Past Board Meetings
*Fiscal years run from October 1st to September 30th.
08/24/2023 - 08/25/2023
The Board held an event on “The Future of Mortality, Disability, and Work: Helping to Inform the Social Security Trust Fund Projections” on Friday, August 25, 2023.
07/28/2022 - 07/29/2022
On Friday, July 29, a Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities working group provided a policy briefing on marriage penalties in SSA programs. Participants talked about how marital status affects Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments.
05/19/2022 - 05/20/2022
On Friday, May 20, the Board hosted a public session with Professors Pamela Herd and Sebastian Jilke on how research about people’s experience with Social Security can improve government services, particularly for people who encounter barriers to access.
02/16/2022
On Wednesday, February 16, the Board hosted its seventh and final session in its Systems Speaker Series: “Making Secure Systems Easy for the Public to Use.” Lorrie Cranor, DSc, professor and director of the CyLab Security and Privacy Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, presented findings from her research on IT systems security, privacy, and usability. Specifically, Dr. Cranor discussed users’ problems when interacting with authentication systems, privacy choice interfaces, and other security and privacy tools. She also explained the implications of her approach for public policy and administration.
- Lorrie Cranor, the Director and Bosch Distinguished Professor in Security and Privacy Technologies of CyLab and the FORE Systems Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
01/27/2022 - 01/28/2022
On Thursday, January 27, the Board continued its systems speaker series with its sixth session, which focused on the federal IT acquisition process and its implications for Social Security’s IT modernization and cybersecurity efforts.
The current FAS lead for IT, Laura Stanton, described government IT spending and the GSA acquisition services available to federal agencies, including Social Security, to reduce risk, achieve better pricing, and speed acquisition time. Stanton’s predecessor, Bill Zielinski, Social Security’s CIO and Deputy Commissioner of Systems from 2013 and 2015 and now CIO for the City of Dallas, shared Social Security’s technology purchasing posture and how the agency fits into the federal IT spending profile.
11/18/2021 - 11/19/2021
On Friday, November 19, the Social Security Advisory Board held a systems speaker series event on cybersecurity. Two briefings covered federal cybersecurity initiatives and lessons learned from the public and private sectors.
During the first session, MITRE’s Dave Powner, former Director of IT Management Issues at the Government Accountability Office, described the implications of executive branch initiatives, including President Biden’s Executive Order 14208, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” and congressional legislation for federal agencies. The presentation highlighted the zero trust model, IT modernization, customer experience, and the Evidence Act.
During the second session, Fortinet’s Jim Richberg, former National Intelligence Manager for Cyber in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, presented on public and private sector cybersecurity challenges, lessons learned from private sector cyber advancements, and the accelerated digital transformation brought on by COVID-19.
09/23/2021 - 09/24/2021
On Thursday, September 23, the Board hosted a morning and afternoon public session on state agencies’ role in Social Security disability determinations.
During the morning session, two former Social Security executives, Art Spencer and Melissa Spencer, briefed the Board on the regulations governing Social Security and state Disability Determination Services’ roles in the disability determination process.
During the afternoon session, DDS Directors—representing agencies of varying sizes and organizational structures, and states with different demographic and socioeconomic characteristics—described the unique challenges they face managing disability determinations in their states.
09/03/2021 - 09/03/2021
On Friday, September 3, the Board held a public session following the release of the 2021 Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Trustees Report. By law, the Trustees are required to report on the trust funds’ financial operations for the immediate past year, projected operations over the next 5 years, and the actuarial status. The report is the first to reflect the potential effects of the COVID pandemic. The report projects the combined reserves to become depleted in 2034, one year sooner than previously projected.
During the event, Social Security’s Chief Actuary, Stephen C. Goss, provided a briefing on the actuarial projections of these programs. Mark Warshawsky from the American Enterprise Institute and Monique Morrissey from the Economic Policy Institute provided discussant remarks.
07/30/2021 - 07/30/2021
On Friday afternoon, July 30, the Board held its fourth systems speaker series event on customer experience as a driver for modernizing IT. This session focused on how the Department of Veterans Affairs improved the veteran experience by collecting, capturing, and analyzing data and identifying pain points through human-centered design.
07/29/2021 - 07/29/2021
On Thursday afternoon, July 29, the Board brought together state Disability Determination Services managers and staff, a claimant attorney, and former Social Security executives for a roundtable on the agency’s medical evidence collection.
05/21/2021
On Friday, May 21, the Board hosted its third systems speaker series event on how federal CIOs use IT modernization efforts to advance agency missions.
- Kevin C. Walsh, Director of Information Technology and Cybersecurity, Government Accountability Office
- Robert Klopp, Owner/Principal, Skyland Digital Services; former Deputy Commissioner for Systems and Chief Information Officer, SSA
05/20/2021 - 05/20/2021
On Thursday afternoon, May 20, 2021 the Board hosted a roundtable examining Social Security’s service to the public.
The roundtable presentations and panel discussions aimed to:
- Share research on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting Social Security and the people who access its services
- Identify underserved populations and relevant research questions for inclusion in Social Security’s learning agenda
- Demonstrate how Social Security can use customer experience data to improve public service
03/25/2021 - 03/26/2021
On Friday, March 26, Phil Lam, Executive Director of Identity at the General Services Administration, briefed the Board on the Federal government’s approach to digital identity as a shared service, including the status of login.gov. Blake Hall, Co-Founder and CEO of ID.me, briefed the Board on the identity authentication approach currently used by the Social Security Administration.
01/28/2021 - 01/29/2021
The Board-appointed IT Systems Expert Panel presented its findings from its report, entitled “Essential Changes Imperative for the Success of Social Security’s IT Modernization and Future Operations.” The panel includes:
- Alan Balutis, Cisco (retired)
- Dan Chenok, IBM Center for Government
- Nani Coloretti, Urban Institute
- Renny DiPentima, SSA (retired)
- Martha Dorris, Dorris Consulting International
- Bill Eggers, Deloitte
- Mark Alan Forman, SAIC Corp
- Greg Giddens, Potomac Ridge Consulting
- Dave McClure, Accenture
- Jim Williams, Schambach & Williams
The information presented here is for the purpose of informing the Board. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board or any Board member.
