Social Security

Failure to meet the Social Security Administration's (SSA) management challenges could have serious consequences. SSA provides benefits to about 47 million people today, and it will have to provide benefits and services to many more people in the future. The baby boomers are aging, and beginning in 1995, Social Security earning and benefits statements will be required for all workers. SSA is already seeing the effects of a significant rise in disability cases, an area already plagued by major processing delays. This third in a series of GAO reports examines SSA's current operations and its preparations for the future. GAO concludes that if SSA cannot establish the necessary long-range plans, efficiently manage computer-systems modernization, address work-force needs, and control its finances, it risks significant deterioration in its ability to serve the public efficiently and effectively. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Social Security Administration: SSA Needs to Act Now to Assure World-Class Service, by Jane L. Ross, Associate Director for Income Security Issues, before the Subcommittee on Social Security, House Committee on Ways and Means. GAO/T-HRD-94-46, Oct. 28, 1993 (10 pages).

GAO found that: (1) SSA needs to improve its strategic planning process, establish accountability and evaluation systems, modernize its computer systems, resolve problems in its disability program, improve service delivery, and retain sufficient qualified personnel to help meet increased workloads; (2) SSA will need a sustained effort to manage its long-range planning process and achieve its service objectives; (3) although SSA has developed a long-range plan that defines its service objectives, it needs a comprehensive strategic management process that provides it with a systematic means of developing plans, links plans to the SSA budget, and establishes performance indicators to measure its progress; (4) SSA needs to survey its customers to identify their service delivery needs and correctly assign service responsibility; (5) SSA needs to improve its information systems management controls, complete its service delivery plan, and address its data administration problems so that it can justify the costs and benefits of acquiring new information systems and ensure that its automated systems support operations; (6) SSA needs a human resource plan to meet future workforce demands and coordinate its human resource initiatives to ensure that a pool of effective managers is available, and improve its employee training and employee-management communications; (7) although SSA has attempted to resolve its debt management and earnings record maintenance problems, its overall financial management problems continue; and (8) SSA needs to establish a single manager responsible for all debt management activities and a financial management backup and recovery system, and make its financial statements more useful.

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.

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