Objective: To determine whether the Social Security Administration acted in accordance with its policies and procedures when it processed Supplemental Security Income ineligibility determinations and suspensions based on applicants’, recipients’, or representative payees’ failure to provide information.
Open Recommendations
Recommendation Number | Significant Recommendation | Recommended Questioned Costs | Recommended Funds for Better Use | Additional Details | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | No | $0 | $647,273,628 | Agree | |
Update policy for certain non-payment status codes (N05, N06, N18, N36, N39, and S06) we reviewed to: (1) clearly and consistently require employees to exhaust efforts to locate and contact recipients and obtain needed information before applying the suspension or denial and (2) provide examples in each updated policy that are relevant to the specific suspension or denial code to illustrate all aspects of proper development, including timeframes for initial and follow-up requests and determinations regarding sufficient information for eligibility, capability, change of payees, undeliverable mail, extension requests, and procedures to exhaust efforts. | |||||
2 | No | $0 | $0 | Agree | |
Develop policy and procedures for the Offices of Retirement and Disability Policy and Chief Information Officer to coordinate systems changes to prevent the use of obsolete or temporarily prohibited non-payment status codes. If unable to make systems change, SSA should identify and review records placed into suspension or denied using prohibited non-payment status codes to ensure they are corrected timely. |