Social Security Fraud

April 23, 2009
What's Happening with Seniors Benefits
1. Social Security’s Inspector General (IG) finds that the agency was paying $3.1 billion to about 173,000 beneficiaries in fraudulent disability payments.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays disability benefits to eligible individuals under Title II of the Social Security Act. An individual is considered disabled if he or she is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable impairment.

Currently, 7.1 million people are receiving disability payments.

Although disabled beneficiaries are required to report work activity, individuals do not always do so.

In July 2004, the IG found $1.37 billion in overpayments to about 63,000 beneficiaries because their work activity was not identified. This year, the IG conducted another investigation and found the problem had gotten worse.

As a result of the IG’s new findings, SSA recovered about $615 million of the approximately $3.1 billion overpaid due to work activity.