Social Security’s Equity Action Plan
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: April 14, 2022
On January 20, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order (EO) 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The EO requires all Federal agencies “to pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all including people of color and other people who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
Our programs touch the lives of nearly every American including people who face barriers – providing income security for the diverse populations we serve. This includes:
- People with disabilities.
- People who are widowed.
- Retirees.
- Their families.
We are committed to continuing to administer our programs in a way that promotes equity and treating all individuals who interact with us with fairness. We recognize that access to our administrative system can pose barriers to people who need our programs the most. To reduce these barriers and ensure everyone has access to our services, our Equity Action Plan includes:
- Increasing collection of race and ethnicity data to help understand whether our programs are equitably serving our applicants and beneficiaries.
- Revising our policies and practices to expand options for service delivery.
- Ensuring equitable access for unrepresented claimants in the disability application process.
- Decreasing burdens for people who identify as gender diverse or transgender in the Social Security Number card application process.
- Increasing access to our research grant programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions, and to procurement opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses.
Please visit Social Security Open Government Plans and Progress to learn more about each of the actions outlined in our Equity Action Plan. We look forward to advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity for all. Please share this information with your friends and family – and post it on social media.
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Tags: Children, Commissioner, Disability, retirement, retirement benefits, social security disability benefits, SSI, supplemental security income, survivors benefits
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Lidia S.
Thank you! Every step taken to address the human condition is a blessing.
To the naysayers: Why be naysayers because the plan does not benefit you in particular. It seems like you feel that if it does not benefit you it should not benefit anybody else. It’s a good plan. You’ll get your turn.
Ben B.
Ignorance is fixed with facts. STUPID is willingly remaining STUPID. Therefore I will not even ATTEMPT to reason with you because YOU ARE STUPID!
Susan
Agreed.
Sherrie H.
It’s BLATANT socialism.
Keith
Social Security has NOTHING to do with Race or Gender. Changing policies of a governmental agency to provide services based on race and gender is the definition of systemic racism and oppression. These people are evil.
Really
You are correct Keith! As a breed and born American we do not exist to Biden Administration.
Millie J.
So u didn’t/refused your stimulus check from Biden Administration. Pray tell me all the good things Trump did. Trump & McConnell didn’t only want2cut Social Security they want to stop collecting from ppl check to effectively kill soc.sec. no minimum wage increase.
Anne C.
AMEN!
Carol S.
You are correct Keith.
The time and energy on fixing problems with this system should not be equality, but to make it work equally for all that meet criteria for payment. The current check and balance system is totally broken.
Eddie R.
Gina I commend you for helping…I am disabled by brain surgery but I worked all my life (14)…and partially blind and seizures now but SSDI and trying to keep my bills paid off is a struggle 🙏🏽😎👍
Really
Yep!
bjd
bjd
i too have worked all my life and mostly two jobs, and even now with retirement i have to work part time just to pay rent, and keep a roof over my head, rent takes over 75 percent of my income, i cannot find affordable housing, due to no vacancies, we need affordable housing in a safe place to live
Susan L.
Yes! Especially safe! I have been robbed, burglerized, scared away from my jobs by gun carrying gangsters and criminals, and then terrorized some more by other people who want to blame ME for being victimized.
Bobbi L.
How about a plan to answer your phones for all people???
Gail
Bobbi, good one!
betty, i.
yes, i was talking to a woman tonight sitting at another dinner table.
her elderly mom died, she’s tried calling the SS offices now that they are OPEN.
she finally got thru, person answering the phone said we’re too busy HANGING UP WITHOUT TAKING HER PHONE NO. TO CALL BACK!
how rude!! there is no way to get thru to the office she needs to talk with.
can’t email either! she had other problems too handling her estate since she is the EXECUTOR of it.
ss needs to RETURN phone calls; get additional employees or have them help people from their HOME OFFICES.
this is unacceptable.
betty, i.
i also noticed there used to be a place on right side you could report spammers; it’s gone!
why? it needs to be there.
betty, i.
it’s not allowing me to start a NEW question/comments, so i’ll use this here.
“This includes:
People with disabilities.”
************************
SSDI sure ignore those of us with TICK-BORNE patients including 20 diseases here in USA including:
neuroborreliosis/chronic LYME disease,
bartonella aka cat scratch disease,
babsiosa,
anaplasma,
alpha gal,
lonestari, and the list goes on and on!
your blue book, adult list of APPROVED IMPAIRMENTS included:
14.08…LYME DISEASE was shown in there but that’s it!
it was never expanded on. now years later the entire 14.08 has been deleted from the blue book! WHY?
************************
tick-borne patients want to know we are discriminated against by the ssdi process.
the ICD10 lyme disease/tick-borne codes need to be shown in APPROVED list of impairments for kids/adults!
ticks are serious!
they killed my husband 7.5 yrs. ago with lyme, bartonella, parasites, and lewy body dementia causing his hallucinations, etc.
ss needs to back to including 14.08 in there and EXPANDING it like i suggested above.
you want the codes, ss contact me since we are required to show our email address when posting. thank you!
got a load off my chest, but why wasn’t i allowed to start a NEW comment vs. piggy-backing on someone else’s?
bettyg, i.
the lady who was hung up called ss office in LOUISIANA…fyi to check up on!
MM
Hahaha
Barb M.
What a joke . Shame those who did what we were expected to do. No help for us.
Mike B.
This is ridiculous. I worked all my life. I’m white. Where is my special attn.
Stop giving ssi to people who have never worked.
Eddie R.
Exactly!! I have friends who claim disability benefits for stress and they get approved and they are no more stressed out than a guy who has a Piña Colada sitting on a beachfront 😡
Karen S.
Agree, so much fraud out there because the rules for disability are so vague and broad, and too many people have no value for self-responsibility. We all have stress. If your preferred career doesn’t work for you anymore, find something else! You should not be entitled to take SS insurance payments if 1) you didn’t pay the premiums (worked and paid SS taxes) or 2) are fully capable of alternative work. No private insurance company gives out payments unless you paid in and met payout requirements!
Really
Like your comment.
Ben
The UNprogressive, Marxist, socialist, democraps are destroying this ONCE great country using “EQUITY” to stir up racism in order to divide people and distract from their gradual takeover and establish a socialist hellhole! WOKE means stupid!
Jill T.
I will soon be living on $1,424 a month so I am trying to pay down any bills.
I do not fall under the level for any help.
I have helped out at food banks so I know what they offer.No thank you.
Paula L.
Agree. Equity for everyone and not just based on the color of your skin.
Gina R.
I work hard my whole life, and with my disability I don’t feel like I’ve been treated fairly I can’t even make ends meet. I get paid based on what I made but I work two jobs I worked very hard and now I’m sick and I can’t work? I’m doubting if I can even keep living on 1095 a month how is that racial equality?
Clifford C.
Gina, you are right. Social security retirement is based on earnings. It doesn’t matter if you worked 1 or 10 jobs. Regardless of race, everyone who had your earnings should be paid the same. Are you on disability or is your payment strictly on your earnings? If you are disabled, you should apply for disability payments.
Les
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we ALL IDENTIFIED AS AMERICANS! Instead of whining about being purple, or orange, Orbach, or blue, or brown. GET OVER IT and live as God wanted you to live. WORK and You will earn your daily bread.