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By Catherine Ho Michigan ranks fourth in the nation in Social Security disability delays, according to 2006 state rankings released Tuesday by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Allsup Inc., a private Illinois-based company that assists people filing claims. In Michigan, where 250,351 people receive Social Security benefits, 49,951 people are awaiting decisions on their claims. Michigan beneficiaries are waiting for a combined $1.56 billion in backlogged disability benefits. The average processing time both nationwide and in Michigan is about 17 months. In 2001, the average processing time for disability cases was about 10 months. Rankings were based on the number of people awaiting benefits processing, compared with the number receiving benefits. Michigan ranked behind Kansas, Washington, D.C., and North Dakota. Backlogs in the federal Social Security Disability Insurance program are increasing as more baby boomers seek disability benefits at the same time that large numbers of Social Security Administration employees are retiring. The number of disability claims grew 62% between 2000 and 2004, but the agency's staff was 30% smaller in 2002 than in 1982, according to the Social Security Advisory Board. Adequate federal funding is not available to replace outgoing employees at the roughly 1,400 Social Security field offices in the United States, leaving a shrinking staff to process a growing number of claims, said Jim Allsup, president and CEO of Allsup Inc. Allsup was a Social Security field officer in Iowa and Kansas before founding the company in 1984. Allsup Inc. helps people apply for disability benefits by screening for eligible applicants, completing their paperwork and presenting the claim to Social Security, so the applicant does not have to deal directly with the agency. Allsup charges 25% of the lump sum of backlogged benefits if the application is successful. The company caps the fee at $5,300. Allsup Inc. has helped more than 85,000 people with disabilities obtain about $1.4 billion in backlogged payments from Social Security and Medicare. Contact CATHERINE HO at 313-222-5006 or cho@freepress.com.
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