Mike McCafferty's Estate Planning Blog

Social Security Scams Evolve Despite Growing Awareness

Security experts are predicting that Social Security phone scams are going to multiply and get worse, according to the article “Don’t Fall For These New Social Security Phone Scams” from Forbes. The Social Security phone scam is the most common phone scam in 2019, with a 23-fold rise in frequencies. A study by BeenVerified says that Social Security numbers accounted for 10% of all fraudulent calls. The FTC says that Social Security scams cost Americans $19 million in 2018.

How are they getting away with it? Scammers know that their potential victims are screening calls, so they’ve shifted their tactics. They’re leaving official sounding voicemails, with a phone number that looks like it just might be legitimate. The area code will appear to be from Washington, D.C. However, the numbers are not even from the United States.

Here are the worst offenders:

“Your Social Security number has been suspended.” A dire sounding threat, especially to seniors who count on their Social Security benefits. The caller says there has been fraudulent or criminal activity and the only way to resolve the problem is to call back. It’s not real. The Social Security Administration does not suspend, block or freeze numbers.

“Your Social Security number has been compromised.” This is a smart scam, as everyone is worried about data breaches. The automated call requests that you enter your Social Security number to verify that it has not been breached, and may also ask you to provide details, like a bank account number. Follow these instructions, and you’ve given your Social Security number to thieves. The SSA does not make these types of calls and would never ask for confirmation of your number by phone.

“A federal case has been brought against your Social Security number.” Seniors are especially vulnerable to the idea that a lawsuit is pending against them. However, the SSA or the government does not alert people to lawsuits by phone.

“You must send money to dismiss the case against you.” The government does not request payment by gift cards. If you really owe the government money, you’ll receive an official tax notice from the IRS.

Scammers are getting more sophisticated and more brazen. Don’t become a victim.

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Reference: Forbes (Nov. 24, 2019) “Don’t Fall For These New Social Security Phone Scams”

 

Enjoy Being on Hold? Call Social Security

For many years, if you wanted to get an answer from the Social Security Administration you had to have a lot of patience but that problem is likely to have some relief, according to The New York Times in “Have a Social Security Question? Please Hold.”

Part of the problem in recent years, has been an eight-year reduction in the agency’s operating budget. Congress has reduced the agency’s budget 9% in inflation-adjusted terms since 2010. This is happening at the same time that the number of Americans receiving benefits from Social Security is on the rise—by 17%, according to Social Security Administration data.

The good news is that the agency’s budget is now increasing, and it hopes to start decreasing the backlogs. It is hard at work modernizing the agency’s use of technology, addressing customer service needs and enhancing online options for the public.

Congress finally started to reverse the downward funding trend in March. Lawmakers ignored the administration’s request for a small increase in fiscal 2018 and instead, raised the administrative budget by 4.6%—$480 million. In September, Congress ignored the administration’s request for a $400 million cut and instead, gave Social Security a $40 million increase.

That means that in fiscal 2019, the agency’s operating budget will be $11.1 billion.

This government agency touches the lives of millions of Americans and its ability to function efficiently is extremely important to people of all ages. In fiscal 2019, the Social Security Administration projects payments of $1.1 trillion to about 69 million recipients of disability benefits, Supplemental Security, Income and Social Security retirement benefits.

As for calls from Americans with questions, Social Security reports that it will serve about 43 million visitors at the remaining field offices and handle as many as 75 million calls to the toll-free telephone line.

As the nation ages, those numbers are only going to increase. Over the coming decades, the agency expects the number of beneficiaries to soar by 45%.

The backlog in appeals cases for Social Security Disability Insurance has grown in the years that the agency’s budget was being cut. The average time to wait for a hearing decision on an appeal in fiscal 2018 was 591 days. That was 39% longer than in 2010, although a slight decrease from 2017.

For more information visit my Wichita KS Estate Planning Attorney website 

Reference: The New York Times (Nov. 21, 2018) “Have a Social Security Question? Please Hold”

Thousands of Social Security Recipients Owe for Medicare Premiums

Errors at the Social Security Administration means that thousands still owe for Medicare, according to NPR in “Social Security Error Jeopardizes Medicare Coverage for 250,000 Seniors” The problem applies to private drug policies and Medicare Advantage plans that provide medical and drug coverage and are substitutes for traditional government-run Medicare.

Some people will need to find the money to pay the plans, while others may have their plans cancelled and need to fight to have them reinstated.

Both Medicare and Social Security expect proper deductions and payments to resume either this month or next. Insurers are required to send bills directly to members for unpaid premiums, says Medicare.

Neither Medicare nor Social Security would explain how or why the error occurred or provide the specific names of the plans that were shortchanged. They also didn’t give the amount that the plans were owed. There is a notice to Medicare’s beneficiaries on the website, but it is lacking in detail. The House Ways and Means Chair, Rep. Neal, hasn’t received any response from either agency.

Organizations that represent seniors are getting some questions from their members. Two women in Louisiana lost drug coverage, after their policies were canceled as a direct result of the error. A woman in Ohio was reinstated in fewer than 48 hours after the state’s insurance information program for seniors got involved.

Some people may not have noticed that their Social Security checks did not include a deduction for their Medicaid Advantage or drug plan premiums. They may have thought the extra amount was an expected cost-of-living increase.

Medicare beneficiaries have had the option of paying premiums through a deduction from their Social Security benefit checks for more than a decade, or they can pay directly through a credit card or a checking account instead of from their Social Security benefits.

Insurance companies must allow members at least two months from the billing date to pay. They must also offer a payment plan for those who can’t pay several months of premiums at once.

The acting director for the Medicare Plan Payment Group warned companies that they must take these steps to avoid invoking their policy of dis-enrollment, if the member fails to pay premium while the member is adhering to the payment plan.

For more information visit my Wichita KS Estate Planning Attorney website 

Reference: NPR (June 6, 2019) “Social Security Error Jeopardizes Medicare Coverage for 250,000 Seniors”