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GAO-25-108005 1 (May 22, 2025)

handle is hein.gao/ptyonrns0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G AlO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Comptroller General Washington, DC 20548 of the United States May 22, 2025 Frank Bisignano Commissioner Social Security Administration 6401 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21235 Priority Open Recommendations: Social Security Administration Dear Commissioner Bisignano: Congratulations on your appointment. The purpose of this letter is to call your personal attention to three areas based on GAO's past work and three open priority recommendations, which are enclosed.1 Additionally, there are 30 other GAO open recommendations that we will continue to work with your staff to address. We are highlighting the following areas that warrant your timely and focused attention. Specifically: Preventing potential overpayments. SSA should take steps to find a cost-effective way to address potential overpayments in the Disability Insurance (DI) program, the nation's largest cash assistance program for individuals with disabilities, as we recommended. SSA's current method of identifying DI beneficiaries who receive Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) benefits is to rely on those beneficiaries to self-report their FECA benefits. SSA determined that establishing a data exchange with the Department of Labor for FECA program data would be a cost-effective approach to identifying DI beneficiaries who also receive FECA benefits. Implementing this data exchange could provide the data needed to better offset or reduce DI benefits when an individual is concurrently receiving FECA benefits. This would better position SSA to strengthen internal controls to prevent potential overpayments. Making service delivery more efficient. SSA should take steps to improve access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and services for underserved populations. Improving and modernizing federal disability programs at SSA is one of the areas on our High- Risk List. As SSA has expanded remote service delivery, it has launched new initiatives to reach certain vulnerable populations. However, it is not yet possible for most claimants to apply online. Only SSI applicants who also are filing concurrently for DI are able to file for SSI online. SSA does not yet have a plan with clear steps, goals, metrics, and timelines to help claimants apply for SSI benefits online, as we recommended. Establishing such a plan would help SSA enable more individuals to apply online so that SSA would not have to devote limited staff resources to help individuals who otherwise might apply independently online. 1GAO considers a recommendation to be a priority if when implemented, it may significantly improve government operations, for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue. GAO-25-108005 SSA Priority Recommendations Page 1

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