Social Security Administration November 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On November 5, 2010, we published a Federal Register notice requesting comments regarding our self-evaluation under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. We requested the public's ideas and suggestions on how we could best perform the self-evaluation. We received a limited number of comments from advocacy groups and individuals. On August 2, 2011, we published a second Federal Register notice announcing the two public forums we held in Falls Church, Virginia, where the public could provide us with comments in person or via telephone. The notice also requested written comments from those who preferred to communicate with us in writing. On October 24, 2011, we published a third Federal Register notice to extend the deadline to provide written comments. This Federal Register notice announces the modifications we propose to make to our business process based on our self-evaluation. A description of our business process vision under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is now available at www.socialsecurity.gov/ accessibility/section504. Our business process vision outlines the actions we are currently taking to implement many of the self- evaluation key findings and recommendations. Specifically, we are developing additional policies in this area to provide clear guidance to all SSA components. We developed and are continuing to develop electronic systems to capture information about the accommodations people tell us they need, and we trained and continue to train our employees about Section 504 and its requirements. Finally, we established a new organization, the Center for Section 504 Compliance, to oversee all of these efforts and manage the business process.

In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces a renewal of an existing computer matching program that we are currently conducting with Fiscal Service.

The Social Security Administration published a document in the Federal Register of November 5, 2013, concerning the cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits effective December 2013. The document contains an incorrect number for the special minimum primary insurance amount (PIA) for 16 years of coverage.

The Social Security Administration published a document in the Federal Register of September 18, 2013, concerning a new fee for providing detailed and certified yearly Social Security earnings information for nonprogram-related purposes. The document contained unclear fee information and incorrect date for implementation.

Under title II of the Social Security Act (Act), there will be a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits effective December 2013. As a result of this increase, the following items will increase for 2014: (1) The maximum Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) monthly benefit amounts for 2014 under title XVI of the Act will be $721 for an eligible individual, $1,082 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $361 for an essential person; (2) The special benefit amount under title VIII of the Act for certain World War II veterans will be $540.75 for 2014; (3) The student earned income exclusion under title XVI of the Act will be $1,750 per month in 2014, but not more than $7,060 for all of 2014; (4) The dollar fee limit for services performed as a representative payee will be $40 per month ($77 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 2014; and (5) The dollar limit on the administrative-cost fee assessment charged to an appointed representative such as an attorney, agent, or other person who represents claimants will be $89 beginning in December 2013. The national average wage index for 2012 is $44,321.67. This index affects the following amounts: (1) The Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) contribution and benefit base will be $117,000 for remuneration paid in 2014 and self-employment income earned in taxable years beginning in 2014; (2) The monthly exempt amounts under the OASDI retirement earnings test for taxable years ending in calendar year 2014 will be $1,290 for beneficiaries who will attain their Normal Retirement Age (NRA) (defined below) after 2014 and $3,450 for those who attain NRA in 2014; (3) The dollar amounts (``bend points'') used in the primary insurance amount (PIA) benefit formula for workers who become eligible for benefits, or who die before becoming eligible, in 2014 will be $816 and $4,917; (4) 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 2014 will be $1,042, $1,505, and $1,962; (5) The amount of taxable earnings a person must have to be credited with a quarter of coverage in 2014 will be $1,200; (6) The ``old-law'' contribution and benefit base under title II of the Act will be $87,000 for 2014; (7) The monthly amount deemed to constitute substantial gainful activity (SGA) for statutorily blind individuals in 2014 will be $1,800, and the corresponding amount for non-blind disabled persons will be $1,070; (8) The earnings threshold establishing a month as a part of a trial work period will be $770 for 2014; and (9) Coverage thresholds for 2014 will be $1,900 for domestic workers and $1,600 for election officials and election workers.