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By: FEDweek StaffSSA employees overstepped their authority to waive overpayments to beneficiaries in about a third of the cases an IG audit examined, resulting in an estimated excess waiver of $13 million.
The SSA has an “administrative tolerance waiver” policy allowing waivers of overpayments below $1,000 unless there is an indication that the recipient may have been at fault. Auditors examined a random sample of 100 of the more than 51,000 waivers below that threshold in 2009-2016 and found 34 of them to be improper.
The IG also examined a random sample of 60 of the nearly 2,100 waivers of above $1,000 in that time and determined 17 to be improper. “Specifically, SSA technicians improperly waived 17 because $1,000 was the maximum amount technicians could waive using the administrative tolerance provision, and there was no supporting evidence on file that established another suitable reason for these waivers,” it said.
It said SSA agreed with a recommendation ensure that technicians can only use the administrative tolerance waiver for overpayments allowable under the provision.