01/28/2021
On Thursday, January 21, the former Deputy Commissioner of Systems at Social Security provided a historical overview of Social Security’s IT systems.
- Renny DiPentima, former Deputy Commissioner of Systems, SSA
11/19/2020
Reexamining Long-Standing SSI Dedicated Account Challenges.
The information presented here is for the purpose of informing the Board. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board or any Board member.
09/24/2020
On Thursday, September 24, the Board held a virtual policy forum on Representative Payees: Opportunities to Improve Service Delivery.
The forum showcased an independent, Board-commissioned study by researchers from the Virginia Tech Center on Gerontology and the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging. The report, Selection Processes for SSA Representative Payees of Adults, is published on our website.
Following the presentation of the report, the Board moderated three panels. Discussions covered capability determinations, the selection process, training, oversight, and the need for ongoing research and evaluation. The final panel considered the public service implications of a more individualized, supported decision-making model, and how to get there.
05/28/2020 - 05/29/2020
During the session, “SSA’s Approach to Quality Assurance and Process Validity,” participants reviewed and debated program integrity and quality assurance options of the disability claims process, followed by questions from the public.
03/25/2020 - 03/26/2020
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the March Board meeting was postponed. The Board held virtual meetings in executive session.
01/30/2020 - 01/31/2020
The Board continued its review of the initial and reconsideration levels of the Social Security’s disability process, focusing on the claimant experience applying for disability benefits.
11/21/2019
On November 21st, the Board continued its congressionally requested examination of possible improvements to the initial and reconsideration levels of Social Security’s disability determination process with two public roundtables.
Meeting Minutes
Key proposals and recommendations under discussion included:
- Improve the SSDI Program and Address the Impending Trust Fund Depletion: Consensus Recommendations of BPC’s Disability Insurance Working Group, Bipartisan Policy Center, August 2015.
- Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Psychological Testing, Including Validity Testing, for Social Security Administration Disability Determinations, 2015.
- Functional Assessment for Adults with Disabilities, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Functional Assessment for Adults with Disabilities, 2019. Resolving Issues Identified During the Social Security Administration’s Quality Reviews of Disability Determinations, Office of the Inspector General, (A-01-11-11119), April 2012.
- Ray, Gerald and Glenn Sklar. “An Operational Approach to Eliminating Backlogs in the Social Security Disability Program.” McCrey-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative, June 2019.
- Training at offices that make disability determinations, The Office of Inspector General, (A-01-11-21169), March 2012.
- Roundtable Discussion on the Social Security Disability Process (National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Council of Disability Determination Directors, National Council of Social Security Management Associations, National Council on Disability, National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives), Social Security Advisory Board, March 27, 2019.
09/26/2019 - 09/27/2019
Sept. 26:
The public session consisted of a roundtable discussion on research featuring three SSA executives from three different components with responsibility for internal program research, and data analysis, and predictive modeling.
Sept. 27:
The 2019 TPAM presented a summary of their recommendations on the assumptions and methods used by the Social Security Trustees to develop the annual report on the financial status of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance trust funds.
Meeting Minutes
The Panel made several recommendations for the assumptions that fed into the Trustees’ projections, namely:
- lower total fertility rates
- faster rate of mortality improvement
- immigration as a stable share of the population
- slower real wage growth
- lower unemployment rates and labor force participation among some age-sex groups
- lower interest rates
- lower disability incidence
07/25/2019
The Board invited the Deputy Commissioner of Operations and her assistant Deputy Commissioner to engage in a discussion regarding SSA’s Service Delivery initiatives and to answer questions related to the Board’s project assessing the impacts of changes to service delivery.
03/27/2019
On March 27th, per the Board’s congressional request to look at field office closures, Professor Manasi Deshpande was asked to present her research on the effects disability application rates when field offices are closed. Dr. Deshpande’s paper, “Who is Screened Out?” found that field office closings disproportionally discouraged potential applicants for disability benefits who would have been allowed onto the program. Results showed disability applications fell by 10 percent and receipts by 16 percent in zip codes surrounding closed offices for at least two years after closing, with the biggest effects on applicants with moderately severe conditions, low education and pre-application earnings levels.
01/23/2019
On January 23rd, the Board met with Jack Smalligan of the Urban Institute, who offered his perspectives on SSA’s disability determination process as the former Office of Management and Budget director of the Education, Income Maintenance and Labor Division. Mr. Smalligan discussed the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) reconsideration pilot program and highlighted the challenges affecting decision-making by the Commissioner of Social Security, such as the position’s term limits and limitations affecting mandatory and discretionary federal budget spending.
06/06/2018
On June 6th, the board met with Stephen C. Goss and Karen Glenn of the Office of the Chief Actuary (OACT) at the Social Security Administration (SSA) to discuss the findings of the 2018 Trustees’ Report.
Meeting Minutes
A key finding from the report was that lower-than-expected disability applications and awards continued through 2017. This trend has continued into 2018: it was 4 percent lower than the same time in 2017. Despite this recent trend, the overall expected level of disability awards remains the same, even as awards continue to decline.
04/18/2018
On April 18, the board met with representatives of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR) to discuss the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) disability adjudication system.
12/11/2017
There were no presenters during the December board meeting. This session was used for strategic planning and for establishing board goals for FY2018.
10/18/2017 - 10/19/2017
Day 1 of the October board meeting was held at Social Security Headquarters in Baltimore MD. The Board asked to meet with the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of Budget, Finance, and Management; Retirement and Disability Policy, Human Resources; and Operations. Each DC explained in their presentation: the structure of their organization, role and responsibilities, key organizational processes, performance measures for which they are responsible and their progress, unique challenges and major concerns. For Day 2 of the meeting, the board met with Bruce D. Meyer, Member, Commission on EvidenceBased Policymaking (CEP); McCormick Foundation Professor, University of Chicago; Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute.
09/15/2017
The board met with representatives of the National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA) to discuss the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) rollout of a telework pilot in select field offices. The board met with representatives of SSA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to discuss OIG’s audit on the implementation of the telework pilot in SSA field offices. OIG received a request from Chairman Johnson to examine SSA’s telework policy. The board met with Constance F. Citro, Senior Scholar and former Director at the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT), a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The board met withJohn Phillips, Associate Commissioner of the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (ORES) to discuss the work of his office as a statistical agency within the federal government.
08/04/2017
The Social Security Advisory Board assembled a panel of nine current and recently retired researchers from think tanks, academia, and government agencies to solicit ideas for Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) long term research agenda.
06/30/2017
The Board met with Mr. Robert Moffitt, Chair of the Technical Panel on Labor Force Participation. The Board met with Ms. Bonnie Kind, Mr. Erik Hansen, Ms. Lori Vandeventer – all from SSA’s Office of Budget, Finance, Quality and Management, and Ms. Stephanie Hall, the acting Deputy Chief of Staff. Kind summarized the agency’s 2018 budget request.
05/24/2017
The Board met with John Fisher, Chief Relationship Officer of Money Matters International (MMI). MMI is the nation’s largest credit counseling organization, providing housing counseling and student loan counseling, among other services. MMI is also a fee-for-service representative payee for Social Security benefits and provides representative payee services through a subsidiary, CrissCross, with whom MMI merged.
04/28/2017
SSA Perspectives on Program Service Center Workloads and Resources; Perspectives from the National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA) on Program Service Center Workloads and Resources
03/27/2017
Joining Forces to Improve the Representative Payee Program
02/23/2017
Progress to Date of the Board’s Technical Panel on Labor Supply; Background on SSA’s Senior Attorney Program; A Proposal to Reform Social Security Disability Insurance to Establish Temporary and Partial Benefits and to Engage Employers
01/23/2017
Perspectives from an Organizational Representative Payee; SSA’s Administrative Budget Outlook; Hearings Backlog and ODAR’s CARES Initiative
12/09/2016
In the morning session, the Board met with Robert Klopp, the Chief Information Officer and Deputy Commissioner for Systems at SSA, and John Garrigues, Chief Programs Officer for the SSA Disability Case Processing System (DCPS) development team. Mr. Klopp updated the Board on SSA’s in-house efforts to develop a second-generation disability case processing system (the DCPS2 project). In its afternoon session, the Board met with Tom Sechler, the Chief Executive Officer of MicroPact. Mr. Sechler explained to the Board that the current corporate structure of MicroPact was established in 2015, when the company merged with Iron Data Solutions, of which Mr. Sechler was CEO.
11/18/2016
The Board met with Gale Stone and Rona Lawson from OIG for a statement on SSA’s major management and performance challenges. Julie Topoleski from CBO was asked to explain the process of how it creates its projections and differences between the CBO’s and the Trustees’ projections. John Phillips from ORES spoke to the Board about the workings in his office and how he envisions research will be conducted through ORES in the future.
10/28/2016
The Board met with Manasi Deshpande about her research on initial disability claims processed in SSA’s field offices. The Board then met with Stacy Rodgers and Ruby Burrell of SSA who updated the Board on the implementation of Vision 2025 and accomplishments thus far. Steve Goss and Karen Glenn spoke to the Board about the differences between the Trustees’ and CBO’s estimates and mortality projections. Lisa Ekman of NOSSCR spoke to the Board about SSA’s recent regulatory actions on disability claims, such as closing the record, submission of duplicate records, and the proposed uniformity rule through all regions.
09/16/2016
In the morning, the Board met with Rob Klopp, SSA’s Chief Information Officer. Mr. Klopp provided an update on the status of the Disability Case Processing System (DCPS). Next, the Board met with Barbara Hoover and a team from IBM to hear about Watson technology and possible uses at SSA. In the afternoon, the Board met with representatives from NIH and SSA on the Work Disability Functional Assessment Battery Tests (WD-FAB).
06/23/2016
The Board met with Stephen Evangelista, Paul Davies, and Laura Haltzel from the Office of Data Exchange and Policy Publications (ODEPP). The overall presentation was concentrated on data exchange issues such as requests and agreements, current workload of the office and an overview of the process. The Board met with Terrie Gruber and Gerald Ray from the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). Ms. Gruber provided an update on CARES (A Plan for Compassionate and Responsive Service). Judge Ray gave a demonstration of the Natural Language Processing Software, a program that can take unstructured decision text and convert it to structured data to aid in the disability decision making process. The Board met with Steve Goss and Karen Glenn from the Office of the Chief Actuary. Mr. Goss spoke to the Board about the recently released 2016 Trustees Report. He focused on the status of the OASDI trust funds, falling disability applications, the projected shortfall and the workforce participation and projections. The Board met with Rob Klopp from the Office of Systems for an update to the SSA Systems overhaul. Mr. Klopp explained the three step modernization plan SSA is undertaking; creating a new database, changing the SSA business process, and integrating to a cloud system.
05/02/2016 - 05/04/2016
On May 2-4, the Board met in Oakland, California for a series of meetings with Regional Executives, management, and front-line employees. During this trip, the Board focused on systems modernization concerns, workload challenges, and representative payee issues.
04/21/2016
In the morning, the Board met with Dr. Paul Appelbaum, Chair of Committee to Evaluate the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Capability Determination Process for Adult Beneficiaries, Institute of Medicine and his team. Mr. Appelbaum gave a presentation on the Committee’s recently published report on Financial Capability, “Informing Social Security’s Process for Financial Capability Determination.” This report was commissioned by SSA. The Board next met with the Stephen Evangelista, Associate Commissioner, Office of Data Exchange and Policy Publications (ODEPP), Office of the Associate Commissioner (OAC), SSA and his team. Mr. Evangelista discussed efforts to improve the Data Exchange process. In the afternoon, the Board met with SSA Inspector General Pat O’Carroll who will be retiring at the end of May 2016. The Board heard Mr. O’Carroll’s perspective on major challenges facing the agency, current investigations, and audits. The Board ended the day with a meeting with Marilyn Zahm, President, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Union Linda Stagno, Vice President for New York Region, Administrative Law Judge Union. The ALJ Union commissioned a report on the processing time of disability claims at the hearings level. Judge Zahm and Judge Stagno discussed ALJ workloads, challenges, and suggestions to improve the disability application process.
