GAO-15-531 (12014032)

DISABILITY INSURANCE: Actions Needed to Help Prevent Potential Overpayments to Individuals Receiving Concurrent Federal Workers' Compensation

10/09/15

Recommendation 4: To improve [the Social Security Administration’s (SSA)] ability to detect, prevent, and recover potential [Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)] benefit overpayments due to the concurrent receipt of [Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA)] benefits, the Commissioner of Social Security should strengthen internal controls designed to prevent SSDI overpayments due to the concurrent receipt of FECA benefits by implementing the alternative that provides the greatest net benefits.

Open. GAO will continue to monitor SSA's work in this area. It will be important for SSA to follow through with these plans in order to help the agency identify and prevent potential SSDI overpayments.

Open. We continue to work with Department of Labor (DOL) to establish a FECA data exchange to support both agencies. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

GAO-17-485 (12016012)

SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME: SSA Could Strengthen its Efforts to

5/17/17

Recommendation 1: Analyze the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) data to determine why a large proportion of transition-age youth on [Supplemental Security Income (SSI)] with reported earnings did not benefit from the SEIE and, if warranted, take actions to ensure that those eligible for the incentive benefit from it.

Open. In February 2020, SSA reported that it was still working to resolve the issues with SEIE data identified during GAO's audit. SSA does not currently have a timeline for completing its analysis of its SEIE data. SSA also reported that it has submitted legislative proposals in several Presidential Budgets, most recently in fiscal year (FY) 2021 that would eliminate earnings reporting for youth, which would prevent similar concerns in the future. GAO will close this recommendation when SSA analyzes SEIE data and, if warranted, takes actions needed to ensure those eligible for SEIE benefit from it, or when all students with earnings receive SEIE because SSA's legislative proposal was enacted.

Open. We completed the revised analysis of the SEIE used by SSI recipients aged 14-17, and we corrected the data used in the 2017 analysis.

We are working to determine what actions (i.e., Administrative Message (AM), training, policy updates, notice, etc.) we can take to ensure that youth eligible for the incentive benefit from it. We expect to complete identified actions by June 2021.

Encourage Employment for Transition-Age Youth

GAO-17-464 (12016017)

TELECOMMUNI-CATIONS: Agencies Need to Apply Transition Planning Practices to Reduce Potential Delays and Added Costs

9/21/17

Recommendation 1: Verify the completeness of its inventory of current telecommunications assets and services and establish a process for ongoing maintenance of the inventory regarding services other than local and long-distance telecommunications.

Open. GAO will continue to monitor SSA’s efforts to implement this recommendation.

Open. We are working to implement an inventory management solution by the end of FY 2021, which will establish a process for maintaining a complete and accurate inventory of all the agency's telecommunication assets.

GAO-17-464 (12016017)

TELECOMMUNI-CATIONS: Agencies Need to Apply Transition Planning Practices to Reduce Potential Delays and Added Costs

9/21/17

Recommendation 3: Use configuration and change-management processes in its transition.

Open. GAO will continue to monitor SSA’s efforts to implement this recommendation.

Open. We implemented change-management processes in our transition, and our EIS Transition Program Management Office will use these new processes. We also shared with GAO the Agency Transition Plan that we released to GSA. The plan contains the roles and responsibilities of over 45 program team members.

The Quantum Leap initiative requires adherence to our Project Resource Guide, which contains the requirements for change management and configuration management. The Quantum Leap initiative is the first and largest part of our transition. We provided all the source and supporting documentation to GAO in January 2017.

In September 2018, we provided GAO with additional documentation. We continue our efforts and will issue a directive requiring all telecommunication services acquired through EIS must be managed via a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) within 1 year of acquisition. ServiceNow is our target technology for CMDB. We expect to complete implementation of this recommendation by the end of October 2021.

