Social Security: Payment Accuracy Rates Are Overstated.

Abstract

Over 33 million beneficiaries-retirees, survivors, and dependents-received about $175 billion in Social Security benefits during the fiscal year 1986. These beneficiaries rely on the Social Security Administration (SSA) to calculate and pay the correct benefits. SSA measures how accurately it calculates and pays benefits by reviewing an annual sample of payment cases. Because accuracy rates are used as barometers of how well SSA carries out its fiduciary responsibilities to beneficiaries and the trust funds, GAO sought to determine the adequacy of SSA's measurement procedures and the accuracy of the rates reported annually for the Retirement and Survivors Insurance (RSI) program, SSA's largest program. GAO also measured the effect of errors on beneficiaries.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA187963

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accounting
  • Accuracy
  • Congress
  • Databases
  • Detection
  • Education
  • Errors
  • Executives
  • Health
  • Human Resources
  • Indicators
  • Measurement
  • New York
  • Numbers
  • Resource Management
  • Sampling
  • Social Security

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Inertial Navigation Systems.