Press Release
Thursday, March 9, 2023
For Immediate Release
Statement by Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, on the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget
Key investments focus on improving service, modernizing our information technology, and improving the customer experience and equity in our programs.
Print Version
The Biden-Harris Administration today released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The Budget details a blueprint to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out, lower costs for families, protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security, and reduce the deficit by ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share—all while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays more in taxes.
“Our programs affect individuals throughout their lives: from birth, to entering the workforce, to facing a disability or loss, and to retirement. The broad and critical nature of our programs drives our request for the resources necessary to improve our service to the public.”
The President’s FY 2024 Budget request for the Social Security Administration (SSA) proposes $15.5 billion in discretionary budget authority. The Budget will:
Improve Service Delivery: The Budget provides an increase of $1.4 billion, a 10-percent increase over our FY 2023 enacted level to improve customer service at our field offices, State disability determination services, and teleservice centers for retirees, people with disabilities, and their families while maintaining the integrity of our programs. Each year, we process more than 6 million retirement, survivors, and Medicare claims and more than 2 million disability and SSI claims. The Budget supports increased staffing levels from FY 2023, allowing us to process about a half million more disability cases in FY 2024 than we completed in FY 2022 and significantly reduce wait times for those decisions.
Advance Equity and Accessibility: We are one of the most important anti-poverty programs in the country. We remain committed to administering our programs in a way that promotes equity and fairness. We are making it easier for people to access the services they rely on, including individuals experiencing homelessness, children with disabilities, and people with mental and intellectual disabilities. The Budget makes investments in these areas to support SSI outreach work, including collaborating with government agencies and other third-party organizations in local communities to provide convenient access to our services and ensure members of the public are aware of their potential benefit eligibility.
We are also committed to enhancing the diversity and richness of our workforce to strengthen and maintain an inclusive work environment that values individual differences and treats employees with dignity and respect; thereby, enriching our current workforce, which is driven by our public service mission. This Budget continues our efforts to hire and promote the Nation’s best talent and build a diverse and representative workforce and ensure that all employees have equal opportunities to advance in their chosen careers.
Modernize our Information Technology: The Budget continues investment in our information technology (IT) to reduce the burden on the public, modernize our website and online services, and provide an improved customer experience.
To accelerate our progress, the Budget includes $50 million in dedicated no-year funding for our Benefits Modernization efforts. Our Benefits Modernization efforts will provide our employees with better technology tools to determine eligibility and process claims in order to better serve the public. The Benefits Modernization project is in addition to the efforts we are taking to sustain our systems.
Building on the President’s strong record of fiscal responsibility, the Budget more than fully pays for its investments—reducing deficits by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade by asking the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share.
For more information on the President’s FY 2024 Budget, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.
To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.
Press Release
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
For Immediate Release
Social Security and OIG Hold Annual Slam the Scam Day
Print Version
The Social Security Administration and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) continue to raise public awareness about Social Security imposter scams during the fourth annual “Slam the Scam” Day on March 9. Social Security scams — where fraudsters pressure victims into making cash or gift card payments to fix alleged Social Security number problems or to avoid arrest – are an ongoing government imposter fraud scheme. For several years, Social Security impersonation scams have been one of the most common government imposter scams reported to the Federal Trade Commission. Social Security has made concerted efforts to address this issue, through extensive outreach and investigative initiatives. These efforts have made a significant impact, reducing money reported lost to Social Security scams by 30 percent from 2021 to 2022.
“I am proud of the work we have done to combat Social Security imposter scams and raise public awareness,” said Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect the public and their critical benefits. We urge Americans to remain vigilant, do not give out personal information or money, and report any scam attempts.”
Scammers use sophisticated tactics to trick potential victims into disclosing personal and financial information. Typically, they use these P’s – Pretend, Prize or Problem, Pressure, and Payment. For example, scammers pretend they are from Social Security in phone calls or emails and claim there is a problem with the person’s Social Security number. The scammer’s caller ID may be spoofed to look like a legitimate government number. Scammers may also send fake documents to pressure people into complying with demands for information or money. Other common tactics include citing “badge numbers” and using fraudulent Social Security letterhead to target individuals for payment or personal information.
Social Security will never tell you that your Social Security number is suspended; contact you to demand an immediate payment; threaten you with arrest; ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone; request gift cards or cash; or promise a Social Security benefit approval or increase in exchange for information or money.
Social Security employees do contact the public by telephone for business purposes. Ordinarily, the agency calls people who have recently applied for a Social Security benefit, are already receiving payments and require an update to their record, or have requested a phone call from the agency. If there is a problem with a person’s Social Security number or record, Social Security will typically mail a letter.
“Working with our law enforcement and private sector partners to inform consumers about scammers and their deceptive practices remains a priority for my office. We will continue promoting National Slam the Scam Day to help protect consumers from these predators. Slamming the scam begins with consumers quickly taking a step to hang up the phone, or delete suspicious texts and emails, without responding to the scammers,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “That remains the easiest and most effective method to avoid falling prey to these vicious scams.”
Tomorrow’s events include:
- 1 p.m. ET: Join the FTC’s National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) Twitter chat (in Spanish) for advice on avoiding common scams with @laFTC. Follow the conversation by using the hashtag #NCPW2023.
- 3 p.m. ET: Join the FTC’s NCPW Twitter chat (in English) for advice on avoiding common scams with @FTC. Follow the conversation by using the hashtag #NCPW2023.
To report a scam attempt, go to oig.ssa.gov. For more information, please visit www.ssa.gov/scam and www.ssa.gov/fraud.
To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.
Press Release
Monday, February 13, 2023
For Immediate Release
Social Security Introduces New Director for the Office of
Native American Partnerships
Print Version
Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi appointed Richard Litsey as the Director for the Office of Native American Partnerships, the new Social Security Administration tribal office within the Office of the Commissioner. This office serves to elevate and centralize efforts to administer comprehensive programs and policies related to American Indians and Alaska Natives. It will enhance the agency’s relationship with Tribes and serve as the primary point of contact on Tribal affairs for all stakeholders.
“I am very pleased to welcome Richard Litsey as the first Director of our new office. Richard brings a wealth of experience advising federal agencies on ways to improve public programs and services for American Indians and Alaska Natives,” Acting Commissioner Kijakazi said. “Our Office of Native American Partnerships provides Tribal communities more representation and strengthens our commitment to reducing barriers to ensure people who are eligible for our benefits receive them.”
“I am thrilled to lead the new Office of Native American Partnerships, which will further develop and maintain a strong presence with Tribes nationwide to ensure effective delivery of our services to retirees, people with disabilities, and elder populations,” commented Richard Litsey. “The office serves as the agency’s primary point of contact for external and internal stakeholders on Tribal affairs.”
The Office of Native American Partnerships is responsible for many functions to assist Tribal communities throughout the country. It seeks to improve services to communities by engaging in meaningful national and regional policy consultations, roundtable discussions, and seminars with Tribal and Federal experts. It also coordinates internal agency Native American efforts, increases external program awareness to the Tribal community, helps to recruit a diverse candidate pool for hiring at all levels of Social Security, and serves as the primary point of contact for Tribal Government Offices to foster transparency and collaboration. Additionally, the office will conduct ongoing data collection and analysis to improve outreach to Tribal communities.
The Office of Native American Partnerships supports President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order (EO) 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, as well as other Federal guidance on coordination and collaboration with Tribal Governments.
Mr. Litsey previously worked for the National Indian Health Board as the Director of Policy and Advocacy, the U.S. Senate as Counsel & Senior Advisor for Indian Affairs, Committee on Finance, and the Social Security Administration as a Hearing Office Director and Senior Attorney. He is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and a member of the Federal Bar Association, Capitol Hill Chapter.
To learn more, please visit American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) | SSA.
To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.