03/22/2016
The Board met with Andrew LaMont Eanes, Senior Advisor to Acting Commissioner of Social Security (ACOSS). Mr. Eanes gave a presentation on the Online Applications project’s success. The Board met with the Office of Electronic Services and Technology (Operations) team. The Board met with Terrie Gruber, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). Ms. Gruber gave an update to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hiring situation. The Board met with Linda Kerr-Davis, Acting Chief Program Officer and John Garrigues, Deputy Chief Program Officer, Disability Case Processing System (DCPS). Ms Kerr-Davis and Mr. Garrigues updated the Board on their current actions on the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recommendations, the current state of development and the roll out plan. The Board traveled to Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment known as BTE’s corporate headquarters. The Board met with Connie Miller, Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS), Certified Case Manager (CCM), Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), Vice President Business Development, and Angela Berwick, Registered Occupational Therapist (OTR), Clinical Manager of Onsite Programs. Ms. Miller gave an overview of BTE’s program services to assess an individual’s residual functional capacity. Ms. Berwick gave an interactive demonstration of BTE’s EvalTech system.
02/19/2016
The Board met with Molly Burgdorf, Senior Advisor at the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and Jonathan Martinis, Project Director of the National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making. Ms. Burgdorf gave an overview of Supported Decision-Making and the role that ACL plays in this program. The Board met with Steve Kofahl, AFGE Local 3937 President. Mr. Kofahl addressed several SSA issues, including SSA’s budget, renovation of the Altmeyer Building, and benefit fraud. He also spoke about SSA’s Strategic Plan and the Critical Eight Priorities, and the implications of the Executive Order regarding gun control for SSA claims representatives. The Board met with Stacy Rodgers, the acting commissioner’s Chief of Staff, and Ruby Burrell, SSA’s Chief Strategic Officer. Ms. Rodgers and Ms. Burrell led an overview and answered questions about SSA’s Vision 2025 Strategic Plan and Critical Eight Priorities. The Board met with Andy Liu, SSA’s General Counsel, and Mary Ann Zimmerman, Acting Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Privacy and Disclosure. Mr. Liu described the Office of the General Counsel’s workloads, and briefed the Board about work in the Office of General Law, Office of Program Law, and the Office of Regional Chief Counsels. Ms. Zimmerman spoke about work in the Office of Privacy and Disclosure and data exchange agreements.
01/15/2016
The Board met with Social Security Administration (SSA) Chief Actuary Steve Goss. Mr. Goss talked about the recently completed 2015 Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods, recounted previous technical panels, and offered his opinion about building on previous efforts.The Board next met with Michael Wiseman, Research Professor of Public Policy, Public Administration, and Economics, George Washington University. Mr. Wiseman highlighted the work he will be doing with the Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB). He explained that he will be developing recommendations for post-BOND SSA policy experimentation. In the afternoon, the Board spoke via video conference with Robert Klopp, SSA’s Deputy Commissioner of Systems. Mr. Klopp updated the Board on SSA’s Disability Case Processing System (DCPS). Mr. Klopp stated that the frequently delayed project was coming to completion more quickly because of new software simplification.
12/10/2015
In December, the Board held a series of meetings, focusing on representative payees and operations at the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Board reviewed SSA’s techniques for reviewing representative payees and spoke to some of the challenges of overseeing these individuals and organizations. The Board next met with Kathleen McManaman, Assistant Director for the Pension and Fiduciary Service at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Ms. McManaman spoke about the VBA’s Fiduciary Program, explaining the similarities and differences between it and SSA’s representative payee program. In the afternoon, the Board met with Nancy Berryhill, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, and other SSA Operations staff. The Operations team provided an overview of accomplishments for fiscal year 2015, with updates on SSA’s public service performance. Initiatives included new online services and plans to handle agency workloads.
11/20/2015
At its November meeting, the Board met with Judy Chesser, Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs (OLCA) at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Ms. Chesser began by discussing the provisions in the recently passed Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, specifically the ones relevant to SSA. Later, the Board met with Dan Bertoni, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Mr. Bertoni discussed GAO’s 2013 report on SSA’s Representative Payee Program with the Board. He also discussed the current and long-term challenges of the Representative Payee Program as well as the steps SSA has taken, or could take, to address these challenges.
10/23/2015
For the October meeting, the Board held a Representative Payee Symposium at Social Security Administration (SSA) Headquarters. SSA leadership from several components participated in the symposium, presenting on the history of the program, current operations, and systems modernization. In the afternoon, Rosemary Stricks, Christopher McDermott, and Crystall Lamb, from the Office of Public Service and Operations Support gave an overview of the workload created by the representative payee program. They explained the mechanics of overseeing the representative payee program and discussed the challenges of obtaining and monitoring enough qualified people and organizations to fill these roles.
09/25/2015
During its September meeting, the Board held a special session at the National Press Club to meet with members of the 2014-2015 Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods. The Board and Panel met in executive session in the morning followed by a public presentation of the Panel’s findings and recommendations. The independent Panel of expert actuaries, economists and demographers is appointed by the Social Security Advisory Board every four years and is charged with reviewing the assumptions specified by the Board of Trustees of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund and the methods used by the Social Security actuaries to project the future financial status of the Social Security programs.
07/28/2015
At its July meeting, the Board met with Dr. Ephraim Feig, former Associate Chief Information Officer at SSA. Dr. Feig spoke with the Board about his vision for systems modernization during his tenure with SSA. The Board also met with Robert Klopp, SSA’s Deputy Commissioner of Systems and Chief Information Officer, for a briefing on current projects and efforts to modernize SSA’s systems. In the afternoon, Chief Actuary Steve Goss briefed the Board on the 2015 Report of the OASDI Trustees and explained the report’s content.
