Posted on 02/22/2017 3:31:53 AM PST by gattaca
The Social Security Administration paid $1 billion in benefits to individuals who did not have a Social Security Number (SSN), according to a new audit.
The agency’s inspector general found errors in the government’s documentation for representative payees, otherwise known as individuals who receive retirement or disability payments on behalf of another person who is incapable of managing the benefits themselves.
The audit released Friday found thousands of cases where there was no SSN on file.
Over the last decade, the agency paid $1 billion to 22,426 representative payees who "did not have an SSN, and SSA had not followed its policy to retain the paper application."
“Furthermore, unless it takes corrective action, we estimate SSA will pay about $182.5 million in benefits, annually, to representative payees who do not have an SSN or paper application supporting their selection,” the inspector general said.
The inspector general also found the agency paid $853.1 million in benefits since 2004 to individuals who had been terminated as representative payees by the agency.
The inspector general said the errors occurred because the agency did not keep paper applications supporting an individual’s case to receive benefits on behalf of another and did not update its system if their status was terminated.
Only six percent of representative payees had SSNs that were properly recorded, based on the audit’s sample of 100 beneficiaries.
Government benefits are also going to illegal aliens through the representative payee system. 17 percent of representative payees in the sample did not have an SSN recorded because they were undocumented noncitizens, the inspector general said.
Illegal aliens without SSNs are allowed to receive benefits from the government when acting as representatives for their minor children.
In response to the audit, the SSA said it switched to a new Electronic Representative Payee System last year, and transferring representative payee information “may have resulted in applications showing as terminated or not selected.”
The government defended the issuance of benefits to noncitizens and persons without an SSN.
“Representative payees play a significant role in many beneficiaries’ lives,” the SSA said. “We have approximately 5.7 million representative payees managing annual benefits for approximately 8 million beneficiaries. When appointing representative payees, we adhere to guidance in the Social Security Act (the Act).”
“Specific to this audit, the Act permits us to appoint, in certain circumstances, an undocumented alien, or applicant who resides outside the United States without a Social Security number (SSN) to serve as payee,” the agency said. “Specifically, the Act states we should verify a person’s SSN (or employer identification number) in our investigation of the payee applicant. However, the Act does not state that the applicant must have an SSN to serve as a payee.”
The “absence of an SSN is not a criterion preventing an individual from serving as payee,” the agency added.
Take care of America first: roads, bridges, parks, schools, PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!! There’s plenty of things we need. I would not travel to a foreign country & expect to be taken care of. A whole lot of Americans are sick of this.
Subj: Social Security Card - Did you know ? Facts how the dumbocrats destroyed Social Security
Your Social Security Card - did you know?
History Lesson on Your Social Security Card
Just in case some of you young whippersnappers
(& some older ones) didn't know this. It's easy to
check out, if you don't believe it. Be sure and show
it to your family and friends. They need a little history
lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether
you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.
Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated
the number and card were not to be used for identification
purposes. Since nearly everyone in the United States now
has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway
and the message, NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION, was removed.
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social
Security (FICA) Program. He promised:
��
1.) That participation in the Program would be
Completely voluntary,
No longer Voluntary
��
2.) That the participants would only have to pay
1% of the first $1,400 of their annual
Incomes into the Program,
Now 7.65%
on the first $90,000
��
3.) That the money the participants elected to put
into the Program would be deductible from
their income for tax purposes each year,
No longer tax deductible
��
4.) That the money the participants put into the
independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the
general operating fund, and therefore, would
only be used to fund the Social Security
Retirement Program, and no other
Government program, and,
Under Johnson the money was moved to
The General Fund and Spent
��
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never
be taxed as income.
��
Under Clinton & Gore
Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed
��
Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are
now receiving a Social Security check every month --
and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of
the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put
away' -- you may be interested in the following:
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----
��
Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the
independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the
general fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically
controlled House and Senate.
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --
��
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax
deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----
��
Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social
Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the
'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the
Senate, while he was Vice President of the US
��
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
��
Q: Which Political Party decided to start
giving annuity payments to immigrants?
��
AND MY FAVORITE:
A: That's right!
Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.
Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65,
began to receive Social Security payments! The
Democratic Party gave these payments to them,
even though they never paid a dime into it!
��
------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- ---------
��
Then, after violating the original contract (FICA),
the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans
want to take your Social Security away!
And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of
awareness will be planted and maybe changes will evolve.
But it's worth a try.
Why shouldn't the people who built this country work until they drop? Someone had to 'make it better' for all world's criminals and scammers..../s
But “there is no inflation” (riiiight) so the government can’t afford to give folks on Social Security a COLA raise...dontchaknow.
From each according to his capacity, to each according to his "pull", is how it should be stated.
The $1 billion should be recovered by taking it out of the salaries of current and former politicians who supported illegal immigration and out of federal funds for sanctuary cities, and by tariffs on countries sending the highest numbers of illegal immigrats.
Huh?
How is this even POSSIBLE??
I shudda read ahead
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.