By all accounts, he has been zealous and effective, perhaps a tad too much so. Over the years, he has taken the agency to task for a long list of alleged failings, both underpayments and overpayments. He often turned out to be right, but the unrelenting, sharp-edged nature of his critiques has left bruises…
Social Security officials acknowledge that some 500,000 people may have received less than they were due. The agency has cleared about 112,000 such cases and paid back benefits — a few hundred dollars in many cases, more than $200,000 in some — to 73,000 of them.
The individual cases are mind-numbingly complex. Social Security Commissioner Jo Anne B. Barnhart has assigned 537 caseworkers to untangle the remaining ones, a task that may take until 2010 or beyond. Initially, Barnhart said, she estimated it would take four to eight hours for an expert to complete a case. Now, she has raised her estimate to 12 to 20 hours.
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