Today, I’m going to write, once again, about lapses in service and advice from the Social Security Administration (SSA). I cringe every time I write one of these kinds of columns. When I worked for the SSA between 1973 and 2005, I was often so proud of my agency. We were always winning awards for public service and program efficiency from the overseers and watchdogs who monitor government programs and services. I’ve shared this line before from a former colleague—who ended up becoming the SSA’s Historian. He said the Social Security Administration was “an honorable institution engaged in a noble public service.” But oh, so sadly, times have changed. Every single day, I get emails from readers either complaining about the poor service they received from the SSA—or even worse, about bad advice or incorrect information they got from an SSA representative. Complaints about poor service can be partly explained …