GAO-18-323 (12017004)

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD: Additional Controls and Oversight of Financial Interchange Transfers Needed

5/21/18

Recommendation 1: Work with the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) to explore options for electronically sharing data and limiting the reliance of the financial interchange [(FI)] process on manual data entry.

Open: RRB and SSA continue to discuss options for exchanging information electronically.

Open. RRB expects to complete its FI handbook and request that GAO close its recommendation by the end of calendar year. We are finalizing the development agreement that will allow technical discussions between SSA and RRB to begin. We expect to complete a Memorandum of Understanding in FY 2021 to exchange data between RRB and SSA.

GAO-19-58 (12018002)

CLOUD COMPUTING: Agencies Have Increased Usage and Realized Benefits, but Cost and Savings Data Need to Be Better Tracked

05/06/19

Recommendation 3: Ensure that the [Chief Information Officer (CIO)] of SSA establishes a consistent and repeatable mechanism to track savings and cost avoidances from the migration and deployment of cloud services. (Recommendation 35)

Open. SSA concurred with our recommendation and reported that the agency would take action to address it. In November 2019, SSA officials reported that the agency was working toward implementing a tool that would track cloud savings and avoidances but did not provide a timeframe for when the tool would be finalized. As of May 2020, we have not received a more recent update from SSA regarding its implementation of our recommendation. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Open. We plan to implement a total cost of ownership model for our cloud expenditures. When implemented, the model will track our cloud savings and cost avoidances. We expect to implement this recommendation by the end of FY 2021.

GAO-19-688 (12018023)

10/04/19

Recommendation 1: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should ensure that (a) the agency’s policies and guidance are specific enough so field office staff know how to apply complex suitability criteria for assessing payee suitability, such as by providing a minimum set of specific questions, and (b) additional regional guidance that is made available to staff is centrally reviewed for compliance and completeness.

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation. In April 2020, the agency reported that it is reviewing its representative payee suitability policy to identify areas that need improvement. They anticipate their efforts to implement the recommendation will continue until FY2024.

Open. We are reviewing our representative payee suitability policy to identify areas that need improvement. Our efforts to implement the recommendation will continue until FY 2024.

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: SSA Needs to Improve Oversight of Organizations that Manage Money for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

GAO-19-688 (12018023)

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: SSA Needs to Improve Oversight of Organizations that Manage Money for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

10/04/19

Recommendation 2: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should create safeguards in the [electronic Representative Payee System (eRPS)] to ensure that field office staff fully document all required information, such as the rationale for their decision, before approving an application.

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation and identified actions to address it. Specifically, SSA reported that, as part of implementing the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 [(SSPBA)], planned changes to eRPS will improve documentation of selection decisions. In April 2020, the agency reported that it is evaluating eRPS's functionality to determine if it can support the documentation of representative payee selection decisions. SSA anticipates these efforts will continue until FY 2024.

Open. As part of our effort to implement the SSPBA, we continue to evaluate eRPS’s functionality to determine if it can support all documentation related to representative payee selection decisions, including the rationale for such decisions. Our efforts to implement the recommendation will continue until FY 2024.

GAO-19-688 (12018023)

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: SSA Needs to Improve Oversight of Organizations that Manage Money for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

10/04/19

Recommendation 3: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should complete a plan, including timeframes, for comprehensively evaluating if and how to leverage external sources of information on organizations’ suitability, such as by conducting background checks or credit checks on organizations or key staff that handle beneficiaries’ funds or requiring organizations to conduct their own background checks on key staff.

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation and identified actions to address it. SSA officials stated that it is first focusing on implementing provisions of the [SSPBA] related to background checks for certain individual payees. After completing this work, the agency plans to evaluate conducting criminal background checks and credit checks on organizational payees and their staff. While we agree that implementing background screening pursuant to the law should take precedence, SSA should seek opportunities to implement screening for organizational payees at the earliest opportunity. In April 2020, the agency reported that it is researching existing data sources to assess whether to conduct credit checks on organizations that serve as representative payees and also determine how frequently to conduct the checks for payee suitability. We will consider closing this recommendation when these efforts are complete.

