From a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):
... Since SSI is a program of last resort, SSA requires that individuals apply for all other benefits for which they are potentially eligible, including VA benefits. In a January 2010 report,we estimated SSA paid approximately $1.3 billion to 21,520 SSI recipients who appeared to meet VA’s requirements for benefits.To conduct our current review, we identified 1,327 SSI recipients (from 1 of 20 Social Security number segments) who appeared to meet VA’s requirements for benefits. We randomly selected 50 cases for detailed analysis. ...
SSA improved its process of identifying SSI recipients potentially eligible for VA benefits. We estimated approximately 7,960 SSI recipients appeared to meet VA’s requirements, a nd SSA had not documented VA’s final determination for benefits or continued SSI payments even though recipients had not filed for VA benefits. This is 63 percent fewer than the estimated 21,520 SSI recipients in our prior report. ...
2 comments:
The same applies to people people getting SSA benefits. There are many people receiving SSA disability and SSI disability who years later would also be eligible for Childhood Disability Benefits because their parents are now retired or deceased. The annual SSI redet should check for this since the law requires them to apply for all benefits for which they are potentially eligible. However, I think many of these fall through the cracks. OIG should take a look at this.
In reality, there is no such thing as a yearly redet. Many go years and years without review and in some cases never. There is a diary system and indicator for both VA and SSA eligibility that is designed to check eligibility status. However it is not a priority if no redet is scheduled and is often overlooked, especially if the system recognizes eligibility after benefits begin. The redet selection process is a mystery to both managers and claims reps. The same is true for CDRs. Many are never selected or if selected not acted upon timely, if at all, due to the massive numbers of recipients/beneficiaries and lack of staff to meet ideal needs of the programs.
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