Press Release
Thursday, October 11, 2018
For Immediate Release
Social Security Announces 2.8 Percent Benefit Increase for 2019
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 67 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2019, the Social Security Administration announced today.
The 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 62 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2019. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2018. (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits). The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $132,900 from $128,400.
Social Security and SSI beneficiaries are normally notified by mail in early December about their new benefit amount. This year, for the first time, most people who receive Social Security payments will be able to view their COLA notice online through their my Social Security account. People may create or access their my Social Security account online at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
Information about Medicare changes for 2019, when announced, will be available at www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries receiving Medicare, Social Security will not be able to compute their new benefit amount until after the Medicare premium amounts for 2019 are announced. Final 2019 benefit amounts will be communicated to beneficiaries in December through the mailed COLA notice and my Social Security Message Center.
The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.
NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS: Attached is a fact sheet showing the effect of the various automatic adjustments.
Press Release
Thursday, September 27, 2018
For Immediate Release
Social Security, OIG Expand National Anti-Fraud Program
Three New Disability Investigations Units Established
The Social Security Administration and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) today announced three new Cooperative Disability Investigations (CDI) Units recently opened across the country. As part of the nationwide CDI Program, the new units will identify, investigate, and prevent Social Security disability fraud throughout their respective states. The new CDI units opened in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Indianapolis, Indiana.
The CDI Program is one of Social Security's most successful anti-fraud initiatives, contributing to the integrity of Federal disability programs. CDI brings together personnel from Social Security, its OIG, State Disability Determination Services (DDS), and local law enforcement agencies to analyze and investigate suspicious or questionable Social Security disability claims, to help resolve questions of potential fraud before benefits are ever paid. CDI Unit efforts help disability examiners make informed decisions, ensure payment accuracy, and generate significant taxpayer savings, for both Federal and State programs.
"Social Security is committed to combating fraud and preserving the public's trust in our programs," said Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. "As we open the three new CDI units, let us remember the important work they do. The CDI program plays a critical role in detecting and preventing fraud, helping to ensure benefits are paid only to the people who are eligible. This collaboration between Social Security, the OIG, and local law enforcement helps save taxpayer money and ensures the integrity of our programs."
The CDI Program consists of 43 units covering 37 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Social Security and OIG have opened several offices in the last few years as they work together to provide CDI coverage for all 50 states by 2022, as mandated by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.
"CDI has a long, successful track record of identifying and preventing disability fraud and abuse," said Acting Inspector General Gale Stallworth Stone. "We're pleased to partner with Social Security, the DDSs, and local law enforcement agencies across the country, to combat fraud and promote the integrity of Social Security's disability programs."
Since 1997, when Social Security and OIG established CDI, its efforts have contributed to $3.9 billion in projected savings to Social Security's programs, and $2.9 billion in projected savings to other Federal and State programs. For more information, please visit the OIG website and Social Security's anti-fraud website at www.socialsecurity.gov/fraud/.
Press Release
Monday, August 20, 2018
For Immediate Release
Social Security Fast-Tracks Decisions for People with Severe Disabilities
Agency Expands Compassionate Allowance List
Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, today announced five new Compassionate Allowance conditions: Fibrolamellar Cancer, Megacystis Microcolon Intestinal Hypoperistalsis Syndrome (MMIHS), Megalencephaly Capillary Malformation Syndrome (MCAP), Superficial Siderosis of the Central Nervous System, and Tetrasomy 18p. Compassionate Allowances is a program to quickly identify medical conditions and serious diseases that meet Social Security's standards for disability benefits.
"For nearly a decade, the Compassionate Allowance list has helped us identify and fast-track cases where individuals have diseases that are most likely to be approved for disability benefits," said Acting Commissioner Berryhill. "Social Security is committed to ensuring Americans with qualifying disabilities quickly receive the benefits they need."
The Compassionate Allowances program identifies claims where the applicant's disease or condition 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, over 500,000 people with serious disabilities have been approved through this fast-track policy-compliant disability process. The list has grown to a total of 233 conditions, including diseases such as pancreatic cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and acute leukemia.
The agency incorporates leading technology to easily identify potential Compassionate Allowances and make quick decisions. For disability cases not covered by this program, Social Security's Health IT brings the speed and efficiency of electronic medical records to the disability determination process. When a person applies for disability benefits, Social Security must obtain medical records in order to make an accurate determination. It may take weeks for health care organizations to provide records for the applicant's case. With 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 Compassionate Allowances conditions, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.
To learn more about Social Security's Health IT program, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/hit.
People may apply online for disability benefits by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov.
To create a my Social Security account, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
Press Release
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
For Immediate Release
Social Security Combined Trust Fund Reserves Depletion Year Remains 2034 Says Board of Trustees
Disability Fund Improves by Four Years
The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds are projected to become depleted in 2034, the same as projected last year, with 79 percent of benefits payable at that time.
The OASI Trust Fund is projected to become depleted in late 2034, as compared to last year's estimate of early 2035, with 77 percent of benefits payable at that time. The DI Trust Fund will become depleted in 2032, extended from last year's estimate of 2028, with 96 percent of benefits still payable.
In the 2018 Annual Report to Congress, the Trustees announced:
- The asset reserves of the combined OASDI Trust Funds increased by $44 billion in 2017 to a total of $2.89 trillion.
