public Assistance Household." This final rule announces one of several updates to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) regulations that will help people receiving and applying for SSI. SSI provides monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness, and to adults aged 65 and older. These benefits help pay for basic needs like rent, food, clothing, and medicine. People applying for and receiving SSI must meet eligibility requirements, including income and resource limits.

Under the final rule, beginning September 30, 2024, the agency will expand the definition of a public assistance household to include households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments and households where not all members receive public assistance. The expanded definition will allow more people to qualify for SSI, increase some SSI recipients' payment amounts, and reduce reporting burdens for individuals living in public assistance households.

The revised rule also changes the definition of a public assistance household when determining who in a household receives public assistance. The new rule defines a public assistance household as one that has both an SSI applicant or recipient, and at least one other household member who receives one or more of the listed means-tested public income-maintenance (PIM) payments (the any other definition). The previous policy required all household members to receive public assistance. This change benefits SSI recipients living in households where only some members receive public assistance.

"I'm committed to making systemic changes to help people access the critical benefits they need, including SSI," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "By simplifying our policies and including an additional program geared towards low-income families, such as the SNAP, we are removing significant barriers to accessing SSI. These changes promote greater equity in our programs."

SNAP is the first PIM benefit added to the agency's public assistance household definition since it was established in 1980. This change helps ensure the agency's policies better represent the current landscape of means-tested programs in the United States.

These changes are key because, if an applicant or recipient is determined to be living in a public assistance household, the agency assumes they are not receiving assistance from other household members that would otherwise be counted as income. This will allow more people to qualify for SSI and in some cases, receive a higher SSI payment.

This regulation update is one of several that Social Security is publishing to improve the SSI program. The agency recently announced it will exclude the value of food from SSI benefit calculations. (Refer to Press Release | Press Office | SSA) The agency also recently announced it will expand its rental subsidy exception, currently only in place for SSI applicants and recipients residing in seven States, as a nationwide policy. (Refer to Press Release | Press Office | SSA)

Social Security continuously examines programmatic policy and makes regulatory and sub-regulatory changes as appropriate.

For more information on the SSI program, including who is eligible and how to apply, visit Supplemental Security Income (SSI) | SSA.

To read the final rule "Expand the Definition of a Public Assistance Household," visit Federal Register: Expand the Definition of a Public Assistance Household.

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Visitors to Social Security's website are now able to track the agency's progress towards achieving its top customer service goals at www.ssa.gov/SecurityStat.

In February 2024, Commissioner Martin O'Malley launched SecurityStat-an agencywide, cross-cutting performance management program-to accelerate the deployment of customer service improvements. SecurityStat brings top executives and subject matter experts together every two weeks to analyze data, identify problems and solutions, and follow through on necessary changes.

As a result of this collaborative, data-driven approach, the agency has implemented changes more rapidly to address Commissioner O'Malley's top three customer service priorities: reducing wait times on the National 800 Number; issuing disability determinations faster; and addressing overpayment and underpayment injustices.

"SecurityStat offers a new and unprecedented level of transparency for Social Security's stakeholders and customers," said Commissioner O'Malley. "Now, on our new SecurityStat website, the public can easily view the progress we are making on certain priorities, like our 800 Number performance, average processing time for disability determinations, and average processing time for retirement, survivor, and Medicare benefit claims."

For example, one of Social Security's top goals is to answer calls to the National 800 Number within an average of 12 minutes by the end of fiscal year 2025 while increasing the percentage of calls answered. Since November, the agency has reduced the average waiting time from 40.8 minutes to 24.5 minutes over the most recent month, as shown in the graph below. SecurityStat website provides information, like the graph below, about the degree to which actions implemented by the agency in the past few months have impacted wait times.

For more information, please visit: Commissioner O'Malley's First 100 days Accomplishments | SSA.

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The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial status of the health of the Social Security Trust Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds are projected to have enough dedicated revenue to pay all scheduled benefits and associated administrative costs until 2035, one year later than projected last year, with 83 percent of benefits payable at that time.

In the 2024 Annual Report to Congress, the Trustees announced:

• The asset reserves of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds declined by $41 billion in 2023 to a total of $2.788 trillion.
• The total annual cost of the program is projected to exceed total annual income in 2024 and remain higher throughout the 75-year projection period. Total cost began to be higher than total income in 2021. Social Security's cost has exceeded its non-interest income since 2010.
• The year when the combined trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted, if Congress does not act before then, is 2035. At that time, there would be sufficient income coming in to pay 83 percent of scheduled benefits.

