From a recent report from Social Security’s Office of Inspector General:
From 1 segment of the Master Beneficiary Record, we identified 13,825 primary beneficiaries who submitted their applications for DIB [Disability Insurance Benefits] in FYs [Fiscal Years] 2015 and 2016, received a DIB allowance, and had a prior period of DIB or were previously denied DIB. From this population, we reviewed a random sample of 200 beneficiaries to determine whether their DIB entitlement dates were accurate.
SSA [Social Security Adminstration] employees did not accurately establish DIB entitlement dates for 23 (12 percent) of our 200 sampled beneficiaries. Employees established incorrect entitlement dates because they did not accurately evaluate all relevant evidence, appropriately identify retroactive entitlement based on prior filings, or correctly calculate one beneficiary’s insured period. As a result, we identified improper payments of $373,906 related to 23 beneficiaries ($291,076 in underpayments to 20 beneficiaries and $82,830 in overpayments to 3 beneficiaries)....
Please note that OIG is saying that far more people are being underpaid than overpaid.
“[W]e project SSA established incorrect entitlement dates that resulted in almost $657 million in DIB and SSI improper payments. After we offset the improper DIB and SSI payments, the financial impact to the sampled beneficiaries was $272,833. Therefore, we project the resulting financial impact to beneficiaries was about $377 million. ...
Goodness gracious, they are actually looking and showing concern about underpayments. Believe me, these aren't the only underpayments going unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteHmm . And this doesn't count screwing claimants with partial favorables, wrongful denials, etc .
ReplyDeleteIf you meant to say gypped as in swindled, just keep in mind that as social norms change that's looked at more and more as an ethnic slur. The etymology is from the Gypsies (Romani) and how they were seen as petty swindlers.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Charles was referring to George Gipp?
ReplyDelete"I've got to go, Rock. It's all right. I'm not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, ask them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy."