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What to Know for Friday, May 8th, 2026: |
1: SSA Commissioner Bisignano celebrates first year — claims 84% reduction in phone wait times, but critics cite chaos |
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(Image Credit: Getty Images) |
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Phone wait times reportedly down to 6.6 minutes from 42 minutes: Social Security Administration claims average speed of answer on National 800 Number dropped 84% to "the lowest level in a decade" — plus field office wait times down 30%, online transactions up 20% (90 million more completed), and website now available 24/7 instead of being down 29 hours weekly. Disability backlog cut 33%, Social Security Fairness Act payments sent early: Initial disability claims backlog reduced from 1.27 million to 853,000 cases (33% drop), disability hearing wait times down 40%, and SSA sent $17 billion in Social Security Fairness Act payments to eligible beneficiaries five months ahead of schedule — my Social Security portal now has over 100 million accounts. SSA celebrates progress, but a report told a different story: While Bisignano says the agency has "delivered better, faster, higher-quality customer service," a Senate report in April found phone wait times were "more than 10 times higher than what the agency claimed" after 7,000+ employees were laid off, with some rural field offices "effectively closed" due to staffing shortages.
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➜ Read the full article from Social Security Matters here. |
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2: Social Security isn't just for workers — ex-spouses, children, and dependent parents can also qualify |
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(Image Credit: Getty Images) |
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Ex-spouses can claim if married 10+ years and haven't remarried: You can claim a spousal benefit on your ex-spouse's work record regardless of whether your ex has remarried — you must be 62+ and either your ex is already claiming or you've been divorced for at least two years, and you'll only receive this if it's larger than your own retirement benefit. Minor and disabled children eligible on parent's work record: Children can receive benefits until age 18 (or 19 if still in high school full-time) if their parent is claiming retirement/disability benefits or has died — disabled children can continue receiving checks indefinitely if their disability began before age 22, and stepchildren, grandchildren, and adopted children may also qualify. Dependent parents 62+ can claim on deceased child's work record: Parents must prove the deceased worker was providing at least half their financial support, can't be entitled to a larger benefit on their own record, must be natural parent or became stepparent/adoptive parent before child turned 16, and can't have remarried after the death (though remarrying may make them eligible for spousal benefit on new partner's record).
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➜ Read the full article from Yahoo Finance here. |
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3: Trump administration considering auto-enrollment in Medicare Advantage — critics call it "a trap, not a nudge" |
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(Image Credit: Getty Images) |
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New Medicare beneficiaries could be automatically funneled into private MA plans: Trump administration is weighing a policy that would make Medicare Advantage the default option instead of traditional Medicare — House legislation would auto-assign new beneficiaries to the lowest-premium MA plan in their ZIP code and lock them in for three years, and based on Part D data, 84% would stay put "not because they chose to, but because doing nothing is easier." Switching back becomes nearly impossible after 12 months: Federal law only guarantees access to supplemental Medigap insurance during a brief initial enrollment window — after 12 months, insurers can deny Medigap coverage or charge prohibitive premiums based on pre-existing conditions, and without Medigap, there's no limit to out-of-pocket costs in traditional Medicare, making "a switch out of MA impossible for most beneficiaries." Medicare overpays MA plans by $76 billion in 2026: The nonpartisan congressional advisory body MedPAC finds Medicare overpays private MA plans relative to covering the same enrollees in traditional Medicare — MA enrollees currently cost CMS roughly 14% more than comparable traditional Medicare enrollees, and auto-enrollment "would inflate that number significantly, threatening the long-term sustainability of Medicare while providing a financial windfall for private insurers."
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➜ Read the full article from Fortune here. |
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Here’s What You Missed on YouTube: |
Check out our new YouTube videos for Friday, May 8th. |
5 Federal Benefits Worth More Than $2,434/Month — And Most Seniors Miss Them |
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5 Federal Benefits Worth More Than $2,434/Month — And Most Seniors Miss Them |
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This newsletter is for information only. Always confirm your options directly with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or a qualified advisor before making big decisions about your benefits. |
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