The Social Security Administration is currently facing a crisis with a “record-breaking backlog” of open cases, which is leading to approximately $1.1 billion in projected improper payments to beneficiaries. A recent report from the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General highlighted that the backlog of pending actions has reached an all-time high of 5.2 million cases as of February, with an average processing time of 698 days for improper payment cases.
Improper payments include both overpayments, where beneficiaries are paid more than they should be, and underpayments, where payments to beneficiaries are erroneously reduced. If the pending cases had been resolved immediately, about 528,000 beneficiaries would have been improperly paid approximately $534 million. After 12 months, this improper payment amount rose to about $756 million, with many cases outstanding for more than 12 months, bringing the total reported improper payment amount to $1.1 billion.
While the Social Security Administration has put new policies in place to make it easier for beneficiaries to resolve overpayment issues, such as by loosening rules on clawing back money, the agency’s workflow still makes it vulnerable to inaccurate payments. Processing delays exacerbate this issue, leading to beneficiaries waiting longer for underpayments due or being faced with larger overpayments to repay.
The Social Security Administration faces challenges such as unexpected staff reductions, increased workloads, and less than expected overtime funding, leading to the agency struggling to meet its performance measure goals for pending processing center actions. This, combined with the agency’s lowest staffing levels in 25 years, has resulted in a situation where there are more beneficiaries relying on Social Security benefits but fewer employees to handle the workload.
The SSA OIG report outlined recommendations for the Social Security Administration to address the backlog crisis, including developing a workload and staffing plan, creating performance measures for pending actions, and establishing time frame targets to handle workloads efficiently. The successful implementation of these recommendations will largely depend on sustained adequate funding for hiring, overtime, and improved technology within the agency.
The Social Security Administration is facing a customer service crisis characterized by long phone hold times, waits for disability determinations, and inaccurate payments. Without sufficient funding in its budget, this crisis is predicted to worsen. While there are proposals in the Senate for increased funding for the agency, the House version calls for cutting the agency’s funding, posing a challenge to addressing the backlog crisis effectively.
The backlog crisis faced by the Social Security Administration is a complex issue that requires a multi-faceted approach to resolution. By implementing the recommendations outlined in the SSA OIG report and ensuring sustained adequate funding for staffing and technology improvements, the agency can work towards resolving the backlog crisis and delivering better services to beneficiaries.
Leave a Reply