Open. We are pursuing research on using credit reports in our selection and monitoring of organizational representative payees. We awarded a contract in September 2020, and we anticipate completion of the research by the first quarter of FY 2022.

GAO-19-688 (12018023)

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: SSA Needs to Improve Oversight of Organizations that Manage Money for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

10/04/19

Recommendation 4: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should develop and implement mechanisms to systematically obtain and review feedback from organizational payees and communicate findings to SSA management.

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation. In April 2020, the agency reported that it is evaluating potential communication channels that can be used to implement a systematic approach to obtain feedback from organizational representative payees. We will consider closing this recommendation when these efforts are complete.

Open. We are using the "Engage SSA" tool to obtain feedback from organizational representative payees at the national level. We currently have no estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

GAO-19-688 (12018023)

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: SSA Needs to Improve Oversight of Organizations that Manage Money for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

10/04/19

Recommendation 5: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should (a) establish a plan and time frame for reviewing the predictive model’s design, (b) consider additional data sources that may allow for more timely reviews of the predictive model and enhance its effectiveness, and (c) ensure that subsequent design decisions are documented in sufficient detail so the development process can be understood and replicated, either by SSA or a knowledgeable third party, without further explanation.

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation in 2019 and identified actions to address it. The agency stated that it would pursue other data sources to develop additional screening tools and models to identify potentially high-risk organizational payees, but that it is unable to incorporate additional data into the existing model. They reported they cannot use new data to modify the existing model, which was built from cases and transactions that occurred many years ago. We recognize that the current model, which focuses on misuse findings and is based on historical data,

Open. We are working to re-score our representative payee predictive model. We plan to re-estimate the organizational model first, followed by the individual model. In parallel, we are finalizing our review of Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Nursing Home data as a predictive variable for inclusion in our predictive model. We anticipate completion by the end of FY 2021.

presents challenges for both updating and including new data sources. Therefore, as SSA considers additional screening tools and models to identify high-risk, low-volume organizational payees, SSA should develop a plan for revising the existing model that allows for more timely updates and results in documentation of related design decisions. In April 2020, SSA officials reported that the agency is finalizing a plan to revise the existing model and would pursue other data sources to develop additional screening tools and models to identify potentially high-risk organizational payees.

GAO-19-688 (12018023)

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: SSA Needs to Improve Oversight of Organizations that Manage Money for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

10/04/19

Recommendation 6: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should require field offices to contact payees about missing or problematic annual accounting forms within a specific timeframe.

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation. In April 2020, the agency reported that it is evaluating the representative payee accounting process for opportunities to implement processing timeframes and system enhancements to address problematic accounting issues. We await further progress on these efforts.

Open. We expect to implement accounting form processing timeframes and electronic Representative Payee Accounting system enhancements in FY 2022.

GAO-19-688 (12018023)

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: SSA Needs to Improve Oversight of Organizations that Manage Money for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

10/04/19

Recommendation 7: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should revise the annual accounting form to enhance its effectiveness. Such revisions could include (but not be limited to) more fully ascertaining the use of collective accounts, adopting stakeholders’ recommendations on using the form to collect more meaningful data, and reflecting best practices from behavioral science insights in the design of the form.

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation. In April 2020, the agency reported that it continues to engage with agency stakeholders to identify revisions to the annual accounting form and redesign that reflects best practices from behavioral science insights. In addition, SSA solicited assistance from the User Experience Group for the form design. They expect to finalize the accounting form revisions in FY2021. We await the completion of these efforts.