"This year's report is a measure of good news for the millions of Americans who depend on Social Security, including the roughly 50 percent of seniors for whom Social Security is the difference between poverty and living in dignity -- any potential benefit reduction event has been pushed off from 2034 to 2035. More people are contributing to Social Security, thanks to strong economic policies that have yielded impressive wage growth, historic job creation, and a steady, low unemployment rate. So long as Americans across our country continue to work, Social Security can - and will - continue to pay benefits," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "Congress can and should take action to extend the financial health of the Trust Fund into the foreseeable future, just as it did in the past on a bipartisan basis. Eliminating the shortfall will bring peace of mind to Social Security's 70 million-plus beneficiaries, the 180 million workers and their families who contribute to Social Security, and the entire nation."

Other highlights of the Trustees Report include:

• Total income, including interest, to the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds amounted to $1.351 trillion in 2023. ($1.233 trillion from net payroll tax contributions, $51 billion from taxation of benefits, and $67 billion in interest)
• Total expenditures from the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds amounted to $1.392 trillion in 2023.
• Social Security paid benefits of $1.379 trillion in calendar year 2023. There were about 67 million beneficiaries at the end of the calendar year.
• The projected actuarial deficit over the 75-year long-range period is 3.50 percent of taxable payroll - lower than the 3.61 percent projected in last year's report.
• During 2023, an estimated 183 million people had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes.
• The cost of $7.2 billion to administer the Social Security program in 2023 was a very low 0.5 percent of total expenditures.
• The combined trust fund asset reserves earned interest at an effective annual rate of 2.4 percent in 2023.

"I will continue to urge Congress to protect and support Social Security and restore the growth of the funds. Whether Congress chooses to eliminate the shortfall by increasing revenue, reducing benefits, or some combination, is a matter of political preference, not affordability. Congress currently has several bills that address the shortfall without benefit cuts -- it should debate and vote on these and any other proposals. It's critical that Congress acts quickly to address the projected trust fund shortfalls, to gradually phase in necessary changes as the Trustees have recommended," Commissioner O'Malley said.

The Board of Trustees usually comprises six members. Four serve by virtue of their positions with the federal government: Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee; Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security; Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services; and Julie Su, Acting Secretary of Labor. The two public trustee positions are currently vacant.

View the 2024 Trustees Report at www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2024/.

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Last Thursday, the Social Security Administration published a final rule, "Expansion of the Rental Subsidy Policy for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Applicants and Recipients." This rule provides the second of several updates to the agency's SSI regulations that will help people receiving and applying for SSI.

"Our mission is to continue to help people access crucial benefits, including SSI," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "Simplifying and expanding our rental subsidy policy nationwide is another common-sense solution that will improve program equality and will reduce agency time spent calculating and administering rental subsidy."

SSI provides monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness, and to adults aged 65 and older, who have limited income and resources. SSI benefits can help pay for basic needs like rent, food, clothing, and medicine. People applying for and receiving SSI must meet eligibility requirements, including income and resource limits.

Under the final rule, beginning September 30, 2024, the agency will expand its SSI rental subsidy policy, which due to judicial decisions is currently only in place for SSI applicants and recipients residing in seven States (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin). In those states, rental assistance, such as renting at a discounted rate, was less likely to affect a person's SSI eligibility or payment amount. This new rule extends the same advantageous policy to all SSI applicants and recipients nationwide. This may increase the benefit amount some people are eligible to receive and will allow more people to qualify for critical SSI payments.

The agency continuously examines programmatic policies and makes regulatory and sub-regulatory changes as appropriate. Look for more announcements in the coming weeks.

For more information on the SSI program, including who is eligible and how to apply, visit Supplemental Security Income (SSI) | SSA.

To read the final rule "Expansion of the Rental Subsidy Policy for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Applicants and Recipients," visit Federal Register: Expansion of the Rental Subsidy Policy for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Applicants and Recipients.

The final rule expanding the rental subsidy policy is another announcement that removes barriers to accessing SSI payments. Learn about "Omitting Food from In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) Calculations."

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The Social Security Administration (SSA) plans to raise the fee cap for claimants' representatives, from $7,200 to $9,200, when they and their client agree to use what is known as a "fee agreement process." This will be the first increase to the fee agreement cap since November 2022, when the cap went up from $6,000 to $7,200, after remaining the same for thirteen years.

