‘Social Insecurity Administration’ rankles this former minister

I have long been aware that the Social Security Administration punishes people who continue working if they retire early or receive disability benefits. At this time in our national history, with our current economic crisis, this policy seems stunningly stupid to me.

I am age 64. I retired at age 62 from my primary career as a Presbyterian minister, and my secondary career as a social worker. I worked more than 30 years as a substance abuse counselor for several substance abuse treatment programs. Neither of these professions were well-paid — not like being a banker or stock broker. Retirement benefits were also quite limited.

I chose to retire at age 62 for two major reasons. The first was that I feared President George W. Bush planned to dismantle the Social Security Administration completely and I feared I would have no benefits at all. I reasoned that, if I were a Social Security beneficiary, at least some provision would be made to continue some benefit program. I have been a contributor to Social Security from age 16 when I began working as a dishwasher in my native city of Las Vegas, Nev. Since that age, I have always known I could retire completely at age 65 — but that was changed some years ago so that now my retirement age has been advanced to age 66. The second reason for retiring early was my declining health. All my life I have been afflicted with severe allergies and attendant asthma. As I have advanced in age, I have also developed hypertension — perhaps related to my birth defect of a mytral valve prolapse that in 1944 could not be corrected by surgery. I also have a deteriorating spine related to fetal alcohol exposure and that is now arthritic. None of these conditions alone were severe enough to qualify me for disability benefits and even when taken together were not severe enough to so qualify me. I reasoned that I could continue working on a part-time basis.

I have terrible memories of the poverty I endured as a child because of my father’s physical disability. His tuberculosis invaded his spine and left him quite crippled. In about 1955, when I was age 10, he was forced to accept disability from Social Security Administration. He was prevented from working part-time by the income cap on his Social Security Disability benefits and by his physical limitation. So we survived — barely — on his Social Security Disability benefits. The benefits were so severely limited that we were forced to accept food donations from generous people in churches. My father often said that his Social Security Disability benefits were “just enough to starve to death.”

At the time I retired, my plan was to pay off all my debts so I could live modestly on my retirement and the income derived from part-time employment. I borrowed from my retirement annuity in 2003 for the down payment to purchase my house, and I wanted to pay that all back before age 65 when I would then be eligible to receive the annuity payments. I also wanted to pay off all outstanding debts to credit card companies. I hoped to pay off the loan on my 2002 used car. And I hoped to make a major dent in the mortgage I have on my home.

In 2007, I had some moderate success in my real estate sales practice. I exceeded the income cap imposed by Social Security Administration and was informed in September 2008 that I needed to pay back half of what I earned beyond that cap, about $4,000. Since October 2008, I have received no Social Security retirement benefits — even though I attempted to pay the “overpayment” using my credit card and the “payment stub” that was included with this original letter. I completed the “payment stub” with the pertinent information and returned it to the Philadelphia office of Social Insecurity. Five days after receipt of the original letter telling me of my Social Insecurity sin, I received a second letter from the same person in Richmond, Calif., telling me I was being assessed an additional $145 of “overpayment” and that I would not receive any benefits until March 2009. In December 2008, I received yet another letter from the same person informing me that I would receive a portion of my monthly benefits in March 2009. But in January 2009 came another letter, written by the same person telling me that I will not receive any benefits until June 2009. I was informed, by a telephone conversation with a Social Insecurity Administration employee in Anchorage, that the Social Insecurity Administration has determined I should pay the anticipated “overpayment” for 2008 even though they have no information about my earnings in 2008. Of course I am not eligible to be fully retired until age 66 — even though for most of my life I had been told I could retire at age 65. So I must anticipate this continuing abuse until I am age 66. My pension from the Presbyterian Church (USA) is only about $400 a month. As I stated before, my only retirement annuity — and that has taken a significant loss due to the stock market crash — will not be available to me until I reach age 65. But I cannot count on that, either, because I have borrowed again from it in order to survive in this period when I have no Social Insecurity benefits.

I attempted to call the Social Insecurity Administration office in Anchorage. I waited more than 30 minutes on the telephone to speak to a live human being who only indicated that I needed to complete a set of forms before anything could be done. My second call was to the 800 telephone number provided by Social Insecurity Administration in all of its written communications. I was eventually answered by a man somewhere on the East Coast who told me that I needed to visit the Anchorage office. This winter in this part of Alaska has been cold and there has been a lot of snow. My third call to the Anchorage office was answered after waiting 20 minutes and I was finally told that the required forms would be sent to me. When they arrived, I completed them and sent them to Anchorage. I am still waiting for a response.

This is a difficult time for people working in real estate. My last sales commission was paid in October 2008. The continuing credit crisis in our nation is preventing people from securing loans to purchase homes even though real estate has remained strong in this part of Alaska with ample inventory and reasonable prices. In order to continue practice in real estate, there are a number of costs I must bear: prices for mandatory continuing education seminars, real estate licensing and state business licensing, advertising costs, telephone costs, e-mail costs, desk fees, Multiple Listing Service dues, error and omission insurance premiums, dues for membership in the local real estate association, the state association and the national association.

I live a rather modest life. I share a 1,000-square-foot residence with Blackie, my Labrador retriever. My monthly mortgage payment is only $827 — less than the average cost of renting a two-bedroom residence in this area. I have no health insurance. When I planned to retire, my health insurance carrier offered to continue my coverage if I would pay a monthly premium in excess of $300 and accept a $5,000 annual deductible. I could not see the value of purchasing such a limited health insurance coverage. I have managed to keep my utility costs to the minimum by turning down the thermostat and using only one light at a time in the house. I no longer travel except for real estate business and service to the Presbytery of Yukon, even though I have a daughter and grandson who live in Rochester, N.Y. Fortunately my other daughter lives in Anchorage and I can usually combine a business trip there with a visit to her home.

There are some changes I really want to be made to the Social Insecurity Administration rules and practices. First, I want the income cap to be removed from early retirement and disability benefits.

I want the Social Insecurity Administration to be prevented from stopping all benefit payments as they have done to me. I want the Social Insecurity Administration to negotiate with me a reasonable plan to recover the “overpayment” they believe they must collect from me. I want the Social Insecurity Administration to significantly improve telephone access to their employees when people like me have questions. I want there to be consistency in their written communications with those of us who are recipients of benefits.

Unless my benefits are restored, I fear I may lose my house to foreclosure, a strange irony because selling foreclosure homes is now my major part-time work.

Israel Nelson is a Palmer resident.