Strategic plan and situational assessment of the Social Security Administration

Social Security Administration

In 1935, Social Security was designed as a program to provide a safety net for those who are disabled and as supplemental retirement income. When it was first introduced, it was designed based upon the total amount of individual earnings during their career. As time went by, the program was expanded to include spouses, the children of those who are deceased and the disabled. These transformations meant that Social Security was no longer linked exclusively to an individual's lifetime earnings. Instead, it became focused on other factors such as marriage or permanent disabilities. This paper focuses on what is happening and it troubleshoots critical challenges.

Summarize the key issues confronting your selected organization after conducting and writing your situational assessment. Be sure to discuss the extent to which you think the organization is facing a "dire situation" or a "stable, unchanging situation."

The situation with Social Security is showing how a new approach needs to be taken to deal with the long-term issues impacting the system. One of the most obvious is to raise the age of retirement and eligibility standards. Since its inception, Social Security has traditionally supported a retirement age of 65 years old. However, over the last few decades more people are living longer and can spend more time working. At the same time, they are receiving benefits from their employers through 401Ks, 403Bs, 457 plans and IRAs. The combination of these factors is designed to provide them with added amounts of income. (Poterba, 2014)

Moreover, the fact that more people are living longer, with the average life expectancy sitting at 80. This is indicating how they can work more and contribute to the system. At the same time, advancements in technology could enable them to perform tasks which may not be as physically demanding. If the retirement age was raised, this would reduce the total amounts of demand for Social Security benefits. (Poterba, 2014)

This is combined with the way benefits are calculated. In the case of survivor benefits, there are inconsistencies in how they are applied. This is because of increases in the total number divorces. This entitles spouses, who were married 10 years, to receive a percentage of their benefits. If they remarry, there is a possibility the second spouse and beyond could receive additional benefits. This is provided that they meet the 10-year standard. These discrepancies are problematic, as they will pay several different people the same forms of compensation, in spite of the fact they are no longer married ("Spouse and Survivor Benefits," 2011)

Chapter 5 in Business of Government discusses the importance of understanding an organization's "main thing." Based on your review of the examples presented in the chapter, what is the "main thing" of the organization that you are reviewing and how well do you think the organization is positioned to be successful at that "main thing?" Explain your rationale.

The "main thing" impacting Social Security are several different factors which will negatively effecting its solvency. The most notable include: actuaries are using standards that were developed decades ago, people are living longer and survivors are receiving more benefits than they should. The organization is not positioned to be successful by embracing the concepts that were utilized in the past. As it does not take into account changes in mortality rates, the number of recipients and how benefits are calculated.

In Phase 2 Articulate Mission, Vision and Values you are provided guidance for reviewing and potentially revising the mission and vision. Based on your reading of this chapter, do you think you will need to revise the mission and/or vision for your organization? Explain your thoughts.

The mission, vision and values of Social Security need to be reformed. This is from changes in the number and demographics of recipients. For instance, the current budget is three and half times larger than what is allocated for the Department of Homeland Security. Since 1984, this has resulted in the total number of people who are receiving disability benefits to climb from 2.6 million to 6.5 million. In the future, this is expected to rise even more, with larger numbers of workers seeking out benefits. ("Social Security Reform," 2013)

This is evident in low wage and under skilled workers, who have no education. In the 40 to 65-year-old male demographic, those who are most likely to seek out some form of disability are two times higher among individuals without a high school diploma. To make matters worse many attorneys are specializing in helping them to receive their Social Security benefits. This is because they will use the courts to overrule the conclusions of actuaries. The result is that the more people are relying on the system as a primary source of income. This is problematic, as the current system is projected to become insolvent by 2036. ("Social Security Reform," 2013)

After reading the description of Phase 4 Agree on Priorities, identify, at a high level the goals that you think you will incorporate for your selected organization based on input from the situational assessment. If you were able to locate an existing strategic plan for your organization how are your proposed goals different from the ones in the organization's current strategic plan.

The most important high level goals are showing how Social Security is in need of urgent reforms. For example, the way benefits are calculated could be changed to the total number of payouts and force beneficiaries to utilize alternative sources. The combination of these factors will make the program more responsive to changes in mortality rates and it will deal with the root causes of the problem. (Poterba, 2014)