Rotary Program: 6/29/05

Program Chair: Travis Thompson

Speaker: Ken Hale, District Manager - Social Security Administration

Ken Hale informed us that there are three traumatic events in life that may entitle a person to receive benefits from the Social Security Administration. They are disease, disability, or death and the need for financial help becomes evident. There are also those workers who have reached retirement age who qualify for benefits or their spouses and children may also qualify. Social Security also provides income for survivors of workers, those who are disabled or supplemental security income benefits for the elderly. Ken says that the Pikeville office has grown from a 4,000 sq. ft. facility to over 11,000 sq. ft. office with 15 employees. They made 15,688 personal contacts with residents of Pike County and fielded 57,268 phone calls in 2004. So far in 2,005, they have met with 7,757 people and fielded 24,317 phone calls. The latest statistics show that of the population of 67,495 in Pike County in 2003, there were 17,345 people receiving some kind of Social Security benefits that totaled almost $ 16 Million per month. That is a tremendous impact on the economy of Pike County and even more on the lives of those who otherwise would have little or no income on which to live. Ken says that in addition to these benefits, there will be a Medicare supplement available to seniors beginning on January 1, 2006. For a premium of approximately $ 37.00 and a deductible of $ 250.00, most will be able to purchase their prescription medication at a drastically reduced rate and some whose income levels are such that they may even qualify to have their medications furnished without cost at all. He says that the Pikeville Social Security office will be making public service announcements and doing programs in the local media in the next few months to get the word out about the new benefits programs. The work that is done by the staff of the Pikeville office is virtually free to all those who stop by to make application, review the status of a claim, or consult with a case worker. They are also modernizing the functions through some online programs in which the applicant doesn’t have to come in to the office at all. Most, if not all the information needed can be done right over the phone. Ken also stressed that contrary to what is advertised, there is absolutely no need for an attorney in any claim process. He said that if there were any who wanted to know more about how our local office functions or local statistics, we could go to the website at www.socialsecurity.gov. He then opened the floor for questions. The questions ranged from what the office does about those who commit fraud to receive benefits to how he felt about the viability of Social Security for those who may retire in the future. Ken explained that the Social Security Administration has a whole department which serves to investigate reports of fraud and all cases are prosecuted vigorously by the office of the Inspector General. He also expressed great confidence that the Social Security System will be there for us long into the future and there was no need to worry that the benefits will not be available to the baby boomer generation when they are ready to retire. Thanks, Ken for the informative program today. - JMC