06/23/2015
The Board met with Social Security Administration (SSA) Inspector General Patrick O’Carroll and Deputy Inspector General Gale Stallworth Stone. Mr. O’Carroll described the current issues related to the Death Master File (DMF), such as the effect of inaccurate reporting on improper payments. Ms. Stone then explained challenges in the SSA representative payee program addressing misuse as well as elderly abuse. Mr. O’Carroll also briefly spoke about the work being done in regards to expanding Cooperative Disability Investigation (CDI) units. The Board next met in Executive Session with SSA Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin. In the afternoon, the Board met with Marianna LaCanfora, Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Retirement and Disability Policy and Dan Zabronsky, Division Director of the Office of Modeling, Office of Budget, Finance, Quality, and Management. Mr. Zabronsky began by discussing the integrity of the representative payee program and the two types of reviews conducted by SSA – mandatory and discretionary reviews. The Board also met with Mike Murphy, Marc Goldwein, and David Barnes, members of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB). CRFB staff discussed the different papers that they are sponsoring for their SSDI Solutions Initiative.
05/29/2015
The May Board meeting began with a presentation from members of the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy (ORDP) about representative payees. Board members questioned ORDP staff about SSA’s procedures for monitoring representative payees and detecting misuse cases. ORDP staff also briefly discussed the predictive model used to detect cases of misuse, and how to improve the model going forward. The Board also met with Patricia Potrzebowski, Executive Director of the National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS).
04/24/2015
The Board met with Social Security Administration (SSA) Chief Actuary Steve Goss and the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Carolyn Colvin. In its meeting with Mr. Goss, the Board discussed collaborative efforts between SSA’s actuaries and the Board’s technical panel to forecast long-term solvency projections.
03/23/2015 - 03/24/2015
While visiting the New York Regional Office, the Board met with executives, management, and then staff to learn about day-to-day operations, hear about issues faced in the region, and gather suggestions for improving administration of the Social Security programs. During the visit, the Board also met with management from New York and New Jersey DDSs to learn about disability evaluation in each state. Lastly, the Board met with agents from the Office of the Inspector General to learn about efforts to combat fraud in the disability system. Agents showcased recent investigations in New York and Puerto Rico and discussed ways to increase their fraud-fighting capabilities. In addition to visiting the Regional office, the Board travelled to a field office and card center located in Brooklyn. The Board met with field office staff to discuss their interactions with the public, learn about challenges of working in a diverse urban office, and gather input for improving administration of the Social Security programs.
02/23/2015
The February Board meeting began with a discussion with Social Security Administration (SSA) Inspector General Patrick O’Carroll. Mr. O’Carroll discussed recent audits and investigations that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) focused on in 2014, including the high profile fraud cases in New York and Puerto Rico. Next, the Board met with Arthur Spencer and Ken Nibali, both retired SSA executives who had worked on and lead projects related to disability. During lunch, the Board met with Teresa Pfender, an Appeals Officer at SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). Lastly, the Board met with Sam Bagenstos, professor of law at the University of Michigan. Mr. Bagenstos was invited specifically to discuss a recent article he had written entitled The Disability Cliff, which was published in the journal Democracy.
01/08/2015
In the morning, the Board first met with Andrew LaMont Eanes. Mr. Eanes introduced himself to the Board and provided some background on his experience working in the telecommunications industry. Later in the morning the Board met with Nancy Berryhill, who serves as the Deputy Commissioner for Operations – the largest component at SSA. Ms. Berryhill was invited to provide an overview of the workloads of that office as well as the challenges it currently faces. In the afternoon, the Board met with Daniel L. Hatcher, a Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore. Mr. Hatcher primarily discussed children who receive SSI benefits and the state’s role as representative payee for those children. Lastly, the Board met by internet connection with Manasi Deshpande and David Wittenburg to discuss SSI research and reform options.
12/16/2014
In the morning, the Board met with Terrie Gruber, chief program officer for the Disability Case Processing System at SSA. Ms. Gruber detailed inadequacies of the DCPS and the missteps that led SSA to initiate a reboot. Later, the Board met with Ken Nibali, former SSA associate commissioner for disability, and current member of the Board’s DPP. Mr. Nibali shared the DPP’s findings from its upcoming report. Finally, the Board met with Andrew Biggs from the American Enterprise Institute, Jack VanDerhei from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and Virginia Reno from the National Academy of Social Insurance to discuss retirement security.
11/17/2014
In the morning, the Board met with Marianna LaCanfora, Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy (ORDP) at the Social Security Administration (SSA). She discussed current ORDP projects as well as their respective challenges. In the afternoon, the Board met with Glenn Sklar, Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) and Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Jack Allen. Mr. Sklar and Judge Allen were invited primarily to discuss the growing backlog at the hearing level of disability adjudication, and to address potential solutions to that backlog. Lastly, the Board met with Bill Zielinski, Deputy Commissioner for Systems and Chief Information Officer at SSA. Mr. Zielinski discussed the agency’s Disability Case Processing System (DCPS) initiative, which aims at making disability case processing more seamless by integrating over 50 state disability systems into one, centralized federal system.
09/16/2014
The Commissioner discussed topics that included the issues and challenges currently facing the agency and the public it serves. Later that morning, the Board met with Stephen Goss, Eli Donkar, and Alice Wade from the Office of the Chief Actuary. The Actuaries presented on the financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds based on key results under intermediate assumptions as reported in the 2014 Annual Trustees Report. In the afternoon, the Board met with Ruby Burrell, Chief Strategic Officer at SSA and Roger Kodat, Project Director at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). Mr. Kodat gave an overview of a report commissioned by SSA which requested that NAPA make suggestions regarding SSA’s long-term strategic planning.
07/14/2014
The first session hosted Social Security Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) Linda Stagno and Dale Glendenning. The primary topic discussed was concern over the relationship between SSA management and ALJs and the union’s suggestions as to how the disability hearings process can be improved. Later that morning, the Board met with SSA Chief Actuary Steve Goss, Deputy Actuary Alice Wade, and Supervisory Actuary Karen Glenn. Mr. Goss and staff provided an update on the publication of the upcoming 2014 Trustees Report, and discussed some recent analysis of calculating retirement benefit replacement rates. In the early afternoon, the Board was joined by Mark Sarney and Kevin Whitman from SSA’s Office of Retirement Policy (ORP). In the final session, the Board met with IBM executives Dr. Jane Snowdon, Dr. Chris Codella, Townley Cozad, and consultant David Barnes. IBM representatives were invited to discuss IBM Watson, a cognitive computer system that learns and interacts naturally with people to extend what either humans or computer could do on their own.
