Study: Social Security overpaid $1 billion

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON - The Social Security Administration doled out nearly $1 billion too much in disability payments last year, frequently sending checks to people who had returned to work, congressional investigators said Monday.

The overpayments grew by 15 percent since 1999, contributing to mounting debt of nearly $3 billion in 2003, the congressional Government Accountability Office said.

In some cases, the payments have continued for years because Social Security uses outdated earnings information to verify that recipients remain eligible to collect disability, GAO said.
.........

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, criticized the agency’s inability to act quickly. “The Social Security Administration’s failure to identify those who work and earn more than the law allows undermines the integrity of the disability program and hastens the insolvency of the trust fund,” said Grassley, who requested the study.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6276990/

[Bluebear]

1. Good reason to privatize Social Security!

What convenient timing of this 'audit'!

[EST]

12. The reason Social Security was created,

or at least one of the reasons, was that privatization does not work.The need for an insurance policy becomes apparent only when one is needed. People, when they are young, always seem to need that next raise before they actually get it, and the requirements of life at sixty are not at all clear at twenty one. Privatization of public resources comes up every generation and history has proven it almost always is a bad idea, however, no one ever remembers that it's all been done before.

The reason we band together and create a monopolistic bureaucracy called a government to take care of roads, common defense, law enforcement, etc is that that most people, at least to some degree, will not act in a common, public interest. They will do what's best for themselves, eat their seed corn, drive at the speed they think is prudent, park in the wrong places, and generally behave in a selfish manner. The reason we have laws is not just because it's a good idea, it's because people will not do what's right without them. Sure, you, yourself are an exception, but your neighbors are not.

[sandnsea]

16. Disability & Survivor's Benefits

It's not a retirement program, it's social insurance. Old Age, Disabilty & Survivor's. If we remind young people of that one little detail, they'll stop thinking privatization is a good idea.

[EST]

22. Yah, it's sellable, and needs to be.

Most folks, unfortunately, only see things in terms of their own narrow self interests.

[bleedingheart]

2. now if you knowingly accept payments that you don't deserve

isn't that a crime?

sorry but what this story points out is that a lot of Americans are dishonest.

[cliss]

3. If you think that's bad.....

just wait till these folks hear that they're going to have to repay these funds. That ought to cause some irate citizens.

I believe this is the same thing as a bank error. If the bank goofs and puts $1,000,000 into your account instead of $100.00, they'll take it back. If you spend that cool million, they'll come after you for it.

So in this case, the Social Security Administration is going to find all these "honest Abe's" and make 'em return it. heh heh

[bleedingheart]

4. yeah but if they had any sense they would have alerted Social Security

that they had that money and that they didn't deserve cuz it is going to suck when they have to take out a loan to pay back the government or go to jail for fraud.

My mom kept getting a refund for $800 from her credit card that wasn't hers...she kept arguing with the bank and they kept insisting that it was hers. She finally got it settled but she did what was right instead of waiting for someone to correct it.

[Rose Siding]

7. On its face, yes, but not everything is black and white

True, it's a crime but this looks like a crime waiting to happen:

snip>
People who work and earn more than $810 a month lose their eligibility.

[bleedingheart]

8. I agree, there are probably a lot of cases where it is

perfectly understandable....but any system is only as good as the parts and the recipients are a part.

I was a recipient of Social Security as a child when my father died. That system helped keep my family out of poverty and for that I am grateful.

[earthmuffin1970]

9. My kids are currently grateful recipients!

My husband is disabled, and has been for several years now. I am self employed, and pay out HUGE amounts in taxes. The benefits my husband recieves and the benefits for the kids are just under $1100 a month. That pays our rent, and our electric bill. My business is paying for our living expenses like food, gas, and my husbands meds. One of which he can't get, because we can't afford it. We are working to build our business up to the point where we can tell the SSA "see ya", because we are dreading his next evaluation. Because his disability is mental, they send him in to a shrink who has never met him before, who tickles the deepest parts of his brain, and turns him into a blithering mess for a good 6 weeks afterward. We are grateful for it, but can't wait until we are done with it. I think privatization is a great idea....but, unlike other great ideas, it probably will not see the light of day...

