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HRD-84-27 1 (1984-01-20)

handle is hein.gao/gaobabnhb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20548 NMuu PtZSCHAWK January- 20, 1984. Mrs. Martha A. McSteen Acting Commissioner of Social Security Department of Health and Human Services Dear Mrs. McSteen: Subject: Social Security Could Improve Its Management and Detection of Postentitlement Changes by Using Postadjudicative Appraisal Data (GAO/HRD-84-27) GAO has analyzed the timeliness with which people report to the Social Security Administration (SSA) certain events which affect their social security benefit. When these events (such as remarriage or death) are reported late, overpayments can result. While such overpayments might be recovered, they are costly because they result in administrative collection costs. We used SSA data on late reporters and nonreporters to determine to what extent certain beneficiaries are not reporting status changes promptly. Is late reporting a problem? SSA had no data showing the extent that beneficiaries report late and the resulting over- payments. To demonstrate how SSA might use data it already collects to systematically assess the extent beneficiaries do not promptly report events affecting their payments, we sampled, compiled, and analyzed data from SSA's Postadjudicative Appraisal System1 for three postentitlement events which affect payments--marriage, death, and cessation of school attendance. We found that most such events are reported promptly. However, we estimate that for 1981 that about 7 percent of such events were not reported within 2 months of the event and that about $65 million in overpayments were made to such benefi- ciaries. We could not estimate how much of this overpayment will eventually be recovered because SSA's debt collection and management system does not track collection of overpayments by event causing the overpayment. The change event occurring most 1The Postadjudicative Appraisal System assesses the quality of Postadjudicative Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance actions that result from postentitlement changes. (105151) 11594

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