The fee cap increase is scheduled to take effect this Fall. The agency also plans to tie future increases to the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). SSA will publish notice of this change in the Federal Register in April in advance of the effective date.

"Our programs can be complex and quality representation - from initial claims to appeals - helps people navigate the process," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security.

Fees are paid from beneficiaries' past-due benefits. When a claimant or beneficiary decides to retain representation, the representative is required to obtain approval of any fee from SSA. The fee agreement cap is the maximum dollar amount an appointed representative can receive under the "fee agreement process" for successfully representing a person in a case for disability benefits. The cap does not apply to the "fee petition process."

Due to underfunding, SSA is currently experiencing growing disability backlogs in the State Disability Determination Services that make initial and reconsideration decisions for the agency. Disability applicants are waiting on average nearly 8 months (228 days) for an initial decision and an additional 7 months (223 days) for those who request a reconsideration appeal. SSA's long-term goal is to reduce those waits to 4 months (120 days) each. Representatives can help SSA develop medical evidence in disability claims more fully, which allows SSA to issue decisions more efficiently.

Information about appointed representatives is available at www.ssa.gov/representation. Once retained, a representative must file a fee agreement form, SSA-1693.

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The Social Security Administration announced it will decrease the default overpayment withholding rate for Social Security beneficiaries to ten percent (or $10, whichever is greater) from 100 percent, significantly reducing financial hardship on people with overpayments.

"Social Security is taking a critically important step towards our goal of ensuring our overpayment policies are fair, equitable, and do not unduly harm anyone," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "It's unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment."

The agency works to pay the right people the right amounts at the right time, and Social Security issues correct payments in most cases. However, there is room to improve, as people count on the agency to prevent overpayments from happening and make it easier to navigate the recovery and waiver processes when they occur.

When a person has been overpaid, the law requires the agency to seek repayment, which can create financial difficulties for beneficiaries. As of March 25, 2024, the agency will collect ten percent (or $10, whichever is greater) of the total monthly Social Security benefit to recover an overpayment, rather than collecting 100 percent as was previous procedure. There will be limited exceptions to this change, such as when an overpayment resulted from fraud.

There will be a short transition period where people will continue to experience the older policy. People placed in 100 percent withholding during this transition period should call Social Security's National 800 Number at 1-800-772-1213 to lower their withholding rate.

The change applies to new overpayments. If beneficiaries already have an overpayment with a withholding rate greater than ten percent and would like a lower recovery rate, they too should call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or their local Social Security office to speak with a representative. If a beneficiary requests a rate lower than ten percent, a representative will approve the request if it allows recovery of the overpayment within 60 months - a recent increase to improve how the agency serves its customers from the previous policy of only 36 months. If the beneficiary's proposed rate would extend recovery of the overpayment beyond 60 months, the Social Security representative will gather income, resource, and expense information from the beneficiary to make a determination.

Social Security launched a comprehensive review in October 2023 of agency overpayment policies and procedures to address payment accuracy systematically (See Learn about Overpayments and Our Process | SSA and Press Release | Press Office | SSA). This procedure change is a direct result of the ongoing review. This change and the adjustment to 60-month repayment are part of four recently announced key updates to address improper payments (See Press Release | Press Office | SSA for more information). The agency also is working to reduce wage-related improper payments by establishing information exchanges with payroll data providers that will significantly reduce the number of improper payments, once implemented (See Press Release | Press Office | SSA for more information). The agency will continue examining programmatic policy and making regulatory and sub-regulatory changes to improve the overpayment process.

Additionally, people have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the amount. They can ask Social Security to waive collection of the overpayment, if they believe it was not their fault and can't afford to pay it back. The agency does not pursue recoveries while an initial appeal or waiver is pending. Even if people do not want to appeal or request a waiver, they should contact the agency if the planned withholding would cause hardship. Social Security has flexible repayment options, including repayment of as low as $10 per month. Each person's situation is unique, and the agency handles overpayments on a case-by-case basis.

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Today, the Social Security Administration published a final rule, "Omitting Food from In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) Calculations." The final rule announces the first of several updates to the agency's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) regulations that will help people receiving and applying for SSI.

"A vital part of our mission is helping people access crucial benefits, including SSI," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "Simplifying our policies is a common-sense solution that reduces the burden on the public and agency staff and helps promote equity by removing barriers to accessing payments."

