Social Security Oposes Controversial Anti-Fraud Examination Due to Escalating Allegations and Claims Delay
Loosening the Grip: SSA Calls off Three-Day Hold for Benefit Claims
In a U-turn following widespread criticism, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has decided to scrap the three-day hold on retirement benefit applications for fraud checks. Emails sent to staff members and reviewed by CNN revealed this change, which comes amidst a swelling backlog of nearly 575,000 retirement claims.
The decision to drop the hold could provide some relief for retirees, many of whom had experienced delays and confusion due to the new policy. The hold, initially proposed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, aimed to identify fraud by scrutinizing applications over the phone, but advocates feared it would be burdensome for senior citizens and others who may not be tech-savvy or live far from SSA offices.
The policy change is part of a larger reorganization at the SSA. The agency continues to refine its anti-fraud measures to flag only claims with the highest probability of fraud, ensuring timely processing while protecting against fraud. However, according to an internal document obtained by Nextgov/FCW, the review process only found two cases—less than 1% of claims—that had a high probability of being fraudulent.
The lifting of the hold comes as the SSA is feeling the crunch due to an increase in claims of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age and a law passed by Congress that boosted benefits for millions of federal, state, and local workers. The backlog, which grew from fewer than 350,000 in September to nearly 600,000 in April, has prompted the agency to push employees to work harder to process these claims.
Workers have been asked to increase their daily claim clearance rate by at least 10% for the remainder of May. However, the reduction in staff following a cull of around 7,000 workers and the ongoing process of reassigning over 1,000 employees from headquarters and regional offices to field offices could complicate the effort to clear the backlog.
Many employees have found the push to clear the backlog, combined with past measures like cuts to telework and the elimination of deferred resignation offers, to be demotivating. Critics argue that the overhaul of the SSA is occurring in an ad hoc fashion without proper consideration for the impact on its staff and the public it serves.
[Sources]1. "Social Security Administration, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Emails to Employees" – CNN2. "SSA Changes: A Look at the Social Security Administration's Continuous Improvements to Combat Fraud" – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities3. "Social Security Administration Changes to Telephone Claim Processing" – Social Security Administration4. "SSA Fraud Detection: An Examination of the Impact and Effectiveness" – Nextgov/FCW
[Enrichment Data]- To better identify and prevent fraud, SSA has introduced updated procedures focusing on issues like death data accuracy and overpayment recoveries.- The introduction of three-day hold on phone-based benefit claims resulted in a 25% decrease in processing speed, contributing to a backlog of over 140,000 cases pending for more than 60 days, despite the policy only finding two cases of potential fraud out of more than 110,000 claims.
- The Social Security Administration (SSA)'s decision to lift the three-day hold on benefit claims, despite criticism, is part of a broader debate in policy-and-legislation surrounding the balance between anti-fraud measures and general-news like ease of access and senior citizens' concerns.
- The ongoing refinement of the SSA's anti-fraud measures is not only influenced by finance, as the agency looks to boost benefits for certain workers, but also by politics, as critics question the ad hoc overhaul of the SSA and its potential impact on its staff and the public it serves.
