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AmaraGatto
Mr.Burchett
Government6
2November2015

SincethebirthoftheSocialSecurityAdministration(SSA)in1935byFranklinD.
Roosevelt,thisindependentagencyofthefederalgovernmenthashelpedmanymillionsof
people.Manyretiredordisabledworkersdependonthemoneyallocatedtothembythisagency
toeatandkeepthemselvesoffofthestreets.Butsomethingisthreateningthebenefitsgivento
theseformerhardworking,taxpayingindividuals,andthatisSocialSecurityDisability
Insurance(SSDI)fraud.SSDIfraudmustbestoppedbecauseoftheamountofmoneyitcosts
thealreadylowfundedSSDIagency,thetimethatittakesawayfromthereducedstaff,andthe
difficultiesitposestothetrulyneedy.
Firstly,SSDIfraudmustbeeradicatedbecauseoftheexcessmoneyitcoststheagency.It
hasbeenestimatedthatthegovernmenthasoverpaidalmosthalfofthepeoplereceiving
disabilitybenefitsoverthelasttenyears,accountingtonearlyseventeenbilliondollarsin
overpayment(Report).Consideringthattheaveragemonthlypaymentfordisabledworkers
andtheirfamiliesisaround1,017dollars,justonebilliondollarscouldbeusedtohelparound
983,284morefamiliesamonthwhoactuallyusethemoneytoeatandobtainshelter(Social
SecurityDisabilityRecipients).SocialSecurityDisabilityisnotreceivingasufficientamount
offundstobalancethemoneygivenouttobeneficiariesandaccordingtorecenttrends,theSSDI
trustfundwillrunoutinlate2016,causinganautomaticnineteenpercentcutinbenefitsforall

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recipients(SocialSecurityDisabilityRecipients).Forworkersandfamiliesreceivingthe
average1,017dollars,thiscutwouldmean193lessdollarsamonth,whichwouldmakeahuge
impactifthatistheonlyincomebeingtakenin.In1970,therewerefewerthanthreerecipients
ofSSDIper100workerspayingintotheprogram,andin2004thatratioroseto4.8per100.By
2030theestimatedratioofdependencyisprojectedtobe6.8per100,whichwouldbemorethan
a40percentincreasefrom2004(Trends).Thisdrasticincreaseinpeoplereceivingbenefits
greatlyincreasestheamountofmoneythatmustbepaidbytheSSDIagency.
Secondly,theamountoffraudulentcasestakestimeawayfromtheexaminersandstaff
thatshouldbefocusingonthepeoplewhoarelegallyobligatedtothemoneySSDIcangive
them.In2013,almost72,000casesoffraudallegationclaimswerereported,andthisnumberis
increasingeveryyear(Brown).DuetothestateoftheeconomyandunderfundingoftheSSDI
agency,thenumbersofemployeesateachofficehasbeencut,andthisaddedtothefactthatthe
numberofclaimsisincreasingeveryyearhascausedtherateofvisitorsperemployeesinceFY
2011toincreasebyasmuchassixteenpercent(Statement).Thishascausedmany
backloggingissuessuchasthefactthattheaveragewaittimeforofficevisitorshadincreasedby
40percentbetweenFY2010andFY2013(Statement).Also,theaveragebusyrateofthe
SSA800numberincreasedfrom4.6to15percentofallcallsfromFY2010toJanuaryofFY
2013(Statement).Thislargeincreaseinvolumeofcallshasmorethandoubledthetimeon
holdforthecustomerfrom3.5to7.5minutesfromFY2010toFY2013(Statement).Nearly
sixpercentoftheworkforceinAmerica8,800,000peopleclaimtheyarephysicallyunableto
work(Peek).ThisnumberhasincreasedeverymonthsinceJanuary1997andoutweighsthe
numberaddedannuallytotheworkforce(Peek).Usingthesestatistics,itiseasytoseehow

