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News & AnnouncementsUpdated: November 18, 2009 (En Español) |
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Social Security Holds Disability Hearing on Compassionate Allowances and Schizophrenia(November 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, was joined by Philip Wang, M.D., Dr.P.H., National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, and Social Security executives to hear testimony from some of the nation’s leading experts on schizophrenia about possible methods of identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for young adults with schizophrenia. For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security's Fiscal Year 2009 Performance and Accountability Report(November 2009) |
SSA's Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) is now available. Our FY 2009 PAR combines our annual performance report with our audited financial statements to provide full disclosure of our financial and programmatic operations. FY 2009 marks the twenty-third year that we have published audited financial statements and the sixteenth year that we have received an unqualified opinion on our financial statements. |
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Social Security Announces New Enhancements to Online Retirement Estimator(November 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the online Retirement Estimator, available at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator, now can provide immediate and personalized benefit estimates to people who have enrolled in Medicare but have not yet filed for Social Security benefits. | ||||
Patty Duke and Dr. David Kessler Team with Social Security in Flu Prevention Public Service Campaign(October 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that Academy Award winner Patty Duke and David Kessler, M.D., former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have teamed with Social Security to launch a flu prevention public service campaign. | ||||
Prompt Passage of Economic Recovery Act Payment for 2010 Needed(October 2009) |
Law Does Not Provide for a Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2010 |
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Social Security Hearings Backlog Down for First Time in Decade(September 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that for the first time since 1999, the agency has ended the year with fewer disability hearings pending than in the prior year. Social Security ended fiscal year (FY) 2009 with 722,822 hearings pending compared to 760,813 hearings pending at the start of the year, a reduction of more than 37,000 cases. | ||||
Social Security Establishes Financial Literacy Research Consortium(September 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced the establishment of a new Financial Literacy Research Consortium (FLRC), made up of research centers at Boston College, the RAND Corporation, and the University of Wisconsin. | ||||
Settlement in the Martinez Court Case(September 2009) |
On September 24, 2009, Judge Claudia Wilken, United States District Court, Northern District of California, ordered final approval of the settlement between SSA and plaintiffs of the Martinez class action. Judge Wilken also directed entry of a final judgment in the case. The settlement concerns the Social Security Act directive not to pay Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Special Veterans Benefits (SVB), or Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits to individuals who are determined to be “fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or confinement after conviction” for a felony. It also concerns the Act's directive not to select persons to serve as representative payees for such reasons. The settlement explains the revised policy on interpreting these statutory directives and the retroactive relief available to class members.
For more information, read the details about the court-approved settlement agreement. |
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Social Security to Test Use of Microsoft’s HealthVault in Disability Process(August 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced today that the agency has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to test the use of Microsoft’s HealthVault application in the disability process. HealthVault is a free online service that enables people to gather, store and manage their families’ health information, and share that information with their physicians and healthcare providers. | ||||
Social Security Holds Compassionate Allowances Hearing on Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease(July 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security was joined by Marie A. Bernard, M.D., Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, and other Social Security officials, to hear testimony from some of the nation's leading experts on early-onset Alzheimer's disease and related dementias about possible methods for identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for people with early-onset Alzheimer's.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security to Open New Teleservice Center in Jackson, Tennessee(June 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency plans to open a new teleservice center in Jackson, Tennessee, which will be the first new call center opened by Social Security in more than a decade. | ||||
Social Security Continues to Rank as One of the "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government"(May 2009) |
The Social Security Administration once again ranks as one of the "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government," according to The Partnership for Public Service and American University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. | ||||
Social Security Trustees: Economic Downturn Leads to Worsening of Long-Range Financing Outlook(May 2009) |
The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds. The Trustees project that program costs will exceed tax revenues in 2016, one year sooner than projected in last year’s report. The combined assets of the Old-Age and Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2037, four years sooner than projected last year.