- The total annual cost of the program is projected to exceed total annual income in 2018 for the first time since 1982, and remain higher throughout the 75-year projection period. As a result, asset reserves are expected to decline during 2018. 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 2034 - the same as projected last year. At that time, there will be sufficient income coming in to pay 79 percent of scheduled benefits.
"The Trustees' projected depletion date of the combined Social Security Trust Funds has not changed, and slightly more than three-fourths of benefits would still be payable after depletion," said Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. "But the fact remains that Congress can keep Social Security strong by taking action to ensure the future of the program."
Other highlights of the Trustees Report include:
- Total income, including interest, to the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $997 billion in 2017. ($874 billion from net payroll tax contributions, $38 billion from taxation of benefits, and $85 billion in interest)
- Total expenditures from the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to more than $952 billion in 2017.
- Social Security paid benefits of more than $941 billion in calendar year 2017. There were about 62 million beneficiaries at the end of the calendar year.
- The projected actuarial deficit over the 75-year long-range period is 2.84 percent of taxable payroll - slightly larger than the 2.83 percent projected in last year's report.
- During 2017, an estimated 174 million people had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes.
- The cost of $6.5 billion to administer the Social Security program in 2017 was a very low 0.7 percent of total expenditures.
- The combined Trust Fund asset reserves earned interest at an effective annual rate of 3.0 percent in 2017.
The Board of Trustees usually comprises six members. Four serve by virtue of their positions with the federal government: Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee; Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security; Alex M. Azar II, Secretary of Health and Human Services; and R. Alexander Acosta, Secretary of Labor. The two public trustee positions are currently vacant.
View the 2018 Trustees Report at www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/TR/2018/.
Press Release
Friday, May 11, 2018
For Immediate Release
Emma and Liam Top Social Security's Most Popular Baby Names for 2017
Liam is Number One for the First Time, Michael Out of Top 10
Emma and Liam are America's most popular baby names for 2017. This marks the first time Liam has bested the boys, beating Noah for the top spot, and the fourth straight year for Emma. Liam first crawled into the top 10 in 2012 and has been reaching for the highest honor ever since. In other huge baby name news, Michael has been bumped from the top 10 for the first time since World War II, landing at number 12 this year. Emily also fell out of the top 10 for the first time since 1990. There are several new names in the top 10--Amelia and Evelyn make the list--Amelia for the first time and Evelyn for the first time since 1915. These traditional names show parents are keeping up the trend of naming daughters after grandmothers. Logan and Oliver are new for the boys, both making their first appearance on the list.
Here are the top 10 boys and girls names for 2017:
| Boys |
Girls |
| 1. Liam |
1. Emma |
| 2. Noah |
2. Olivia |
| 3. William |
3. Ava |
| 4. James |
4. Isabella |
| 5. Logan |
5. Sophia |
| 6. Benjamin |
6. Mia |
| 7. Mason |
7. Charlotte |
| 8. Elijah |
8. Amelia |
| 9. Oliver |
9. Evelyn |
| 10. Jacob |
10. Abigail |
For all the top baby names of 2017, and to find where your own name ranks, go to Social Security's website, www.socialsecurity.gov/babynames/.
Acting Commissioner Nancy A. Berryhill encourages everyone to visit the agency's website to enjoy the baby names list and create a my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. my Social Security is a personalized online account that people can use beginning in their working years and continuing through to the time they receive Social Security benefits.
Social Security beneficiaries can have instant access to their benefit verification letter, payment history, and complete earnings record by establishing a my Social Security account. Beneficiaries also can change their address, start or change direct deposit information, and print a replacement SSA-1099 online. People receiving benefits can request a replacement Medicare card online.
Individuals age 18 and older who are not receiving benefits can also sign up for a my Social Security account to get their personalized online Social Security Statement. The online Statement provides workers with secure and convenient access to their Social Security earnings and benefit information, and estimates of future benefits they can use to plan for their retirement.
The agency began compiling the baby name list in 1997, with names dating back to 1880. At the time of a child's birth, parents supply the name to the agency when applying for a child's Social Security card, thus making Social Security America's source for the most popular baby names.
Each year, the list reveals the effect of pop-culture on naming trends. This year reality television seems to have influenced Mom and Dad.
Ensley was the fastest riser on the girls' list, moving 1,461 spots to number 965, from number 2,426 in 2016. Spring has sprung, and Wells (meaning "spring") had the biggest bloom in popularity for the boys, moving over 500 spots in 2017 from number 1,419 to 915. Perhaps his parents are fans of the hit TV show "The Bachelorette" where one of the popular contestants was named Wells. Does this mean more bachelors named Wells at future rose ceremonies?
In a clear nod to the popularity of the First Lady of the United States, new parents chose the name Melania at an increasing rate in 2017.
It looks like new parents are "Keeping up with the Kardashians" as the name Dream rose 840 spots in 2017. Fan or not, many people know Rob Kardashian and Angela White, aka Blac Chyna, named their daughter Dream in late 2016. For the boys, another fast riser was Nova, who may have gotten his popularity from all those Villanova Wildcats basketball fans naming their sons in celebration of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions.
Please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/babynames/ to view the entire list.
