In a recently announced “Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2008 – 2013” the Social Security Administration lists the challenges the agency faces. I agree with this list, although I might add a couple of items to it. The Social Security Administration’s service to our clients is deteriorating, which is bad for our clients and bad for our law firm.
Many of these challenges will require additional funding to resolve. Funding has never been easy for the Social Security Administration to obtain, and now with the massive Wall Street bailout plan looming, it may be impossible to get the money required to just stay even, much less to improve. Here is the list of challenges:
- Unacceptable hearings backlog
- Aging computer systems
- Complex and outdated disability process
- Threats to computer systems and personal information
- Geographic, generational, and cultural population shifts
- Loss of expertise as our employee retirements accelerate
- Increasing demand for service
- Limited public understanding of the role of Social Security benefits
- Increasing non-traditional workloads (e.g., Medicare and immigration)
- Increasing improper payments
- Limited resources
- Infrastructure costs rising well over the rate of inflation