SSI provides monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness, and to adults aged 65 and older, who have limited income and resources. SSI benefits help pay for basic needs like rent, food, clothing, and medicine. People applying for and receiving SSI must meet eligibility requirements, including income and resource limits. Under our old rules, ISM includes food, shelter, or both a person receives - the agency counts ISM as unearned income, which may affect a person's eligibility or reduce their payment amount.

Under the final rule, beginning September 30, 2024, the agency will no longer include food in ISM calculations. The new policy removes a critical barrier for SSI eligibility due to an applicant's or recipient's receipt of informal food assistance from friends, family, and community networks of support. The new policy further helps in several important ways: the change is easier to understand and use by applicants, recipients, and agency employees; applicants and recipients have less information to report about food assistance received from family and friends, removing a significant source of burden; reducing month-to-month variability in payment amounts will improve payment accuracy; and the agency will see administrative savings because less time will be spent administering food ISM.

The agency continuously examines programmatic policy and makes regulatory and sub-regulatory changes as appropriate. Look for more SSI announcements in the coming weeks.

For more information on the SSI program, including who is eligible and how to apply, visit Supplemental Security Income (SSI) | SSA.

To read the final rule "Omitting Food from In-Kind Support and Maintenance Calculations," visit Federal Register: Omitting Food From In-Kind Support and Maintenance Calculations.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

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Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley today announced he is taking four vital steps to immediately address overpayment issues customers and the agency have experienced. Commissioner O'Malley testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (excerpt):

"For 88 years, the hard-working employees of the Social Security Administration have strived to pay the right amount, to the right person, at the right time. And the agency has done this with a high degree of accuracy over a massive scale of beneficiaries. But despite our best efforts, we sometimes get it wrong and pay beneficiaries more than they are due, creating an overpayment.

When that happens, Congress requires that we make every effort to recover those overpaid benefits. But doing so without regard to the larger purpose of the program can result in grave injustices to individuals, as we see from the stories of people losing their homes or being put in dire financial straits when they suddenly see their benefits cut off to recover a decades-old overpayment, or disability beneficiaries attempting to work and finding their efforts rewarded with large overpayments. Innocent people can be badly hurt. And these injustices shock our shared sense of equity and good conscience as Americans.

We are continually improving how we serve the millions of people who depend on our programs, although we have room for improvement, as media reports last fall revealed. We have also embarked upon a deep dive into the extent of the overpayment problem at Social Security, the root causes of these administrative errors, and the steps we can take as an agency to address these individual injustices.

Our deeper understanding of the complexities of this problem has set us on the following course of action:

1. Starting next Monday, March 25, we will be ceasing the heavy-handed practice of intercepting 100 percent of an overpaid beneficiary's monthly Social Security benefit by default if they fail to respond to our demand for repayment. Moving forward, we will now use a much more reasonable default withholding rate of 10 percent of monthly benefits - similar to the current rate in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
2. We will be reframing our guidance and procedures so that the burden of proof shifts away from the claimant in determining whether there is any evidence that the claimant was at fault in causing the overpayment.
3. For the vast majority of beneficiaries who request to work out a repayment plan, we recently changed our policy so that we will approve repayment plans of up to 60 months. To qualify, Social Security beneficiaries would only need to provide a verbal summary of their income, resources, and expenses, and recipients of the means-tested SSI program would not need to provide even this summary. This change extended this easier repayment option by an additional two years (from 36 to 60 months).
4. And finally, we will be making it much easier for overpaid beneficiaries to request a waiver of repayment, in the event they believe themselves to have been without any fault and/or without the ability to repay.

Implementing these policy changes - with proper education and training across the people, policies, and systems of the agency - is an important but complex shift. And we are undertaking that shift with urgency, diligence, and speed.

I look forward to working with Members to discuss ideas that could address the root causes of overpayments."

Social Security launched a comprehensive review in October 2023 of agency overpayment policies and procedures to address payment accuracy systematically. (See Learn about Overpayments and Our Process | SSA and Press Release | Press Office | SSA). These changes are a direct result of the ongoing review. Additionally, the agency recently announced it is working to reduce wage-related improper payments by using its legal authority to establish information exchanges with payroll data providers that will significantly reduce the number of improper payments, once implemented. (See Press Release | Press Office | SSA for more information). The agency will continue examining programmatic policy and making regulatory and sub-regulatory changes to improve the overpayment process. More details on these updates will be shared as they become available.