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rapidlythenumberofapplicantshasincreasedinsuchasmallamountoftimecorresponding
withthefalloftheeconomy.
Third,theincreasingnumberoffraudulentapplicantshindersworthyapplicantsdueto
overflow.Applicationsareupnearly50percentcomparedtoadecadeagoaspeoplelosetheir
jobinthestrugglingeconomythathasgottenridofsevenmillionjobs(SocialSecurity
DisabilityProgram).Whenpeopleareunabletofindanotherjob,theyturntoSSDI.Seeing
thatevenatage62themaximumamountofyearsworkingtobeeligibleforSSDIbenefitsis
onlytenyears,itisquiteeasytobeeligibleforapplication(Blankenship6).Consideringthatthe
averagemonthlypaymentforfamiliesisaround1,017dollars,theannualincomewouldonlybe
about2,000dollarsshortofsomeoneworkingfulltimeatminimumwage(Peek).Thismeans
thatSSDIreplacesaround90percentofannualminimumwage,notgivingalargeincentivefor
peoplewhohavebeenlaidofffromalowpayingjobtotrytofindanother.Thisphenomenonis
provenobviousasitwasfoundthatclaimsratesincreasedbyalmostoneandahalfpercentifthe
replacementratiowascloserto70percentthan50percent(Peek).Ithasalsobeenrecordedthat
claimshavesurgedwitheveryrecessionintheUnitedStatessincethe1970s(Peek).Between
theyearsof1969and1975,beneficiarypaymentsjumpedfrom1.4to2.2percentoftheGross
DomesticProduct(GDP)butthenlessenedagainastheeconomybouncedback(Peek).The
largeincreaseinapplicantscoupledwiththecutinsurveyorsduetothelackoffundingtothe
SSAcausesmoreapplicantstowaitanaverageoftwoyearsfortheircasestoberesolved
(SocialSecurityDisabilityon).Duringthesetwoyearsiftheapplicantcannotphysicallywork
theymayonlybereceivingaverysmallamountofStateDisabilityInsurance(SDI)moneyto
liveon,adifficultfeatforthoseonlymakingminimumwagebefore.ThisabuseofSocial

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SecurityfundsinthedisabilityareacanalsohurtretiredworkersbecausewhentheSSDItrust
fundrunsout,theadministrationwillbeforcedtotapintothoseresources,creatingawholenew
issueofinsolvency(Taylor26).
Somepeoplemaydisagreewiththisopinion,sayingthatsinceSSDIgaveoutaround137
billiondollarsinpaymentin2012,thatacoupleofbilliondollarsgivenouteachyearisnotvery
importantorimpactfulonSSDIanditsrecipients(Peek).Thisargumentisinvalidbecauseof
thestateoftheSSDItrustfund.Sinceitisprojectedtorunoutlate2016,everydollarmustbe
countedandusedwisely.Usingtheaverage1,107dollarsthatafamilywillreceiveunderSocial
SecurityDisability,seventeenbilliondollarswouldpayforbenefitsforaround1,392,986
legitimatefamiliesinayear.Anotherargumentmaybethatconsideringthenewgovernmental
report,itisshownthat94percentofthegrowthindisabilityclaimsbetween1990and2008is
duetopopulationgrowth,theagingofthebabyboomgeneration,andtheentryofwomeninto
theworkforce(Growth).Thisleavesonlyaroundsixpercentofthegrowthlefttobeexplained
byfraudulentclaimsandotherfactors.Thisargumentfailsbecausealthoughsixpercentseems
likeasmallamount,thenumberofdisabilityclaimseachyearissohighthatisstillahuge
number.ThisexcessamountofclaimscoupledwiththeloweramountofemployeesattheSSA
meansthatapplicantswhoneedthemoneydesperatelywillbesubjecttolessattentionand
benefits.ThefactthatrecipientsofSSDIonaveragediethreetimesmorefrequentlythanothers
theirageandoneinfivebeneficiariesdiewithinfiveyearsofacquiringbenefitsshowsthegreat
urgenceofallowingtherightpeopleintothesystem(Neas).
Overall,SSDIfraudmustbestoppedbecauseoftheunnecessaryspendingitcausesthe
government,thetimeitwastesoftheemployeesoftheSSAbecauseofthemanyfraudulent

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claims,andthehindrancesitcausesthepeoplewhorequireSSDItolive.Withtheamountof
moneyspentinoverpaymentsinthelastdecade,theSSAcouldgivebenefitstoover139
thousandfamiliesandpeoplewhofindtheextrahelpanecessitytosurviveinthatdecade.The
increasingamountofclaimsprocessedalongwiththecutinemploymentattheSSAdueto
inadequatefundingcausestimetobewastedoftheemployeesandsubpartreatmentfor
legitimateapplicants.

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WorksCited
Booksources:

Blankenship,Jim.
ASocialSecurityOwner'sManual:YourGuidetoSocialSecurityRetirement,

Dependent'sandSurvivor'sBenefits
.3rded.N.p.:JimBlankenship,2014.Print.
Testimonies:

StatementofCarolynW.Colvin,ActingCommissioner,SocialSecurityAdministrationbeforethe
HouseCommitteeonAppropriationsSubcommitteeonLabor,Health,andHuman
Services,Education,andRelatedAgencies
(2013)(testimonyofCarolynW.Colvin).
Web.<https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/testimony_031413.html>.

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Brown,Ely,LaurenEffron,andNealKarlinsky."CatchingSocialSecurityDisabilityFraudsters
intheAct."
ABCNews
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Neas,Katy."SocialSecurityDisabilityFraudIsRare."
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r
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Taylor,JamesM.
FacilitatingFraud:HowSSDIGivesBenefitstotheAbleBodied
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"TrendsintheSocialSecurityandSupplementalSecurityIncomeDisabilityPrograms."

ProjectedFutureCourseforSSADisabilityPrograms
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<https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/disability_trends/sect06.html>.