06/24/2014 - 06/25/2014
On the first day, the Board visited the Seattle Regional Office for the first day of discussions with SSA staff. During a working lunch, the Board met with regional office executives and management to learn about the region and gather ideas for improving Social Security nationwide. The Board met with the SSA’s human resources department to discuss hiring and training challenges in the agency. On the second day of the trip, the Board visited a SSA field office. The Board held separate meetings with front line employees and management, and listened to the concerns of each. In the afternoon, the Board traveled to Auburn, Washington, to visit the co-located interactive video technology (IVT) studio and teleservice center.
05/07/2014 - 05/08/2014
On the first day, the Board met with scholars at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College to discuss retirement policy. The Board spoke with economists about the financial security of retirees and discussed options for reducing retirement risk, the status of state and local pensions and how reform could impact employees. In the afternoon, the Board travelled to the National Bureau of Economic Research to question economists about retirement savings and incentives to increase savings for retirement. On the second day, the Board met with Congressional staff responsible for constituent service related to Social Security. Next, the Board traveled to the Boston Regional Office for meeting with executives and management. The Board solicited ideas from the regional office about ways to improve service to the public, reduce fraud, and manage the disability adjudication process. Representatives from the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review discussed initiatives to improve the quality of decisions made by administrative law judges and processes used to monitor progress. Afterward, the Board traveled to a SSA field office to observe interaction with the public and to speak with employees about ground-level concerns.
04/01/2014
In the morning, the Board met with Charles Rossotti, former commissioner of the IRS from 1997 to 2002. Mr. Rossotti was invited to discuss his experiences in overseeing a complete refocusing and reorganization of one of the largest agencies in the federal government. He also spoke about the “nine principles of effective leadership,” as written about in his book, Many Unhappy Returns. In the afternoon, the Board met with Sara Rix, Senior Policy Advisor on AARP’s Public Policy Institute Economics Team. Ms. Rix was invited to discuss retirement security issues. Specifically, she presented her findings that involved concerns for the older worker. During the final session the Board was joined by Ruby Burrell, Chief Strategic Officer at SSA, and staff, for a discussion on strategic planning at SSA.
03/05/2014
The March Board meeting featured three fact-finding sessions – one in the morning, and two in the afternoon. In the morning, Jeff Brown, former Board member and professor of finance at University of Illinois, joined the meeting by video teleconference. Mr. Brown discussed his views on various retirement security issues and proposals including lump sum delayed retirement credits, default provisions, universal pensions, and benefit restructuring. In the afternoon, the Board met with Scott Frey, the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Deputy Commissioner for Legislative and Congressional Affairs. Later in the afternoon, the Board met with SSA’s Chief Actuary Stephen Goss. Mr. Goss was invited to share some updates relating to recent Advisory Board data requests on the topic of Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs).
02/12/2014
During its February meeting, the Board met with Social Security Administration (SSA) executives Glenn Sklar, Patricia Jonas, and Gerald Ray from the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) and Jae Song, from the Office of Electronic Services and Strategic Information. These individuals were invited to the meeting for a follow-up to an earlier discussion held in September 2013 on the topic of recent data analysis efforts being developed by ODAR. Specifically, this data analysis has been used to help maintain and improve policy compliance at the hearing & appeals level of adjudication.
01/15/2014
During its January meeting, the Board held two fact-finding sessions. The first one featured Economist and former Advisory Board Chairman Sylvester Schieber. Dr. Schieber provided a brief history of retirement and pension policy in the U.S. and shared some of his views and observations on retirement income security, including what workers need to save in order to prepare for an adequate retirement. The Board held a second fact-finding session in the afternoon, featuring Stephen Goss, Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration (SSA) who was invited in light of the upcoming 2015 Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods. Mr. Goss provided a historical perspective of past Technical Panels and offered the Board some insight on issues that he believes the next Panel should focus on, as well as suggestions on the types of panelists the Board may want to consider inviting.
12/09/2013
During its December meeting, the Board met in executive session for the majority of the day, primarily to discuss current and future Board projects. The Board held one fact-finding session in the afternoon, however, to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s Windsor ruling earlier this year that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Specifically, the Board met with LGBT advocates to discuss the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) implementation of the Windsor decision.
11/13/2013
In the morning, the Board met with Social Security Administration (SSA) Inspector General, Patrick P. O’Carroll. Mr. O’Carroll provided updates concerning the recent federal investigations his office has been involved with in Huntington, West Virginia and Puerto Rico. In the afternoon the Board met with Glenn Sklar, SSA’s Deputy Commissioner of Disability Adjudication and Review and SSA’s Chief Administrative Law Judge, Debra Bice. The primary topic of this meeting was the role of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hiring process. Later that afternoon, the Board met with former Advisory Board member David Podoff. Dr. Podoff discussed plans to write a book on the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
10/23/2013
In this session the Board met with Bill Zielinski, Deputy Commissioner of Systems and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Mr. Zielinski provided the Board with an update on the current status of the agency’s information technology (IT) infrastructure. He discussed the current IT strategic planning underway at SSA as well as initiatives such as the Disability Claims Processing System (DCPS), for example.
09/16/2013
In the morning, the Board met with Art Spencer and Gina Clemons from the Office of Disability Programs (ODP) and Daniel Zabronsky from the Office of Quality Performance (OQP). The primary topic discussed during this session was Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs). In the afternoon, the Board was joined by Glenn Sklar and Gerald Ray from SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). Specifically, they discussed ways in which ODAR’s Office of Appellate Operations has been using detailed data analysis to help improve the disability decision making process at the hearing and appeals council levels of adjudication at SSA.
07/15/2013
In the morning, the Board met with SSA’s Chief Actuary Stephen Goss to discuss key results of the 2013 Trustees Report under intermediate assumptions. Afterwards, SSA’s lead demographer Michael Morris provided an overview on how the actuary’s office projects U.S. immigration. In the afternoon, the Board met with Deputy Commissioner of Operations Nancy Berryhill and other agency executives from within the Office of Operations. Topics discussed included: field office and teleservice center consolidations, regional office shared services, a planned SSA Express service, expansion of the MySSA online portal, MySSA fraud prevention efforts, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) wage reporting, and current progress on the Disability Case Processing System (DCPS).
