U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) recently highlighted $1.6 billion in overpayments in fiscal year 2014 by the Social Security Administration (SSA), warning that the government must do more to protect taxpayer money.
“I care about protecting Americans who rely on Social Security,” Reed said. “It is not right that the Social Security Administration can be so careless with taxpayer money, which is why I pushed these reforms to the finish line.”
Ineligible disability insurance recipients who had returned to work and earned too much money received the majority of the overpayments, SSA said, while the leading cause of disability insurance overpayments over the last five years was due to administrative error.
The most common instance of overpayment followed notification of work activity by the SSA from a disability insurance recipient wherein SSA did not take timely or appropriate action to adjust the payment.
“The frequency of overpayments demonstrated the need to modernize the complex and outdated reporting system,” Reed said. “That is why we passed reforms that support disabled individuals, especially those who return to work, and prevent this government waste from happening.”
Reed championed the passage of legislation in November that would prevent wasteful government spending through the reform and modernizing of the disability reporting system. The legislation includes the establishment of new methods by SSA for the reporting of earnings by beneficiaries, including by smartphone and through Internet options.
“I am confident our reforms will significantly reduce wasteful spending in the coming years,” Reed said. “We will continue working to protect American taxpayers by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal bureaucracy.”