Open. We are working on changes to the annual representative payee accounting form. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

GAO-20-129 (12018014)

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Agencies Need to Fully Implement Key Workforce Planning Activities

10/30/19

Recommendation 1: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should ensure that the agency fully implements each of the five key [information technology (IT)] workforce planning activities it did not fully implement. (Recommendation 17)

Open. In November 2019, Social Security Administration officials provided the agency's recently issued IT workforce strategy for FY 2019 to FY 2022. We plan to review the strategy, and when we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Open. We have several initiatives underway to address GAO’s findings. This fiscal year, we will implement our newly developed IT Workforce Strategy (ITWFS), which maps our IT, cybersecurity, and cyber-related workforce to one or more of the 52 National Initiatives for Cybersecurity Education work roles. As part of the ITWFS, we identified the root causes of each staffing shortage and developed action plans to reduce the gaps. Every six months, we report our progress to reduce our IT workforce shortages to agency leadership and the Office of Personnel Management.

In 2019, we began addressing IT workforce succession planning with the Succession Planning Tool. The tool allows individuals interested in senior leadership to complete a competency self-assessment and to document relevant job experience and education. Employees and their supervisors can use this information to hone the skills and experience necessary for executive positions. Additionally, we conduct an annual Agency Skills Inventory (ASI) for employees in the IT management job series (2210). Beginning in September 2020, employees who participate in the ASI have the option of completing a self-assessment. The self-assessment will allow supervisors to assist employees in their personal development and plan for future training needs. We will use the data from the skill assessments to perform an enterprise-level gap analysis and monitor gap closures. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

GAO-20-120 (12018027)

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY: Actions Needed to Help Agency Staff Understand and Follow Policies Related to Prescription Opioid Misuse

01/09/20

Recommendation 1: The Commissioner of Social Security should clarify policies and procedures to remind staff that a diagnosis of a substance use disorder is not necessary to conduct a Drug Addiction and Alcoholism [(DAA)] evaluation

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation. The agency stated that it had revised related policies in February 2020, and had planned to issue guidance and video-on-demand training to further clarify policies and procedures in this area. However, SSA said its efforts to maintain mission critical activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed further implementation of this recommendation and a specific implementation date could not be provided at this time.

Open. On February 11, 2020, we clarified policy to remove the term “diagnosed.” We plan to release an AM in the third quarter of FY 2021 so that disability examiners may establish medically determinable impairment (MDI) for substance use disorders based on medical evidence from one or more acceptable medical sources. We will include examples of evidence that is and is not sufficient for establishing an MDI. In addition, we plan to prepare a video-on-demand training to clarify our DAA policy. We expect to complete our actions on this recommendation by the end of FY 2021.

GAO-20-120 (12018027)

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY: Actions Needed to Help Agency Staff Understand and Follow Policies Related to Prescription Opioid Misuse

01/09/20

Recommendation 2: The Commissioner of Social Security should ensure that staff document their rationale for decisions involving the Drug Addiction and Alcoholism evaluation process

Open. SSA agreed with this recommendation. The agency said it had planned to issue guidance reinforcing its policy on properly documenting decisions involving the Drug Addiction and Alcoholism evaluation process. However, SSA said its efforts to maintain mission critical activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed implementation of this recommendation and a specific implementation date could not be provided at this time.

Open. We plan to issue an AM in the third quarter of FY 2021. The AM will reinforce our policy on properly documenting cases with DAA involvement. We expect to implement this recommendation by the end of FY 2021.

Audit Number

(SSA number)

Report Title

Rec.

Date

Recommendation

GAO Status

(Excerpted)

SSA Implementation Status

GAO-16-34

(12014035)

DISABILITY INSURANCE: SSA Could Do More to Prevent Overpayments or Incorrect Waivers to Beneficiaries

11/05/15

Recommendation 3: Monitor its process for handling work reports to determine whether staff are taking action on work reports in accordance with proper procedures, and provide feedback to staff as needed.

