Deceased Beneficiaries in Suspended Payment Status

Submitting OIG:

Report Description:

Objective: To determine whether the Social Security Administration (SSA) had adequate controls to ensure it took appropriate actions for beneficiaries in a suspended payment status who may have been deceased.

Date Issued:

Monday, November 22, 2021

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Social Security Administration

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

A-08-19-50800

Location(s):

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Audit

Questioned Costs:

$214,284,555

Funds for Better Use:

$33,053,936

Number of Recommendations:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
08-19-50800.pdf	1.13 MB

Related Open Recommendations

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
2	Open	No
Develop information reports to identify beneficiaries in death suspense for prolonged periods and instruct management to ensure technicians take appropriate actions on the cases.
3	Open	Yes
Verify and post death information, where appropriate, for the remaining beneficiaries in the State Death population.
4	Open	Yes
Instruct technicians to take appropriate actions on the remaining beneficiaries in the Death Suspense population.
5	Open	Yes
Establish systems criteria to identify Old-age, Survivors and Disability Insurance beneficiaries in Address Suspense who are likely deceased, such as identifying beneficiaries suspended for prolonged periods who do not have activity on any Social Security Administration (SSA) records since their suspension. Once established, SSA should update policy to instruct technicians to search for death information.
6	Open	No
Develop systems controls to alert technicians when SSA receives death information from sources, such as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), for beneficiaries in suspended payment status.
7	Open	No
Revise policy to instruct technicians to conduct additional searches for death information when developing suspension actions.
9	Open	No
Clarify policy for establishing dates of death for beneficiaries suspended based on a report from Treasury of a returned payment for death.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

Open

Develop information reports to identify beneficiaries in death suspense for prolonged periods and instruct management to ensure technicians take appropriate actions on the cases.

Open

Yes

Verify and post death information, where appropriate, for the remaining beneficiaries in the State Death population.

Open

Yes

Instruct technicians to take appropriate actions on the remaining beneficiaries in the Death Suspense population.