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Social Security: Payment Accuracy Rates Are Overstated

HRD-88-10 Published: Oct 29, 1987. Publicly Released: Oct 29, 1987.
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Highlights

GAO examined the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Retirement and Survivors Insurance (RSI) program, to determine the: (1) adequacy of SSA payment measurement procedures; (2) accuracy of error rates annually reported for the program; and (3) effects of errors on beneficiaries.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Commissioner of Social Security to report all categories of detected RSI program errors. Such reporting should include: (1) case accuracy rates as well as dollar accuracy rates; (2) all errors detected during the sample period; and (3) the incidence of errors attributed to SSA.
Closed – Implemented
SSA agreed with most of this recommendation. Effective with data for the period ending December 31, 1987, SSA began reporting data on case error rates, whether SSA or beneficiaries caused errors, and excess as well as underpayments. However, it has not reported errors below $5 a month and those barred from correction by law. SSA believes reporting these errors would distort their importance.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Commissioner of Social Security to determine the extent to which regional assessment offices may not be identifying errors during the Payment Accuracy Study, and the effect such undetected errors have on the payment accuracy rate.
Closed – Implemented
SSA restudied 156 cases from two regions identified in the report as having possible problems. Cases that were most prone to error were reexamined. SSA found no errors. Based on review, SSA believes that both regions are performing reviews as well as eight other regions. SSA believes that demographics and economic characteristics are responsible for low-error rates in these two regions.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Commissioner of Social Security to determine what additional verification or changes may be warranted in the monitoring of regional quality review analysis.
Closed – Not Implemented
SSA studied the performance of two regions, as recommended. Its study found no reason to change the monitoring of regional quality review analysis.

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Topics

Accounting proceduresDisability benefitsErroneous paymentsFederal agency accounting systemsReporting requirementsRetirement benefitsSocial security benefitsData errorsUnderpaymentsBeneficiaries