In a review of a sample of more than 800,000 overpayments, the IG further estimated that the SSA incorrectly processed, or could have processed sooner, about a fifth of them. Image: Sundry Photography/Shutterstock.com
The inspector general’s office at the SSA has estimated that the agency overstated the amount it recovered from overpayments by more than $900 million over 2022-2024 “because the agency’s systems reflected overpayments as recovered by benefit withholding when they were not.”
In a review of a sample of more than 800,000 overpayments, the IG further estimated that the SSA incorrectly processed, or could have processed sooner, about a fifth of them. Issues included incorrectly recovering amounts that individuals did not owe; incorrectly calculating amounts that individuals did owe but “most of which SSA had not identified and will not recover”; delays in decisions on reconsideration and waiver requests; and prematurely beginning recovery efforts while such requests were still pending.
“SSA’s overstatement of recovered overpayment amounts [the amount reported for the period was $5 billion] may lead to misunderstandings about the Agency’s performance. If SSA does not address the underlying issues that contribute to this misreporting, it risks continuing to provide inaccurate information to the Administration, Congress, and public,” said the report.
The IG pointed to prior reports on the agency’s challenges in recovering overpayments, an issue that cuts across agencies and that has been the subject of reports by the GAO and IGs of other agencies, plus legislative and administrative initiatives for many years, making up the majority of improper payments (a category that also includes underpayments and payments not properly documented).
Management agreed with recommendations to take corrective action on errors the audit identified and to take additional steps to prevent similar future errors.
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