[Rose Siding]

11. What about privatization is a "great idea"?

I'm curious. btw, I think it's a lousy idea that will lead to the choice between being double taxed or poverty for seniors at a rate as yet unseen by the current generation.

Welcome to DU.

[Fovea]

21. I think all disability benefits

up to 50K should be tax free. Disabilities come with additional expenses and additional financial burdens.

[bleedingheart]

14. personally I am against privatization of social security

I think that it is truly a social safety net and a good one at that. I actually wish there were two things to help promote savings here in the US.

1. First $15,000 in interest income should be tax free.
2. A national 401K program for those interested in participating.

I view social security as part of a portfolio. It's the "relatively safe" investment. Kind of like putting money into a low interest bearing CD. It may not make you rich but it is good to diversify.

I don't think it is a good idea at all to throw all an individual's money into the stock market lottery.

[sandnsea]

17. A great idea???

You couldn't get by without it, but it's a great idea that people forget about disability insurance and privatize their retirement??? If they're doing something that isn't helping your husband, get your Congressman to contact the right people to get some changes in your husband's treatment. Don't stop getting the benefits you're entitled to or criticize the program that helped you get to a point where you didn't need SSD anymore. Don't hurt future families that will be in your position. Geez, louise. Some days.

[Andromeda]

23. You are benefiting from SS and now you say...

privatization is a great idea? There's a big disconnect going on with you and you obviously don't care about anyone else who needs Social Security to survive.

I don't get your reasoning. Seniors, widows with children and others depend on Social Security to survive. By privatizing SS you would be pulling the safety net out from under them.

Social Security is INSURANCE, not a pension plan. Why can't some of you people get that through your head. Geez!

[Mandate My Ass]

5. Translation: disability programs = bad: SS privatization = good

instead of welfare queens we now have disability cheaters.

There are no disabled people in America, only unscrupulous lazy people. :eyes:

What they conveniently ignore is that the Frist family defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by hundreds of millions of dollars. It's not individuals who game the system, it's crooks like the Senate leader.

[clydefrand]

6. So what the hell is a billion dollars?

How many billion have we spent and will spend on an unnecessary war and how many more will we spend on more wars to come?

I say all those receiving disability benefits even if they've gone back to work deserve it more than Bush's rich cronies. They probably became disabled any way doing the work for some rich asshole running a large corporation.

[wishlist]

10. The disability program is complicated- allows trial work periods

This article oversimplifies the program. Lots of disabled people can't make it on the amount they get from Social Security so they try to return to work, some succeed and some fail and many can only work part-time when they return. They are allowed a trial work period of at least 9 months of what is considered substantial work before they are cut off Social Security. Monitoring the work activity is very time consuming and difficult because Social Security workers are understaffed and have huge workloads. The fault for overpayments is mostly due to failure to report work by the recipients and slowness of recipients to respond when they are contacted about their work.

Back in the days in the 70's when people were cut off of their disability checks with dire consequences, there was a hue and cry of protests by the public and politicians so a lot more documentation is required before cutting off the checks.

[2Design]

13. this is like chasing nickels when they are spending $10 in iraq and

on bogus projects and to buy flowers for table settings and to shuttle the resident all over the country campaigning

this is rethug type news to get us up in arms over the little people get a little extra while the millionaires are racking in the dough

this is a distraction from the waste of aministration and congress

[Eye and Monkey]

15. yep, penny-wise and pound-foolish - and ultimately a distraction

and a pretext for the next round of promotion of privatization, as others here have pointed out.

[camero]

18. The war on the poor continues

Not only can't they make more than $800 a month, but alot of people die waiting for them to determine eligibility. I agree with Monica L. They are just demonizing the disabled as lazy cheaters.

Edit: Not only that but they are charging interest of $2 billion from people bringing in no more than $1500 a month. How low will they go? We haven't found out yet.

[leesa]

19. More Republican BS

They are so transparent in their lies. The DOD LOST a trillion dollars, let's dismantle them.

[BulletproofLandshark]

20. One Solution Would Be...

to eliminate the $40000 cap on FICA-deductible earnings and make the rich pay the same percentage of their earnings into SS as everyone else. The system could remain solvent forever in this scenario. I know the chance of that happening is exactly zero, however.