Closed, Unimplemented. SSA did not agree with this recommendation and has not taken steps to fully implement it. As GAO reported in 2015, when SSA accepts a beneficiary's return to work allegation (work report), staff have 30 days to determine whether additional action is needed, such as a continuing disability review (CDR) to assess continued eligibility and determine whether benefits should be adjusted. However, not all work reports result in a CDR, and GAO reported that SSA lacks an oversight process to help determine whether work reports are not resulting in CDRs when they should. While SSA reports that it has methods in place to assess whether staff properly evaluated the need for CDRs for those cases already referred, SSA continues to lack an oversight process to help determine whether work reports are not resulting in CDRs when they should. Since GAO's report was issued, SSA gained the authority through the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 to automatically obtain wage information from payroll providers and use those data to help determine if beneficiaries are earning wages that would disqualify them from receiving disability benefits. SSA awarded a contract to a payroll data provider in FY 2019 to start collecting information. This effort will lessen SSA's reliance on having beneficiaries self-report income, and lessen the probably that staff do not correctly process this information. SSA also developed an online tool (myWageReport) in

Closed on 11/05/2015. We disagreed with this recommendation. We accept a beneficiary's return to work allegation (work report), but we do not verify the information at the point of contact. The outcome of a work CDR is not dependent on the accuracy of the work report, as we are required to fully develop and verify the work activity and apply appropriate work incentives. We use our work CDR process to verify work activity, not the work report.

Further, we already accept a beneficiary’s allegation of returning to work and input alleged/estimated wages. While we encourage beneficiaries to return to work, this action alone and its subsequent work report, does not guarantee a work CDR nor a future overpayment due to cessation of benefits. Beneficiaries are entitled to Trial Work Periods and Extended Periods of Eligibility, which provide opportunities for us to properly and timely develop earnings.

A-03-12-11204

(22012012)

Access Controls for the Social Security Number Verification Service

4/2/13

Recommendation 3: Develop consistent procedures for contacting employers who appear on the fraud detection reports to ensure the appropriate use of the Social Security Number Verification System (SSNVS).

Open

Open. We are exploring a solution that will require no enhancement to SSA systems, and we anticipate implementation of this recommendation by the end of the third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2021.

A-03-12-21269

(22013033)

Improper Use of

Children’s Social Security Numbers

4/1/14

Recommendation 3: Add a verification response code to SSNVS to notify employers when a child’s social security number (SSN) has been submitted for verification.

Open

Open. We are exploring the possibility of an SSNVS rewrite project. We have no estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-03-13-13015

(22013030)

Access Controls over the Business Services Online

6/5/14

Recommendation 2: Modify or develop a new control at the authorization stage to ensure an applicant is authorized to use BSO services on a company's behalf to help prevent unauthorized use.

Open

Open. We are implementing processes that will add, delete, and modify authorization for services based on a company’s direction to approve or deny services for an employee. We anticipate completing this recommendation by the end of FY 2021.

A-03-13-13015 (22013030)

Access Controls over the Business Services Online

6/5/14

Recommendation 3: Review the age restriction control for applicants younger than age 18 to ensure the controls are working as intended to

Open

Open. We are implementing processes in May 2021 to ensure that a Business Services Customer user is no younger than 18 years of age.

prevent unauthorized use of BSO services.

A-03-13-13015

(22013030)

Access Controls over the Business Services Online

6/5/14

Recommendation 8: Develop procedures to ensure Agency and contractor employees who register for BSO have a valid business reason and their accounts are deactivated when the reason no longer exists.

Open

Open. We deactivated the identified accounts on August 4, 2015. We are updating policy to ensure employees and contractors register for accounts only for valid business reasons. We anticipate completion by the end of the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-07-15-15030

(22015005)

Supplemental Security Income Overpayments Pending a Collection Determination by Social Security Administration

9/22/15

Recommendation 4: Rectify the issues, including the systems limitations and unresolved diaries found during this review, causing overpayments to be unresolved.