The report is available in both text and portable document format. |
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America's Parents Vote for Change on Social Security's Most Popular Baby Names List(May 2009) |
In 2008, American parents voted for change in naming their children. After a 12-year reign as the most popular baby name, Emily has slipped to third on the list. Emma is now the nation's most popular name for girls. The most popular boy's name, Jacob, remained the same for the 10th year in a row. | ||||
Commissioner Astrue and Senator Bingaman Tour New National Hearing Center in Albuquerque(April 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner
of Social Security, today joined U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) for
a tour of the agency's new National Hearing Center (NHC) in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Commissioner Astrue and Senator Bingaman also announced
that Social Security plans to hire approximately 80 people for positions
throughout New Mexico before the fiscal year ends in October and open an
additional field office in the Albuquerque area in 2010.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Vice President Biden Announces $250 Recovery Payments to Go Out in May(March 2009) |
Vice President Joe Biden and Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced today that the federal government will send out $250 economic recovery payments to people who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits beginning in early May 2009 and continuing throughout the month.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security Administration Receives Top Marks from Employees(February 2009) |
The Social Security Administration has been named the top Government Employer by readers of Equal Opportunity Magazine and also has received Top Ten Ranking in the 2008 Federal Human Capital Survey.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Commissioner Astrue Signs President's Ethics Pledge(February 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that he has voluntarily signed President Obama's Ethics Pledge, an action required only of new political appointees in this Administration.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security's Online Services Continue to Win Accolades(February 2009) |
The Social Security Administration's online services have earned the highest overall score in the most recent e-Government Satisfaction Index. The Index, which is administered by ForeSee Results in conjunction with the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), also gave three of SSA's applications the highest scores in government. In a separate survey, Nextgov, a website devoted to technology and the federal government, listed www.socialsecurity.gov as one of the top five federal websites in its review of best online practices.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security Releases Annual Report on Hearing Backlog(February 2009) |
Social Security has released the Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report on the agency's efforts to eliminate the hearing backlog. You can read the full report here. (1.4MB)  . |
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Social Security Expands Fast-Track Disability Processes(January 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced today that improvements to the agency's computer modeling system have increased the number of claimants receiving expedited approvals for disability benefits. For more information, read our press release. |
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The Cousins are Back and They’re Filing Online for Social Security Benefits(January 2009) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, and Patty Duke, Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy winning actress, today unveiled Social Security's new online retirement application and launched the agency's Retire Online campaign. Featuring cousins Patty and Cathy Lane from the hit 1960's sitcom, "The Patty Duke Show," the campaign will let Americans know that it's now easier than ever to retire online at www.socialsecurity.gov. For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security Holds Third Disability Hearing on Compassionate Allowances(November 2008) |
Senior executives from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health joined Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, to hear testimony from some of the nation’s leading experts on traumatic brain injury, the signature injury of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and stroke.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security Launches Compassionate Allowances Initiative to Expedite Certain Disability Decisions(October 2008) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced the national rollout of the agency’s Compassionate Allowances initiative, a way to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants whose medical conditions are so severe that their conditions obviously meet Social Security's standards.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security Continues to Make Progress Expediting Backlogged Disability Cases(October 2008) |
During a speech to the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, reported on the progress made in fiscal year (FY) 2008 in the agency’s efforts to expedite backlogged disability cases.
For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security Announces the 2009 Cost-of-Living Adjustment(October 2008) |
Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 55 million Americans will increase 5.8 percent in 2009, the Social Security Administration announced today. The 5.8 percent increase is the largest since 1982.
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase automatically each year based on the rise in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), from the third quarter of the prior year to the corresponding period of the current year. This year's increase in the CPI-W was 5.8 percent. The 5.8 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that over 50 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2009. Increased payments to more than 7 million Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will begin on December 31. For more information, read our press release. |
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Social Security Commissioner Releases New Agency Strategic Plan(September 2008) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today released the agency's new Strategic Plan. Using the motto, "Social Security Benefits America," the plan identifies the challenges the agency faces and the steps needed over the next five years to meet those challenges. |
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Early Check Delivery for Beneficiaries Affected by Hurricane Ike
(September 2008) |
Due to the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Ike, more than 40,000 people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida received their Social Security checks September 9th, rather than on Wednesday, September 10th, the regularly scheduled payment day.
Additional details are available here. |
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Social Security Checks Arriving Early in Gulf Coast States(August 2008) |
The Social Security Administration announced that benefit checks are being delivered to Gulf Coast residents today and tomorrow, before the arrival of Gustav. | ||||
Social Security Launches New Online Retirement Estimator(July 2008) |
Social Security unveiled a new online calculator at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator that will provide immediate and personalized benefit estimates to help people plan for their retirement. Read our press release. |
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Social Security Announces Improvements to the Ticket to Work Program(May 2008) |
The Social Security Administration issued final rules designed to improve the Ticket to Work program. The changes will improve the effectiveness of the Ticket program in assisting beneficiaries with disabilities who want to work. |
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Pop Culture Makes Mark on Social Security's Most Popular Baby Names List for 2007(May 2008) |
For Mother's Day, Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced the top baby names in the United States for 2007. Read our press release.
Each year, Social Security produces a list of the most popular baby names based on all Social Security card applications for children born the previous year. Jacob and Emily top the 2007 list. |
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Notice of Settlement Agreement in Kaplan Court Case(April 2008) |
All non-United States citizens who are receiving or have received Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") and are or will be subject to the seven-year limit on receiving SSI pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1612(a)(2)(A) (such as refugees and asylees), prior to becoming a naturalized United States citizen.
You are hereby notified that a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement and Release has been signed by the parties, resolving the claims that have been brought on your behalf in this law suit. Details about settlement agreement are accessible below.
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Social Security Trustees Release 2008 Report(March 2008) |
At a March 25th press conference, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its 2008 report. While the key dates for program costs exceeding tax revenues and Trust Fund exhaustion remain unchanged, the Trustees Report shows improvement in the projected long-term financial status of the Social Security program from last year -- particularly in the latter half of the long-range projection period.
The report is available in both text and portable document format. |
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Social Security Offers Positions to 144 Administrative Law Judges(February 2008) |
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency has begun making offers to 144 of the 175 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) it will hire this fiscal year. "The hiring of these new ALJs is a critical step in our plan to reduce the backlog of disability cases," Commissioner Astrue said. "They represent one of the largest investments in ALJs this agency has ever made." |
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Nation's First Baby Boomer Receives Her First Social Security Retirement Benefit(February 2008) |
Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, the nation's first Baby Boomer, today made history as the first of her generation to receive a Social Security retirement benefit. Having applied online for benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov, Ms. Casey-Kirschling, who was born at one second after midnight on January 1, 1946, today received her first payment by direct deposit. |
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