Social Security:
Staff Reductions and Service Quality
HRD-88-97: Published: May 13, 1988. Publicly Released: May 13, 1988.
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In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) quality of service to the public in processing benefits claims and the consistency and reliability of its processing during staff reductions.
GAO found that SSA: (1) improved its processing timeliness, payment accuracy rates, and pending work-load sizes between December 1986 and December 1987; (2) decreased service levels for processing hearing requests and claims processing accuracy for the Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI) Program; (3) planned to hire additional administrative law judges to improve hearing processing; and (4) attributed the drop in RSDI accuracy to field office processing of claims formerly processed at SSA service centers, but expected the rate to improve as the field offices gained experience. GAO also found that: (1) in a client satisfaction survey, 87 percent of the respondents indicated that they found overall SSA service to be good to very good; and (2) an SSA manager survey indicated that managers were positive about the service they provided, negative about staff reductions, and believed that employee morale was low. In addition, GAO found that SSA was testing a quality assurance program that would provide a payment accuracy rate to reflect currently adjudicated payment accuracy.
Oct 30, 2020
Retirement Security:
Other Countries' Experiences with Caregiver PoliciesGAO-20-623: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 30, 2020.
Sep 24, 2020
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Retirement Security:
Older Women Report Facing a Financially Uncertain FutureGAO-20-718T: Published: Sep 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 24, 2020.
Aug 28, 2020
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Retirement Security:
DOL Could Better Inform Divorcing Parties About Dividing SavingsGAO-20-541: Published: Jul 31, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 28, 2020.
Aug 13, 2020
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Retirement Security:
Older Women Report Facing a Financially Uncertain FutureGAO-20-435: Published: Jul 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 13, 2020.
Jun 16, 2020
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Retirement Security:
BLS Should Explore Ways to Improve the Accuracy, Timeliness, and Relevance of Its Cost-of-Living MeasurementsGAO-20-422: Published: Jun 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 2020.
Feb 27, 2020
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Private Pensions:
IRS and DOL Should Strengthen Oversight of Executive Retirement PlansGAO-20-70: Published: Jan 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2020.
Jan 9, 2020
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Social Security Disability:
Action Needed to Help Agency Staff Understand and Follow Policies Related to Prescription Opioid MisuseGAO-20-120: Published: Jan 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 9, 2020.
Dec 18, 2019
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Capitol Police:
Potential Effects of Raising the Mandatory Retirement AgeGAO-20-137R: Published: Dec 18, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2019. -
Millennial Generation:
Information on the Economic Status of Millennial Households Compared to Previous GenerationsGAO-20-194: Published: Dec 13, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2019.
Oct 21, 2019
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Military Pensions:
Servicemembers Need Better Information to Support Retirement Savings DecisionsGAO-19-631: Published: Sep 19, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 21, 2019.
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