To watch the testimony and read Commissioner O'Malley Statement for the Record, visit Keeping Our Promise to Older Adults and ... | Senate Committee On Aging and Hearing | Hearings | The United States Senate Committee on Finance.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

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Key investments focus on improving the customer experience, reducing wait times at all stages of the disability process and on our National 800 Number, modernizing our information technology, improving overpayment and underpayment processes, and advancing equity by increasing access to our programs.

The Biden-Harris Administration today released the President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Following historic progress made since the President took office-with nearly 15 million jobs created and inflation down two-thirds-the Budget protects and builds on this progress by lowering costs for working families, protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, investing in America and the American people, and reducing the deficit by cracking down on fraud, cutting wasteful spending, and making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.

The Budget makes critical, targeted investments in the American people that will promote greater prosperity for decades to come. At the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Budget will:

• Protect the Social Security Benefits that Americans Have Earned. The Administration is committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security and opposes any attempt to cut Social Security benefits as well as proposals to privatize Social Security. The Administration believes that protecting Social Security should start with asking the highest-income Americans to pay their fair share. In addition, the Administration supports efforts to improve Social Security benefits, as well as SSI benefits, for seniors and people with disabilities, especially for those who face the greatest challenges making ends meet.
• Improve Service Delivery. The Administration is committed to improving service delivery for the more than six million retirement, survivor, and Medicare claimants, as well as the more than two million individuals applying for disability and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) every year. The Budget requests $15.4 billion in discretionary budget authority-a $1.3 billion or 9 percent increase over the 2023 enacted level-to improve customer service at SSA's field offices, State disability determination services, and teleservice centers for retirees, individuals with disabilities, and their families. The Budget also improves access to SSA's services by reducing wait times.
• Advance Equity and Accessibility. This Budget ensures we will deliver accessible Social Security services to all eligible individuals, while maintaining rigorous stewardship and oversight of our programs. Our programs must reach underserved communities and people facing barriers to accessing our services, including individuals with low income, limited English proficiency, mental and intellectual disabilities, and those facing homelessness. The Budget also supports our efforts to simplify and update the SSI application processes and expand access to agency programs and services through our outreach efforts, particularly for underserved communities. We will improve our IT systems to provide a more consistent, equitable, and accessible experience for our customers; reduce burdensome manual processes for our employees; increase self-service options on our National 800 Number; and expand our cybersecurity program. Further, the Budget prioritizes preventing and resolving improper payments.
• Provide National, Comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave. The vast majority of America's workers do not have access to employer-provided paid family leave, including 73 percent of private sector workers. Among the lowest-paid workers, who are disproportionately women and workers of color, 94 percent lack access to paid family leave through their employers. In addition, as many as one in five retirees leave the workforce earlier than planned to care for an ill family member, which negatively impacts families, as well as the Nation's labor supply and productivity. The Budget proposes to establish a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program administered by SSA. The program would: provide workers with progressive, partial wage replacement to take time off for family and medical reasons; include robust administrative funding; and use an inclusive family definition. The Budget would provide up to 12 weeks of leave to allow eligible workers to take time off to: care for and bond with a new child; care for a seriously ill loved one; heal from their own serious illness; address circumstances arising from a loved one's military deployment; or find safety from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking -otherwise known as "safe leave". The Budget would also provide up to three days to grieve the death of a loved one. The Administration looks forward to continuing to work with the Congress to make this critical investment and strengthen America's economy.

The Budget builds on the President's record while achieving meaningful deficit reduction through measures that cut wasteful spending and ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.

For more information on the President's FY 2025 Budget, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

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The Social Security Administration and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) are partnering once again to raise public awareness about Social Security imposter scams during their fifth annual "Slam the Scam" Day on March 7.

"As public servants, we must use every tool at our disposal to raise awareness and protect the American people against Social Security imposter scams," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "Scammers use fear and deception to scare people out of their critical benefits. We urge everyone to protect their personal information, remain vigilant, do not give money, and report any scam attempts to oig.ssa.gov."

Social Security scams--where fraudsters mislead victims into making cash, gift card, or wire transfer payments to fix alleged Social Security number problems or to avoid arrest--are an ongoing government imposter fraud scheme. Social Security impersonation scams have been one of the most common government imposter scams reported to the Federal Trade Commission. Social Security continues to make concerted efforts to address this issue, through extensive outreach and investigative initiatives.

Criminals use sophisticated tactics to trick potential victims into disclosing personal and financial information. Typically, they use these P's - Pretend, Prize or Problem, Pressure, and Payment. For example, scammers pretend they are from Social Security in phone calls, texts, emails, and direct messages on social media, and claim there is a problem with the person's Social Security number. The scammer's caller ID may be spoofed to look like a legitimate government number. Scammers may also send fake documents to pressure people into complying with demands for information or money. Other common tactics include citing "badge numbers," using fraudulent Social Security letterhead, and creating imposter social media pages to target individuals for payment or personal information.

"On our fifth National Slam the Scam Day, we are just as committed as we were in 2020. The scammers have not stopped, and we will not stop in our commitment to increase public awareness of these pervasive scams," said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for SSA. "We are grateful for the many partnerships we have formed over the last 5 years in support of this initiative and the collaborative efforts that have come forth. We must continue to work together to slam the scam."

Social Security will never tell you that your Social Security number is suspended; contact you to demand an immediate payment; threaten you with arrest; ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone; request gift cards or cash; or promise a Social Security benefit approval or increase in exchange for information or money.

Social Security employees do contact the public by telephone for business purposes. Ordinarily, the agency calls people who have recently applied for a Social Security benefit, are already receiving payments and require an update to their record, or have requested a phone call from the agency. If there is a problem with a person's Social Security number or record, Social Security will typically mail a letter.

Today's events include:

• 1 p.m. ET: Join USAgov's National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) X/Twitter chat (in Spanish) for advice on avoiding common scams with @USAGovEspanol. Follow the conversation by using the hashtags #OjoConLasEstafas and #NCPW2024.
• 3 p.m. ET: Join USAgov's NCPW X/Twitter chat (in English) for advice on avoiding common scams with @USAGov. Follow the conversation by using the hashtags #SlamTheScamChat and #NCPW2024.

To report a scam attempt, go to oig.ssa.gov. For more information, please visit www.ssa.gov/scam and www.ssa.gov/fraud.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

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Today, the Social Security Administration published a proposed rule, "Use of Electronic Payroll Data to Improve Program Administration," describing the agency's plans for accessing and using information from payroll data providers to reduce improper payments, including overpayments, which improves service to customers.

Unreported, late reported, and incorrectly reported earnings are often a cause of overpayments for people who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. When a person has been overpaid, the law requires the agency to ask for repayment, which can create financial difficulties for beneficiaries.

"Social Security is taking a critically important step to reduce improper payments, including overpayments, by ensuring we receive timely and accurate wage data. These automated payroll information exchanges will address the inefficiencies associated with self-reporting and manual verification by introducing a more streamlined approach," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "These exchanges will prevent inequities caused by improper payments by enabling Social Security employees to adjust SSI payments before they are issued and help us more efficiently administer SSDI."

Social Security is working to reduce wage-related improper payments by using its legal authority to establish information exchanges with payroll data providers. These exchanges will help ensure the agency receives timely and accurate wage data. These exchanges and the agency's planned business process is called the Payroll Information Exchange (PIE).

PIE will help reduce manual reporting errors as well as the reporting burden for individuals who authorize Social Security to obtain their wage and employment information through these information exchanges and work for employers whose payroll data is available through the exchange. PIE will also help to more quickly identify wages that often go unreported or undetected and which can lead to improper payments.

People may read the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) here. Public comment is an important part of this process and people may provide comments on the NPRM by April 15, 2024.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

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Increasing access to programs and improving service are the main goals of the updated Equity Action Plan released by the Social Security Administration (SSA) today.

"We will administer our programs equitably by reducing administrative burdens and reaching underserved people," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "In line with the Administration's whole-of-government approach to deliver better outcomes for the American people, I'm pleased to share our Equity Action Plan 2023 Update."

In 2022, SSA released its first Equity Action Plan in accordance with the President's Executive Order, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.

The updated SSA Equity Action Plan includes several new focus areas:

• Ensure language does not pose barriers to apply for benefits and access services;
• Reduce pending Supplemental Security Income (SSI) underpayments and assess root causes of improper payments; and
• Increase awareness of survivors benefits, especially among people disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

The new Equity Action Plan also builds on progress made since 2022 to:

• Simplify the SSI application;
• Update the agency's systems and Social Security number business processes; and
• Provide more demographic data to the public to further identify, monitor, and address where there are service inequities.

For more information about the actions outlined in the Equity Action Plan, please visit www.ssa.gov/equity. To learn about a whole-of-government approach to advance equity for all, visit www.whitehouse.gov/equity.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

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