Where Does All Of The Money Go?
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:02 am
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Disability Payments
* In 2010, the Government Accountability Office released the results of an investigation of federal employees and commercial drivers who were receiving disability benefits administered by the Social Security Administration.[169] The investigators reported that:
the Social Security Administration does not cross-check disability payments with federal payroll data or Department of Transportation records to prevent improper payments. Instead, the Social Security Administration uses IRS data, which is typically 12 to 18 months old, thus making "some overpayments inevitable."[170]
across the government, "once fraudulent or improper payments are made, the government is likely to only recover pennies on the dollar."[171]
roughly 7,000 federal employees received disability benefits in 2008 while also receiving wages from federal jobs. The Government Accountability Office estimated that roughly 1,500 of these individuals "may have improperly received benefits" based upon their wages exceeding maximum income thresholds.[172]
in 12 selected states, "62,000 individuals received or renewed commercial driver's licenses after the Social Security Administration had determined that these individuals were eligible for full disability benefits. … [E]ach case would require an investigation to determine whether there were fraudulent payments, improper payments, or both."[173]
* Out of the cases identified above, the Government Accountability Office selected and investigated a nonrandom sample of 20 individuals based upon factors such as "higher overpayment amounts, the types of employment, and the locations of employment."[174] The investigators found that:
all of the 20 individuals were ineligible for the disability benefits they had received.[175]
the Social Security Administration stopped making improper payments to 10 of the 20 individuals before the report was released.[176]
18 of the 20 received a $250 "stimulus" check.[177]
because disability payment levels are tied to lifetime earnings, 10 of the 20 received disability benefit increases as a result of receiving raises in the very jobs that made them ineligible for disability benefits. In one case, a U.S. postal worker received three separate benefit increases over four years due to raises he received on his postal service job.[178]
one of the 20 received improper Social Security disability benefits while simultaneously working for the Social Security Administration as a legal secretary.[179]
one of the 20 received $108,000 in improper disability benefits while working as a security screener for the Transportation Safety Administration. As of 2010, the person was living in a house listed for sale at $1.8 million.[180]
the Social Security Administration "has the authority to charge interest and penalties" to people who have improperly taken disability benefits but had not done so in any of these 20 cases. Instead, several of the individuals "were placed in long-term, interest-free repayment plans." For example, a psychology aide who worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs while taking $33,000 in improper benefits was placed on an interest-free repayment plan entailing $20 monthly installments. This will take 130 years to repay, thus exceeding the man's life expectancy.[181]
Disability Payments
* In 2010, the Government Accountability Office released the results of an investigation of federal employees and commercial drivers who were receiving disability benefits administered by the Social Security Administration.[169] The investigators reported that:
the Social Security Administration does not cross-check disability payments with federal payroll data or Department of Transportation records to prevent improper payments. Instead, the Social Security Administration uses IRS data, which is typically 12 to 18 months old, thus making "some overpayments inevitable."[170]
across the government, "once fraudulent or improper payments are made, the government is likely to only recover pennies on the dollar."[171]
roughly 7,000 federal employees received disability benefits in 2008 while also receiving wages from federal jobs. The Government Accountability Office estimated that roughly 1,500 of these individuals "may have improperly received benefits" based upon their wages exceeding maximum income thresholds.[172]
in 12 selected states, "62,000 individuals received or renewed commercial driver's licenses after the Social Security Administration had determined that these individuals were eligible for full disability benefits. … [E]ach case would require an investigation to determine whether there were fraudulent payments, improper payments, or both."[173]
* Out of the cases identified above, the Government Accountability Office selected and investigated a nonrandom sample of 20 individuals based upon factors such as "higher overpayment amounts, the types of employment, and the locations of employment."[174] The investigators found that:
all of the 20 individuals were ineligible for the disability benefits they had received.[175]
the Social Security Administration stopped making improper payments to 10 of the 20 individuals before the report was released.[176]
18 of the 20 received a $250 "stimulus" check.[177]
because disability payment levels are tied to lifetime earnings, 10 of the 20 received disability benefit increases as a result of receiving raises in the very jobs that made them ineligible for disability benefits. In one case, a U.S. postal worker received three separate benefit increases over four years due to raises he received on his postal service job.[178]
one of the 20 received improper Social Security disability benefits while simultaneously working for the Social Security Administration as a legal secretary.[179]
one of the 20 received $108,000 in improper disability benefits while working as a security screener for the Transportation Safety Administration. As of 2010, the person was living in a house listed for sale at $1.8 million.[180]
the Social Security Administration "has the authority to charge interest and penalties" to people who have improperly taken disability benefits but had not done so in any of these 20 cases. Instead, several of the individuals "were placed in long-term, interest-free repayment plans." For example, a psychology aide who worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs while taking $33,000 in improper benefits was placed on an interest-free repayment plan entailing $20 monthly installments. This will take 130 years to repay, thus exceeding the man's life expectancy.[181]