Social Security Administration Feeling The Heat…AMAC Foundation Is The Answer!
Amid a steady stream of backlash and criticism, Social Security Administration (SSA) officials find themselves in a defensive stance as they deal with accusations of incompetence and poor service. Whether the disparaging assertions are related to excessive telephone wait times, dropped calls, inability to schedule appointments, or incorrect or confusing responses from field personnel, it’s become increasingly clear that the venerable agency is facing a rising tide of negativity that will likely get worse in the years ahead.
Lately, SSA has come under fire as its efforts to “claw back” more than $26 billion in mishandled payments draw a flurry of public and Congressional condemnation. Many of those affected are elderly, poor, or disabled, a fact that adds weight to the gravity of the problem.
SSA, taking the position that inadequate staffing is the root of their problems, openly acknowledges the calamity. ”We are in a full-blown crisis on service delivery,” an official of the labor union representing much of the agency’s workforce exclaimed in a recent Reuters post. With the need to support 3- to 4-million new beneficiaries each year along with the 70 million citizens already enrolled, it becomes clear that there’s a rocky road ahead for anyone trying to negotiate Social Security’s vast complexities.
AMAC Foundation To The Rescue!
What to do? AMAC, through the services of its nonprofit affiliate AMAC Foundation, has built a record of pitching in on behalf of America’s seniors in need of guidance. Its Social Security Advisory Service offers the expertise of a staff of trained and accredited Advisors who each year counsel thousands of American citizens on the intricacies of Social Security, with a nearly 100% satisfaction rate and a goal of responding to all inquiries within a business day.
With eight years now in the books, this highly acclaimed, free service continues to draw accolades from an appreciative public—people needing to be guided through the maze of rules and regulations that have a tremendous impact on their wellbeing. Often, our Advisors serve to rescue folks from the state of confusion they’ve fallen into because of the program’s massive collection of rules and regulations and their inability to obtain SSA field office support.
An Example Of The Problem
Our Advisory Staff features seven trained and accredited professionals available to respond to email and telephone inquiries from the public, routinely responding to questions covering a wide range of topics. Since the most frequent of these topics is spousal benefits and the various options available to filers, here’s a recent example of the value we provide to callers: A client, a woman in her early 80s, contacted us regarding an article from our office discussing spousal benefits, noting that when she filed for retirement benefits in 2005, she reported that the SSA field office where she applied did not advise her of her eligibility for incremental benefits based on her husband’s work record. This, even though her husband accompanied her at the appointment! To make matters worse, SSA is now refusing to retroactively award the full benefit she was entitled to receive, offering instead a mere six months of “catch-up” benefit payments. Our staff helped her package the supporting documentation she needed to file an appeal to recover the enormous underpayment due because of this SSA mistake.
The AMAC Foundation Social Security Advisory Service is a free service provided to the public, with a staff dedicated to helping folks deal with the many complexities of this massive program.