Open

Open. We completed our evaluation of the population of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) debts and developed a tiered strategy to address the high volume of complex cases. Initially we released 8,318 overpayment cases with overpayment balances greater than $20,000.00 for action. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, temporarily paused work on the second batch of cases until September 2020. Additionally, our new debt management product (DMP) will eliminate the occurrence of these sorts of cases in the future. We do not currently have an estimated completion date for this recommendation.

A-02-15-22114

(22015041)

Accuracy of Disability Benefit Payments Paid to Beneficiaries Who Receive Federal Employees Compensation Act Payments

11/13/15

Recommendation 3: Establish appropriate automatic alerts for Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) cases to ensure cost of living adjustments or other payment changes are developed timely.

Open

Open. We expect to implement this recommendation by generating a new alert to technicians beginning in September 2021 to assist with control of the FECA workload.

A-08-16-50030 (22016007)

Assessment of the Social Security Administration’s Plan to Achieve Self Support Program

9/27/16

Recommendation 3: Establish routine program monitoring and quality control reviews.

Open

Open. We continue to assess cost-effective options to improve program monitoring and internal quality control peer reviews. We are currently implementing enhancements to the Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) Control and Information System to streamline the process and improve functionality. In addition, we are working on a checklist for the PASS workload to ensure quality control. We anticipate implementation by the end of FY 2021.

A-13-15-15029 (22015030)

Cross-Program Recovery to Collect Overpayments

4/28/17

Recommendation 2: Consider establishing automated alerts to notify staff to review certain overpayments when cross-program recovery should be used to collect overpayments.

Open

Open. We plan to address this recommendation with our new DMP, which is a multi-year project with full implementation anticipated by the end of FY 2023. We expect the initial release in FY 2022 will enable us to collect, store, monitor, and report Title II and Title XVI debt activity with greater accuracy and timeliness.

A-04-16-50138

(22016036)

Social Security Administration's Actual Information Technology Costs for the National Support Center

5/16/17

Recommendation 1: SSA should develop a comprehensive process for reconciling equipment orders, delivery receipts, quantities invoiced, and asset inventory lists.

Open

Open. In January 2021, we successfully released the Asset Manager Portal, which tracks and confirms purchase and delivery of IT equipment (laptops, servers, printers, etc.) from a major blanket purchase agreement. Our next steps are to implement the functionality for all IT asset purchases and connect the purchases to the invoice. We expect to complete implementation of this recommendation by the end of the FY 2022.

A-01-14-34091 (22016046)

Supplemental Security Income Overpayments Resulting from the

6/12/17

Recommendation 2: Evaluate the feasibility of having automated notices processed in less than 7 days when the current print contracts expire.

Open

Open. The current contracts expire July 2021; at that time, we will be able to change the turnaround time for the Notices of Planned Action from three workdays to two workdays. We are working with the Government Publishing Office to obtain cost estimates for the possible change in mail dates for the Goldberg Kelly notices.

Goldberg-Kelly Procedures

A-06-17-50225 (22016045)

Manually Reduced Cross-program Recovery Overpayments

7/5/17

Recommendation 1: Consider the cost-effectiveness of implementing controls to prevent systems from erroneously deleting SSI overpayments.

Open

Open. Our new, comprehensive DMP will replace a number of debt management systems, some of which were responsible for erroneously deleted overpayments. The target date for the initial release of the DMP is the end of FY 2022.

A-06-17-50225 (22016045)

Manually Reduced Cross-program Recovery Overpayments

7/5/17

Recommendation 3: Consider the cost-effectiveness of identifying and re-establishing SSI overpayments erroneously deleted by Manual Adjustment Credit and Award Data Entry system adjustments.

Open

Open. We are currently working these cases. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-04-17-50267 (22017011)

The Social Security Administration’s Telework Pilot and Its Effect on Customer Service

7/12/17

Recommendation 1: Determine whether additional customer service or production metrics would assist in measuring how telework affects [field offices’ (FO)] ability to provide customer service and employee production.

