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GAO-14-854R 1 (2014-09-30)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaaiin0001 and id is 1 raw text is: cAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 September 30, 2014 The Honorable Tom Coburn, M.D. Ranking Member Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate Disability Compensation: Review of Concurrent Receipt of Department of Defense Retirement, Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Compensation, and Social Security Disability Insurance Dear Dr. Coburn: The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) trust fund faces serious fiscal-sustainability challenges. The Social Security Board of Trustees projects that the SSDI trust fund, which provides benefits to individuals who cannot work due to a medical condition that is expected to last at least 1 year or result in death, will be exhausted in 2016 and notes that changes designed to improve the financial status of the SSDI program are needed soon.1 In a July 2012 report, we identified over 100,000 SSDI beneficiaries who received concurrent cash-benefit payments from the SSDI and unemployment-insurance programs.2 Given the findings of that report, you asked us to examine other federal benefit programs that could be overlapping with disability programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). This report formally transmits the briefing slides presented to your staff on September 26, 2014 (see enc. I), and provides additional details. Current law allows individuals to receive concurrent military retirement benefits from the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation, and SSDI. This report identifies the number of disabled military personnel who received concurrent benefit payments from DOD retirement, VA disability compensation, and SSDI during fiscal year 2013. It also provides seven case-study examples of disabled military personnel receiving concurrent benefits. Out of the 1.9 million DOD nondisability and disability retirees, we identified 59,251 individuals who received concurrent payments in fiscal year 2013 from DOD retirement, VA disability compensation, and SSDI. The payments totaled over $3.5 billion. From our population of individuals receiving concurrent payments, we also selected a random sample of seven individuals to provide illustrative examples. These seven examples individually received from $19,210 to $152,719 in concurrent benefits. 1 The 2014 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds (Washington, D.C.: July 28, 2014). 2GAO, Income Security. Overlapping Disability and Unemployment Benefits Should Be Evaluated for Potential Savings, GAO-12-764 (Washington, D.C.: July 31, 2012). GAO-14-854R Disability Compensation Page 1

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