Welfare Benefits

States Need Social Security's Death Data to Avoid Payment Error or Fraud Gao ID: HRD-91-73 April 2, 1991

GAO reviewed the feasibility of computer matching Social Security Administration (SSA) death data with benefit payment files for Maryland, Pennsylvania, and District of Columbia benefit programs to determine whether states paid welfare benefits to deceased recipients.

GAO found that: (1) between January 1986 and December 1987, the 3 states continued benefit payments at least 2 months after SSA files recorded the eligible recipients' death in 2,950 cases; (2) states' follow-up analysis of 229 of those cases confirmed the recipient's death in 86 cases, concluded that 85 recipients were actually alive, and could not determine the recipient's status in 58 cases; (3) states provided weak or inconclusive evidence to support their conclusions that some recipients were alive; (4) state welfare officials generally believed that receiving SSA death data would assist them in identifying false claims made under deceased recipients' social security numbers; (5) SSA expressed concern that states and agencies also independently verify reported deaths and provide advance notice before adjusting benefits, since its data were not always accurate; and (6) SSA believed that its Enumeration Verification System would require only minimal inexpensive changes to include reporting death information to states.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone:


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.