Open

Open. We ended the telework pilot in FO on November 22, 2019. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are operating under maximum remote work. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-04-17-50267

(22017011)

The Social Security Administration’s Telework Pilot and Its Effect on Customer Service

7/12/17

Recommendation 2: Determine whether the amount of time FO staff spend to identify and prepare work to be performed while teleworking is reasonable, and if not, whether it can be reduced.

Open

Open. We ended the telework pilot in FOs on November 22, 2019. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the agency is operating under maximum remote work. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-04-17-50267

(22017011)

The Social Security Administration’s Telework Pilot and Its Effect on Customer Service

7/12/17

Recommendation 3: Determine the effect telework has on customer wait times when an FO experiences an unusually high number of visitors.

Open

Open. We ended the telework pilot in FOs on November 22, 2019. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the agency is operating under maximum remote work. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-04-17-50267

(22017011)

The Social Security Administration’s Telework Pilot and Its Effect on Customer Service

7/12/17

Recommendation 4: Determine the effect telework has on a hearing office's ability to provide support to an ALJ during a hearing.

Open

Open. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency is operating under maximum remote work. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-06-13-23091 (22016047)

Cross-referred Social Security Numbers

7/17/17

Recommendation 1: We recommend that SSA determine the feasibility of taking appropriate action to review all cases where number holders simultaneously receive benefit payments under cross-referred SSN.

Open

Open. We are filtering the listing to determine the actual number of cases that require corrective action. The processing of the cases may take additional time due to the limited availability of face-to-face contact appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-06-13-23091 (22016047)

Cross-referred Social Security Numbers

7/17/17

Recommendation 2: We recommend that SSA determine the feasibility of taking appropriate action to resolve any cases where SSA identifies an individual who receives benefit payments under more than one of his or her own properly assigned SSNs.

Open

Open. We are filtering the listing to determine the actual number of cases that require corrective action. The processing of the cases may take additional time due to the limited availability of face-to-face contact appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-06-13-23091 (22016047)

7/17/17

Recommendation 4: We recommend that SSA determine the feasibility of Cross-referred Social Security Numbers

Open

Open. We are filtering the listing to determine the actual number of cases that require corrective action. The processing of the cases may take additional time due to the limited availability of face-to-face contact appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

taking appropriate action to review all cases where number holders receive payments under SSNs that are cross-referred to SSNs that contain the number holders’ death information.

A-06-13-23091 (22016047)

Cross-referred Social Security Numbers

7/17/17

Recommendation 5: We recommend that SSA determine the feasibility of taking appropriate action to implement system controls to ensure death information input on number holders’ Numident records is also input on all the number holders’ cross-referred SSN(s).

Open

Open. We are evaluating whether we can include this recommendation though our IT Modernization efforts. We do not have a timeframe for implementing this recommendation.

A-06-13-23091 (22016047)

Cross-referred Social Security Numbers

7/17/17

Recommendation 7: We recommend that SSA determine the feasibility of taking appropriate action to remove cross-references to SSNs in cases where cross-referred SSNs belong to more than one individual.

Open

Open. We are filtering the listing to determine the actual number of cases that require corrective action. The processing of the cases may take additional time due to the limited availability of face-to-face contact appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-02-17-14048 (22017003)

The Cost-effectiveness of Vocational Rehabilitation Services

10/23/17

Recommendation 1: Determine whether the Agency should revise how it determines whether vocational rehabilitation (VR) services led to Social Security Disability Insurance trust and/or the SSI general revenue fund savings before reimbursing VR costs.

Open

Open. In FY 2019, we developed several recommendations to ensure that no cost reimbursement payments exceed actual program savings. We will consider findings from research related to the Employment Network Payment Structure, which we expect to receive in the third quarter FY 2021, as we develop a new set of VR proposals.

