HUDBlast October 20, 2006

COLA Increase Announced.

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 53 million Americans will increase 3.3 percent in 2007, the Social Security Administration announced today.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase automatically each year based on the rise in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), from the third quarter of the prior year to the corresponding period of the current year.  This year's increase in the CPI-W was 3.3 percent.
 
The 3.3 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that nearly 49 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2007.  Increased payments to more than 7 million Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will begin on December 29.

Additional information can be found on the Social Security web site at http://ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/2007cola-pr.htm

Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System Update

RHIIP has announced that authorized EIV Coordinators may be experiencing some difficulties in accessing the system. These include:

1) No longer seeing the link to the "Enterprise Income Verification" system in Secure Systems;

2) Receiving a "Login Failed" error message when clicking on the link to the EIV system in Secure Systems; and

3) No longer seeing the Income Information search options (i.e., by Project Number, by Subsidy Contract, and by Head of Household) within the EIV system.

HUD is aware of such problems and is in the process of correcting these, as well as other system errors described in their previous Listserv message of 10/05/06. For details, see our EIV System Updates for Multifamily Housing Programs Users web page at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/rhiip/eiv/sysupdates.cfm.

HUD’s goal is to have all of these issues resolved before the Social Security (SS) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits data become available within EIV on October 29, 2006. Be patient!!  These problems will be fixed as soon as possible.

Sign Up for RHIIP ListServ

We STRONGLY recommend that you sign up for the Rental Housing Integrity Improvement Project’s ListServ.  By signing up for this HUD service, you will get timely announcements about HUD changes that affect the Multi-family industry.  It’s where we get a lot of our information. 

To sign up, visit the following web site and provide appropriate contact information.  http://www.hud.gov/subscribe/signup.cfm?listname=Multifamily%20Housing%20RHIIP%20

(Rental%20Housing%20Intergrity%20Improvement%20Program)%20Tips&list=MFH-RHIIP-TIPS-L

 RBD does not act as a legal advisor nor as a regulatory governing agency.  The recipient should understand that any materials or comments contained herein are not designed for, nor should be relied upon as a source of legal guidance or as a final authority with respect to any particular circumstance. Ross Business Development, Inc. makes no warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty of any type. Owners and management should seek competent legal advice in developing and carrying out policies and procedures.  While we have been diligent in our efforts to provide comprehensive and accurate regulatory information, Ross Business Development, Inc. shall not be responsible for errors or inaccuracies.