If Congress doesn’t act, people receiving Social Security disability benefits could see a nearly 20 percent cut to payments at the end of next year, according to the latest version of the Social Security trustees report released Wednesday. The disability trust fund will be depleted by the fourth quarter of 2016, leaving the administration with enough income to pay 81 percent of benefits. The cuts would most immediately affect the 10.9 million people receiving disability benefits as of 2014.
In related news. An Oregon resident who transitioned to a woman more than three decades ago continued collecting Social Security disability checks under her male identity, fraudulently raking in $250,000. Court records show Richelle McDonald was born Richard McDonald in 1945. In 1974, Richard claimed disability because he was unable to work after suffering a serious arm injury when hit by a San Francisco bus.
McDonald in the 1970s also applied for a separate Social Security number under the name Richelle. She worked under that name from the early 1980s until 2012 while continuing to collect disability payments as Richard. McDonald pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud in December and was sentenced Monday to eight months of home confinement.