Social Security Administration: Longstanding Problems in SSA's Letters to the Public Need to Be Fixed

As intended, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has begun to address problems with social security benefit adjustment letters and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) award and benefit adjustment letters, which GAO identified as difficult to understand. Following the GAO review, SSA quickly corrected problems that were amenable to quick fixes--two errors that GAO identified with social security and SSI award letters that were previously unknown to the agency--and is making continuous progress in completing the comprehensive changes that GAO stated were being needed. SSA reported that it completely revamped the Social Security benefit adjustment letters in 2002. Regarding SSI letters, in 2002 and 2003, SSA added two worksheets (one showing how the agency computed the award and benefit adjustment amount; the other explaining how the agency computed SSI benefits based on living arrangements and earned income), and scheduled two other improvements for completion in 2005. Moreover, in keeping with GAO's recommendation to track the effectiveness of improvements, in 2003, SSA conducted surveys of customers' comprehension of social security benefit adjustment letters and SSI award letters to establish a baseline for assessing changes.