06/24/2013
During the morning session, the Board met with Social Security Administration (SSA) Inspector General Patrick O’Carroll and Deputy Inspector General Gale Stone. Mr. O’Carroll and Ms. Stone provided a brief overview on the various functions of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) as well as the office’s current budget situation and how it is affected by sequestration. In the afternoon, the Board met with SSA executives Karl Tomak and Ruby Burrell from the agency’s reinstated Office of the Chief Strategic Officer. In the second afternoon session, the Board met with SSA’s Chief Actuary Stephen Goss and Deputy Chief Actuary Alice Wade. Mr. Goss provided a brief overview of some key results from the 2013 Social Security Trustees Report.
05/07/2013 - 05/08/2013
The Board met with TIAA-CREF employees at their Charlotte, North Carolina campus. In the morning, TIAA-CREF executives Catharine McCabe and Christopher Spence provided introductions, opening remarks, and gave a brief historical background on TIAA-CREF as well as the many services the company offers its clients. After that, Morgan Gold and Jack Florea met with the Board to discuss TIAA-CREF’s retirement readiness strategies. After morning presentations, Peter Case, Cathy Ivey-Brady, and Omar Saxton lead the Board through several tours of the TIAA-CREF facility. On Wednesday, the Board visited met with Social Security Administration (SSA) executives at the agency’s Birmingham Social Security Center (BSSC). In the afternoon, the Board met in discussion groups with a cross section of SSA employees.
04/08/2013
In the morning the Board met with Dr. John Kregel from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), who gave a brief overview and history of the Social Security Administration’s Work Incentive Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program as well as the particular challenges and accomplishments the program has experienced over the years. In the afternoon, the Board met with Curtis L. Decker from the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) to discuss the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) program. Later on in the afternoon the Board met with SSA executives Manuel de la Puente and Debra Tidwell-Peters from the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (ORES).
02/13/2013
In the morning, the Board met with Judges Debra Bice and Patricia Jonas from the Social Security Administration (SSA), as well as Professor Jeffrey Lubbers from American University. This fact-finding session focused on the topic of the SSA government representative pilot program that took place in the early 1980s, as well as the potential for revisiting this program as part of the current hearing process. Our guests shared their overall experience with the pilot program and expressed their own opinions on having a government representative present at Social Security hearings.
09/12/2012
In the morning, Board members discussed staffing issues at the Social Security Administration with Reginald Wells and Bonnie Doyle. During the afternoon, the Board met with Charles Blahous and Robert Reischauer to discuss the 2012 Trustees Report and other Trust Fund issues.
07/18/2012
In the morning, Board members discussed the status of the Medicare Trust Fund with Richard Foster and Clare McFarland. During lunch, the Board members met with Stephanie Hall, Dan Zabronsky, and Michael Soderman to discuss SSA’s use of predictive modeling. During the first session of the afternoon, the Board met with Steve Clifton, Scott Hale, Joe Dirago, and Rachel Emmons to discuss NCSSMA activities, issues and concerns. During the second session of the afternoon the Board members met with Patrick O’Carroll, James Kissko, Gale Stone, Srikant Sastry, John Short, Carlos Otal, Shiva Verma, and Robert Shea to discuss their evaluation of SSA’s cost allocation system.
06/14/2012
In the morning, Board members discussed disability research with Nicole Maestas who told the members that with its research Rand is interested in finding new evidence for key policy questions. During lunch, the Board members met with Michael Astrue and Kim Baldwin Sparks to discuss SSA’s new interactive web portal, My Social Security. During the first session of the afternoon, the Board met with Stephen Goss to discuss the 2012 report of the Trustees of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Trust Funds. During the second session of the afternoon the Board members met with Sylvia Karman to discuss SSA’s new Disability Research Consortium (DRC).
05/08/2012 - 05/09/2012
During the morning of May 8, the members met with three panels of experts to discuss issues related to the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability programs. During lunch on May 8, the Board met with Amy Roberts, Nathan Holmes, and Barbara Hites to discuss the status of the Georgia Disability Determination Services’ operations and also SSA’s Disability Case Processing System (DCPS). During the afternoon of May 8, the Board met with Office of Disability Adjudication and Review representatives including Ollie L. Garmon, III, R. Dirk Selland, Gloria Brown, Ken Temple, and staffs from the Covington, Atlanta North, and Atlanta Downtown hearing offices to discuss challenges and successes of managing ODAR backlogs and improving performance. Later in the afternoon of May 8, the Board members met briefly in executive session to discuss current and future projects, upcoming meeting agendas, and a possible disability forum in November. During the morning of May 9, the Board members split up and met with staffs at the Marietta and Gwinnett field offices, both in the Atlanta metropolitan area. At the offices the staffs discussed a number of their concerns, such as incomplete disability applications filed over the Internet, the public’s problems with selecting the most advantageous month for retirement benefits to begin when filing an Internet claim, and overpayments caused when disabled beneficiaries return to work.
04/18/2012
In the morning, Board members discussed the Disability Claims Processing System (DCPS) with Linda Dorn and Roderick Hairston and were briefed on the status of its implementation. During lunch, the Board met with SSA executives Michael Gallagher, James Bentley, and Michael Keegan to discuss the status of office space and facilities on SSA’s headquarters campus. In the afternoon, the Board met with representatives from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) to discuss the Thrift Saving Plan’s (TSP’s) website and communication strategy.
03/14/2012
In the morning, Board members discussed the status of SSA’s operations with Mary Glenn-Croft. During lunch the Board met with Commissioner Michael Astrue who discussed SSA workload and hiring issues. During the afternoon, the Board met with Jeffrey Lubbers, Richard Pierce, Dale Glendenning, and Jeffrey Wolfe to discuss the role of Administrative Law Judges in the Social Security process.
02/22/2012
In the morning, Board members discussed the activities of the Administrative Conference of the United States with Paul Verkuil, Jeffrey Lubbers, and Fumni Olorunnippa. During the afternoon, the Board met with representatives from both SSA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding their collaboration to improve SSA’s disability determination process.
