Social Security Administration October 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under title II of the Social Security Act (Act), there will be no cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits effective for December 2010. As a result, the following items will remain at their 2010 levels: (1) The maximum Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) monthly benefit amounts for 2011, under title XVI of the Act, will remain $674 for an eligible individual, $1,011 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $338 for an essential person; (2) The special benefit amount under title VIII of the Act for certain World War II veterans will remain $505.50 in 2011; (3) The student earned income exclusion under title XVI of the Act will remain $1,640 per month in 2011, but not more than $6,600 in all of 2011; (4) The dollar fee limit for services performed as a representative payee will remain $37 per month ($72 per month in the case of a beneficiary who is disabled and has an alcoholism or drug addiction condition that leaves him or her incapable of managing benefits) in 2011; (5) The dollar limit on the administrative-cost assessment charged to attorneys representing claimants will remain $83 in 2011; (6) The Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) contribution and benefit base will remain $106,800 for remuneration paid in 2011 and self-employment income earned in taxable years beginning in 2011; (7) The monthly exempt amounts under the Social Security retirement earnings test for taxable years ending in calendar year 2011 will remain $1,180 and $3,140; (8) The ``old-law'' contribution and benefit base under title II of the Act will remain $79,200 for 2011; and (9) The monthly amount deemed to constitute substantial gainful activity for statutorily blind individuals in 2011 will remain $1,640. The national average wage index for 2009 is $40,934.93. This index affects the following items: (1) The dollar amounts (``bend points'') used in the primary insurance amount benefit formula for workers who become eligible for benefits, or who die before becoming eligible, in 2011 will be $753 and $4,542; (2) The bend points used in the formula for computing maximum family benefits for workers who become eligible for benefits, or who die before becoming eligible, in 2011 will be $963, $1,390, and $1,812; (3) The amount of taxable earnings a person must have to be credited with a quarter of coverage in 2011 will be $1,120; (4) The monthly amount deemed to constitute substantial gainful activity for non-blind disabled persons will be $1,000 in 2011; (5) The earnings threshold establishing a month as a part of a trial work period will be $720 for 2011; and (6) Coverage thresholds for 2011 will be $1,700 for domestic workers and $1,500 for election officials and election workers.

We need information about work that exists throughout the nation to determine whether claimants' impairments prevent them from doing not only their past work, but any other work in the U.S. economy. To that end, we are developing a long term strategy to obtain current and suitable occupational information critical for disability evaluation. In 2008, we established the Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel (Panel) to provide independent advice and recommendations on plans and activities to create an occupational information system tailored specifically for our disability programs and adjudicative needs. The Panel is soliciting comments on a recommendation it intends to make to us.

We are revising our rules on a temporary basis to permit State agency disability examiners to make fully favorable determinations in certain claims for disability benefits under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act) without the approval of a State agency medical or psychological consultant. These changes apply only to claims we consider under our rules for quick disability determinations (QDD) or under our compassionate allowance initiative.

We are considering ways to quickly identify diseases and other serious medical conditions that obviously meet the definition of disability under the Social Security Act (Act) and can be identified with minimal objective medical information. We are calling this method ``Compassionate Allowances.'' In December 2007, April 2008, November 2008, July 2009, and November 2009, we held Compassionate Allowance public hearings. These hearings concerned rare diseases, cancers, traumatic brain injury and stroke, early-onset Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and schizophrenia, respectively. This hearing is the sixth in the series. The purpose of this hearing is to obtain your views about the advisability and possible methods of identifying and implementing compassionate allowances for both adults and children with cardiovascular diseases and multiple organ transplants. We plan to address other medical conditions at subsequent hearings.