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Both Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are speaking bluntly about entitlement reform, advocating means-testing for Social Security retirement benefits as a way to save the system for those who need it. “These are real ideas,“ Christie said in New Hampshire on Friday. “And, you know, I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘Well, why would you possibly want to suggest those things?’ Because we have to. We have to. And if you want to start a national conversation, let’s start one that matters.” “We’re $18 trillion in debt,” Graham told Fox News Sunday. “Eighty million...

The administration has granted about 541,000 Social Security numbers to illegal immigrants under President Obama’s original 2012 deportation amnesty for Dreamers, officials told Congress in a letter made public Wednesday. That means almost all of the illegal immigrants approved for the amnesty are being granted work permits and Social Security numbers, opening the door to government benefits ranging from tax credits to driver’s licenses. Social Security officials, in the April 10 letter to Sens. Jeff Sessions and Ben Sasse, said they don’t keep track of how many illegal immigrants have been denied numbers, and defended their process for granting the...

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Framing himself as a politician who's unafraid to share "hard truths" with the American people, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is proposing an income cap on Social Security benefits as part of major restructuring plan announced ahead of a likely presidential bid. The Republican is set to deliver a speech Tuesday in New Hampshire outlining his ideas on reforming Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — so-called entitlement programs. As part of the plan, he'll propose phasing out Social Security payments for those making more than $80,000 in other income and eliminating them for those making $200,000...

With the Social Security disability-insurance (SSDI) program heading toward insolvency before the end of next year, lawmakers are looking for reforms to help individuals with disabilities but the capacity to work to return to work. Why it is so hard to get them to do so? Olga Khazan explores the question in a new piece in The Atlantic. Even those awarded benefits for a temporary condition tend to stay on Social Security for the rest of their lives. It’s a tough but urgent question. The disability program has seen tremendous growth in both costs and the number of beneficiaries in...

It has been revealed that thousands of taxpayer dollars have been approved to pay for disability benefits of hundreds of people that never should have received a dime, and it was all done because of an accident. The Social Security Administration (SSA) was approving some Puerto Ricans for disability benefits because they don’t speak English as their first language, but they all were residing in Puerto Rico — where Spanish is the predominant language.

Is not knowing how to speak English a disability? According to the Social Security administration, it can be.

95 percent of Puerto Ricans speak SpanishThe Social Security Administration (SSA) approved disability benefits for hundreds of Puerto Ricans because they do not speak English, despite the fact that Puerto Rico is a predominantly Spanish-speaking territory.According to a new audit by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), the agency is misapplying rules that are intended to provide financial assistance to individuals who are illiterate or cannot speak English in the United States. Under the rules, Puerto Ricans are allowed to receive disability benefits for their inability to speak English as well.“We found the Agency did not make exceptions regarding the...

With Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the first major announced presidential candidate, surging in the polls and raking in campaign cash, it was inevitable that the push back would follow. The “Stop Ted Cruz” campaign got off to a roaring start in Salon, a magazine that has always disdained the man from Texas, with a Sunday article by Heather Cox Richardson, a college professor who teaches 19th century American history. Richardson’s indictment against Cruz is a beaut, accusing him of being part of a conspiracy started by the late William F. Buckley and furthered by the late Sen. Barry Goldwater to...

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said that Social Security should be be made “secure” while increasing benefits in an interview broadcast on Tuesday’s “Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC.

President Obama’s Social Security numbers do not verify he even is a U.S. Citizen. A mismatch, two differing numbers at least, an imagined flight by a 15 year old from Hawaii to Connecticut to apply in person, and other anomalies are causing confusion yet again over the true identity of the man sitting in America’s Oval Office! A Notice of Mismatch on a Social Security Administration (SSA) Records form displays an incongruent match which was somehow sent to the President on 08/17/11. This mismatch refers to ss# 042-68-4425. The case verification number is 2011229111431GY. (1) The form contains a chilling...

Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz (R-TX) said he was an “emphatic advocate” of a balanced budget amendment, and expressed support for means testing Social Security and raising the retirement age on Monday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel. “I think the penny plan has an awful lot of force to it, and I am an emphatic advocate of a Balanced Budget Amendment” Cruz stated. Cruz added, “you’re going to be hard pressed to come up with a cost-cutting program that I’m not going to support. I do think the military, we need to look at the growing national security...

I wonder whether most people truly understand the scope and import of Obama's lawless order to halt deportations and allow work permits for up to 5 million immigrants living illegally in the United States. Do they understand that he doesn't have the constitutional authority to do this? Do they understand that he admitted not having the constitutional authority to do this? Do they understand that Congress considered and rejected such action when it declined to pass the DREAM Act? Do they understand that under Obama's rule, these immigrants will be eligible for Social Security payments and even receive credit, in...

Although the worldwide population of persons older than 112 years of age is estimated to be only three dozen, an investigation by the inspector general revealed that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has active accounts for 6.5 million persons over that age. Obviously, there aren’t really 6.5 million persons that old living in America. Obviously, many recipients who have been long dead are regularly mailed benefits checks by SSA. Obviously, millions of identities have been stolen and are being used to rack up potential benefits. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis) and Tom Carper (D-Del), who head the Senate committee that oversees...

IRS paid out $5.8 billion in fraudulent tax refunds last year as Social Security records show that 6.5m people in the US are 112 Americans are getting older, but not this old: Social Security records show that 6.5 million people in the U.S. have reached the ripe old age of 112. In reality, only few could possibly be alive. As of last fall, there were only 42 people known to be that old in the entire world. But Social Security does not have death records for millions of these people, with the oldest born in 1869, according to a report...

“When people tell you Social Security is going broke, you look them in the eye and tell them they’re not telling you the truth,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to petition Congress not to cut Social Security or Medicare. “Today, the Social Security Trust Fund has a $2.8 trillion surplus,” Sanders said. […] As CNSNews.com previously reported, however, the Social Security program ran a $47.8 billion deficit in fiscal 2012 as the program brought in $725.429 billion in cash and paid $773.247 billion for benefits and overhead expenses, according...

The inspector general for the Social Security Administration has found that 6.5 million active Social Security cards belong to people claiming to be 112 years old or older. Worldwide, the number of people currently living to be 112 stands at 35. Clearly, most of those people are dead, and relatives never bothered to tell Social Security about it. But a significant number of those claiming to be 112 years old are thought to be stealing the identity of dead people. From Washington Post: "The Social Security Administration’s inspector general said in a report on Monday that the questionable identification numbers...

There are more than 6.5 million Americans over the age of 112, according to the Social Security Administration. If you are wondering about the accuracy of this count, you are not alone.After a man attempted to open bank accounts using active Social Security Numbers from both 1869 and 1893, the Office of the Inspector General decided to audit the SSA. They found that as of Oct. 2013, only 35 known individuals over the age of 112 are still living worldwide.The SSA’s Numerical Identification System (often shortened to Numident), contains all the Social Security Numbers tracing back to 1936 when they were...

Many people are living longer, but not to age 112 or beyond -- except in the records of the Social Security Administration. The SSA's inspector general has identified 6.5 million number-holders age 112 -- or older -- for whom no death date has been entered in the main electronic file, called Numident. The audit, dated March 4, 2015, concluded that SSA lacks the controls necessary to annote death information on the records of number-holders who exceed "maximum reasonable life expectancies." "We obtained Numident data that identified approximately 6.5 million numberholders born before June 16, 1901 who did not have a...

IRS defends giving refunds to illegals who never paid taxes Mar. 02, 2015 - 4:50 - Agency tells Congress in a new letter that lawyers have concluded getting a Social Security number justifies illegal immigrants' ability to go back and ask for previous refunds [Video]

Social Security is surging to the forefront of the political debate ahead of the race for the White House in 2016. The entitlement program has been thrust into the spotlight by a fight over the Social Security disability fund, which is expected to run dry by the end of next year. The looming shortfall is stirring a burst of activism on the left, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a likely 2016 candidate, and liberal hero Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warning of an assault on the program from Republicans in Congress. "We’ve known for years that Social Security Disability Insurance is...