It seems unthinkable, but many Social Security Administration employees in several states were told to slow down processing applicants' claims last week, apparently because of the timing of the fiscal year. The result is a delay in approving payments to people seeking it through Social Security disability.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal recently, last week fell between the federal government's 2011 and 2012 fiscal years, which apparently occurs once every fix or six years. As a result, top officials apparently directed employees to slow down so performance numbers for the next fiscal year could be boosted, which would result in potential promotions and bonuses.

Judges and employees in states such as Colorado, Arizona, Tennessee and Ohio were apparently told to slow down working through claims. Some say they complained about it, to no avail. On Monday of last week, the Social Security Administration's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review completed 230 cases nationally, when the average number for a day is normally about 3,000.

A spokesperson for the SSA says that holding or delaying cases is counter to policy and it "regrets" the occurrence, according to the Wall Street Journal.

There are about 750,000 Americans awaiting decisions who have applied for Social Security disability benefits. The delay is not sitting well with those who say the system is already too slow.

Some advocates say the SSA is too obsessed with numbers and should be more concerned with service and helping those who need benefits. One expert sums it up for the Wall Street Journal by saying, "It makes absolutely no sense, especially in light of the backlog."

Source: Wall Street Journal, "Disability payments slow as managers chase targets," Damian Paletta, Sept. 30, 2011