A recent posting by an SSI beneficiary worrying over the income supplement has made rounds regarding delays in application approval. The person is currently undergoing tough times trying to get the person’s SSI claim approved and appears to reflect poor handling of cases given by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The story portrays a deeper nationwide problem many more might be going through-their claims seem to be at a standstill or have gone down the black hole of oblivion.
Struggling to get SSI approved
This particular person has been working at their SSI for over a year but found themselves stalled “in reconsideration” for several months now. After making several attempts to pull their case along with no result and turning “3 out of 5,” it shows just how little movement has taken place. Waiting here angrily long enough prompted calling the Disability Determination Services (DDS), the agency that does SSI processing, seeking more on their case status.
A disastrous revelation: No worker assigned
Upon contacting DDS, the recipient learned this thing by way of an extremely alarming statement: No worker was ever assigned to the case. According to the worker with whom they spoke, that was not an isolated case but part of a broader national phenomenon involving many SSI applicants. The worker confirmed it’s very typical for applications to get ignored or become lost, resulting in lengthy delays in processing. This was a shocking revelation to the beneficiary, who all along thought that for the past year, their case was actively worked on.
Was progress made? Confusing case status
For the last several months, the applicant had seen that their case status was “started.” Recently, though, that status changed to “continuing” and made the applicant wonder if things were at least moving ahead. While good this might sound, it does little to assure the applicant that their case is going to be processed anytime soon. For most people, this unclear status update merely mirrors inactivity instead of advancing stages.
It is frustrating making the call
That was perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this situation: the fact that the recipient was forced to call DDS to discover what had happened to their case. Most applicants may not consider following up on their own applications, assuming everything is going as it should. Sad to say, however, it appears that the system was just meant to leave people in suspense, hearing nothing for months or, in some cases, even years without any solid news.
Another banal problem: Applications left behind
The worker at the other end of the phone explained that ‘it is quite common for SSI applications to be forgotten or fall through the cracks.’ This kind of thing could explain why so many people report long delays or discover that their case has never been assigned properly to a worker. The inefficiency and lack of accountability in the processes make it frustrating for many thousands of SSI recipients cast adrift in poverty, forced to rely on the benefits for their livelihood.
A national issue
This story underlines the guy represents a reminder that the delay and missing applications are certainly not isolated incidents but part of a larger systemic occurrence happening around the country. The warnings of this individual’s experience should cause one to stay on top of calling the SSA and DDS regularly. Indeed, much has to be done to rectify these systemic issues so that helpless individuals who depend on SSI are not left in limbo for long.
