Supplemental Security Income

Existing law does not prohibit people from transferring resources to qualify for benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program--the largest cash assistance program for the poor and one of the fastest growing entitlement programs. Between 1990 and 1994, 3,500 Supplemental Security Income recipients transferred assets, including cash, houses, land, and other items, valued at $74 million. Transfer values ranged as high as $800,000; most transfers fell between $10,000 and $25,000. The total amount of resources transferred, however, is likely to be larger than GAO's estimate because the Social Security Administration (SSA) is not required to verify the accuracy of resource transfer information, which is self-reported by individuals. Moreover, because the information is self-reported, SSA is unlikely to detect unreported transfers. Without a transfer-of-resource restriction, Supplemental Security Income recipients who transferred assets to qualify for benefits would receive nearly $8 million in benefits in the 24 months after they transferred resources. Many of these recipients could also have received Medicaid acute-care benefits at an annual value of between $2,800 and $5,300 per recipient. GAO estimates that from 1990 through 1995, SSA could have saved $14.6 million with a transfer-of-income restriction similar to that used for Medicaid. Such a restriction could also boost the public's confidence in the program's integrity.

GAO found that: (1) while the number of SSI recipients reporting resource transfers has increased, they are only a fraction of the total number of SSI recipients; (2) between 1990 and 1994, 3,505 SSI recipients reported transferring resources worth more than $74 million; (3) the value of reported transferred resources varied and the actual extent of resource transfers is unknown because the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not verify or investigate SSI recipients' self-reported information about resource transfers; and (4) reinstating the SSI transfer-of-resource restriction could reduce program costs, reduce Medicaid costs, and increase SSA administrative costs.

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: