SOCIAL SECURITY TRYING TO ELIMINATE BENEFITS FOR 500,000 AMERICANS

According to a widely published report, the Social Security Administration is set to impose restrictions on disability benefits that will deny 500,000 older Americans benefits. The Trump administration will reportedly try to slip these changes into place before Joe Biden takes office on January 20, 2021.

Currently, Social Security recognizes that persons over age 50 have more difficulty in adjusting to new types of jobs. They use "grid rules," which consider age, education and work experience to determine disability. The new rules would largely demolish the grid rules and make it much more difficult for older applicants to get disability benefits.

I expect the SSA to use a lot of misdirection and fiction to sell this proposal. The effort will likely center on the buzzword “modernization.” The agency will suggest that the “modern” economy provides many jobs that even a displaced and disabled older worker can do," one unnamed official said.

The new administration will undoubtedly oppose this change, if given time to react. That's why many people in Washington feel that the Trump administration will try to move quickly, before Congress or the new Biden administration can block the changes.

Social Security Disability (SSDI) is already difficult to impossible to get. The one bright spot is that individuals age 50 and over can sometimes qualify under the Medical-Vocational Guidelines, also called "Grid Rules." Over 80 percent of new disability cases being approved today are approved under the grid rules. Take those away and disability approval rates will fall through the floor.

The changes proposed by the Office of Management and Budget, to take effect in 2021 would deny 500,000 older Americans access to disability benefits that they presently would qualify for. This amounts to effectively dismantling the Social Security disability system, where only 4 in 10 applicants now qualify--and most of them now wait a year or more to get approved--and most have to attend a hearing with a judge. With this new change, individuals who have paid up to 15 percent of their lifetime wages into the Social Security trust fund will be shut out. Social Security tax, called FICA, is withheld from each worker's paycheck, Their employer matches the withholding with an equal amount of tax, and this is what funds Social Security. The tax will not be reduced when the benefits are.

There should be an immediate and very loud outcry to members of Congress. If enacted, this very poor policy change can be dismissed by the new administration after January 20th. However, once in place, government policy is difficult to change. It would be better to head it off now.

"Whether SSA can slip this through the regulatory process before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration may depend on whether SSA and OMB respect the formal regulatory process," a Washington insider said.

_____________________

NOTE: These proposed changes DO NOT apply to individuals who are already receiving a disability benefit. They will apply to new claimants who file a new claim for benefits in 2021 and thereafter.