12/14/2011
In the morning, Board members discussed the status of the Disability Insurance Trust Fund with Stephen Goss, Alice Wade, and Eli Donkar from SSA’s Office of the Actuary. During lunch, the Board members met with Carolyn Colvin and discussed a number of administrative issues such as SSA’s budget, staffing, and the agency’s use of electronic services. In the afternoon, the Board members met with Pat Jonas and Gerald Ray to discuss new quality initiatives at the Appeals Council. Throughout the course of the day, the Board met in executive session and discussed potential Board projects, a recent Inspector General report regarding SSA’s cost allocation process, and the Retirement Research Consortium’s request for fiscal year 2013 research projects.
11/16/2011
In the morning, the members met with Patrick O’Carroll and James Kissko to discuss recent activities and investigations of the Office of the Inspector General. During lunch, the Board met with Ronald Raborg and Joanne Gasparini to discuss SSA’s Office of Quality Performance’s organization and activities. In the afternoon, the Board members met with Robert Weathers and Paul O’Leary to discuss SSA’s Ticket to Work program and its results in helping disability claimants return to work. During business meeting sessions, the Board was briefed by staff on the status of current projects, and discussed topics for possible future projects.
10/12/2011
In the morning, the Board met with Bob Weathers and Paul O’Leary to discuss demonstration and pilot projects that SSA has underway currently. Those included the Accelerated Benefits Demonstration, the Mental Health Treatment Study, Youth Transition Demonstration, Benefit Offset National Demonstration, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/SSI Disability Transition Project. During lunch, the Board met with the Commissioner of Social Security, Michael Astrue, and discussed SSA staffing issues, workloads, and the additions to the agency’s list of Compassionate Allowances. The Board also held a teleconference with three members of SSA’s Future Systems Technology Advisory Panel and discussed the Panel’s deliberations.
09/13/2011 - 09/14/2011
On September 13, the Board held a special session at the Reserve Officers’ Association to meet with members of the 2010-2011 Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods. The Board also met with Kelly Croft, SSA’s Deputy Commissioner for Systems and Chief Information Officer. Mr. Croft described SSA’s efforts with its Information Resources Management Plan, Internet authentication, systems modernization, and capacity planning. On September 14, the Board met with Scott Frey, SSA’s Deputy Commissioner for Legislation and Congressional Affairs; Phil Gambino, SSA’s Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Communications; and Darrell Taylor of SSA’s Office of Communications. Mr. Gambino and Mr. Taylor discussed SSA’s Office of Communications and some of its current initiatives.
07/13/2011
In the morning the Board members met with Scott Frey to discuss SSA’s legislative agenda. Mr. Frey reported that 2011 has been a busy year on Capitol Hill for the agency, with nine SSA-related hearings in seven months, including hearings regarding ALJs and the new computer center. During lunch the Board discussed SSA’s 2012 and 2013 budgets with Michael Gallagher and Bonnie Kind. In the afternoon, the Board met with Richard Foster and Clare McFarland to discuss the Medicare Trustees Report.
06/15/2011
During the fact-finding session the members met with Stephen Goss and Alice Wade for a briefing on the 2011 report of the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. At lunch, SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue and Deputy Commissioner Glenn Sklar discussed activities of the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, including administrative law judge issues. The Commissioner also talked about SSA’s budget and the consequences of this year’s cuts on staffing, workloads, and stewardship activities. Throughout the day the Board met briefly in executive sessions and discussed future Board projects, potential topics and guests for upcoming Board meetings, and papers that are currently in progress.
05/09/2011 - 05/11/2011
The Board traveled to Ohio and held a number of meetings with regional and local Social Security Administration (SSA) staff, and employees of the Ohio Division of Disability Determination (DDD). The Board also met with individuals who have experience in dealing with the disability system, and with third party assisters who are helping individuals through the disability application process.
04/13/2011
During the first session the members met with Richard Burkhauser to discuss ways to get and keep disabled individuals in the workforce. At lunch, SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue discussed SSA’s budget and the consequences of this year’s cuts on staffing, workloads, and stewardship activities. During the first session of the afternoon the Board met with members of the National Association of Disability Examiners who discussed issues of concern for their organization. During the second fact-finding session of the afternoon the Board met with Ulrich Brechbuhl and Suzy Perlman of Chamberlin Edmonds and Associates (CEA). The speakers talked about CEA’s mission and how it works with health care systems to help patients apply for Social Security, Medicare, and other programs.
03/09/2011
During a fact-finding session the members met with Art Spencer and Janet Truhe to discuss current SSA disability program initiatives. The session included a discussion of these initiatives and ODP’s research tools. The Board continued its follow up on the implementation of the Electronic Claims Analysis tool (eCAT)) and how it will, fit in with the Disability Case Processing System that is still under development. An overview of SSA’s interagency agreement with National Institutes of Health was provided. The focus of this work is on how to improve the collection of data on a claimant’s ability to function.
02/16/2011
Robert Reischauer and Charles Blauhaus, Public Trustees met with the Board members in executive session. Issues discussed included the role of public trustees, perspectives on the current assumptions used by the Trustees, suggestions to improve transparency and presentation of information. A working lunch was held with the Commissioner of Social Security, Michael Astrue. The meeting focused on the effect of the continuing resolution and proposed reductions in 2011 funding may have on the agency’s ability to deliver service. In the afternoon, the members were briefed by the SSA’s Inspector General, Patrick O’Carroll and Deputy Inspector General, James Kissko on the OIG’s recent report on management challenges facing the Social Security Administration. As part of the Board’s continuing interest in how to strengthen the disability program, Mark Duggan was invited to present the finding of a report that he co-authored with David Autor on a proposal for modernizing the disability insurance program.
01/12/2011
The Board met in executive session· during the morning and discussed potential meeting topics and guests for future Board meetings and projects, and papers that are currently in progress. The members met with SSA’s new Depufy Commissioner, Carolyn Colvin and discussed challenges facing SSA, SSA’s computer center, and the agency’s workload backlog end its plans to deal with it in light of severe budget constraints. Board members met with Ms. Colvin, Kelly Croft. Michael Gallagher, Mary Glenn-Croft, and Stephen Goss to discuss SSA’s process for handling employer wage reports.