A-02-17-14048 (22017003)

The Cost-effectiveness of Vocational Rehabilitation Services

10/23/17

Recommendation 2: Determine whether the Agency should develop a strategy to increase the cost-effectiveness of VR services.

Open

Open. In FY 2019, we developed several recommendations to ensure that no cost reimbursement payments exceed actual program savings. We plan to consider findings from research related to the Employment Network Payment Structure, which we expect to receive in the third quarter FY 2021, as we develop a new set of VR proposals.

A-03-16-50056

(22017021)

Using Nursing Home Data to Determine Suitability of Representative Payees

3/21/18

Recommendation 1: Review and analyze The Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services nursing home data to determine whether it can be a tool to assess the suitability of organizational payees that are nursing homes to ensure they are serving beneficiaries’ best interests, especially those organizational payees that might not meet SSA’s monitoring criteria.

Open

Open. We are pursuing research on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services nursing home database in our representative payee selection and monitoring process. This research will inform and guide our next steps related to developing evidence-based policy related to nursing homes serving as representative payees. We awarded a contract August 2020, and we anticipate the completion of the contractor's research by the end of the first quarter in FY 2022.

A-07-18-50294 (22017050)

Manual Adjustments to Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Overpayments

4/9/18

Recommendation 3: Provide employees additional training on computing and verifying the validity of actions on overpayments that need to be adjusted, including training on Manual Adjustment, Credit, and Award Data Entry (MACADE) inputs for overpayment adjustments and deletions.

Open

Open. We are providing Program Center (PC) refresher training that addresses the issues identified in this audit. All PCs have completed the training with the exception of PC7. PC7 employees will complete the training once they return to the office. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-07-18-50294 (22017050)

Manual Adjustments to Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Overpayments

4/9/18

Recommendation 4: Identify error-prone MACADE inputs for overpayment adjustments and consider the cost-effectiveness of establishing user messages to alert employees of common errors before they complete their inputs.

Open

Open. We continue to review sample cases to determine if there were common errors that a specific alert, if created, would address. As both IT Modernization and the DMP will enhance overpayment processing, we will continue discussions to determine if this area is within the scope of either project. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-02-16-50066 (22018003)

Controls over Supplemental Security Income Applicants/

Recipients’ Transferring Ownership of Resources

5/29/18

Recommendation 3: Determine the value of automating the transfer of ineligibility periods calculated on the Property/Cash Given or Sold screen to the Supplemental Security Record (SSR). If it adds value, make that change.

Open

Open. We determined there is value in automating the transfer of ineligibility period from the property/cash given or sold screen to the SSR and to release the required notice. We will continue to consider this recommendation under our IT Modernization efforts.

A-02-16-50066 (22018003)

Controls over Supplemental Security Income Applicants/

Recipients’ Transferring Ownership of Resources

5/29/18

Recommendation 4: Determine the value of automating the release of the required notices. If it adds value, make that change.

Open

Open. We will continue to consider this recommendation under our IT Modernization efforts.

A-09-17-50202 (22017044)

Beneficiaries in Suspended Payment Status Pending the Selection of a Representative Payee

6/1/18

Recommendation 4: Include on its Tracking Application all beneficiaries whose payments it withheld pending the selection of a representative payee.

Open

Open. We plan to incorporate a regional tracking application into the electronic Representative Payee System. We anticipate completion by September 2023.

A-07-18-50278 (22018008)

Overpayments Not Collected Through Benefit Withholding

7/17/18

Recommendation 2: Determine whether, as part of its Debt Management modernization initiative, it could automate the manual actions currently required to ensure it initiates benefit withholding at the appropriate time.

Open

Open. We plan to address this recommendation with our new DMP, which is a multi-year project with full implementation anticipated by the end of FY 2023. We expect the initial release of DMP in FY 2022 will enable us to collect, store, monitor, and report Title II and Title XVI debt activity with accuracy, and timeliness.

A-07-18-50278 (22018008)

Overpayments Not Collected Through Benefit Withholding

7/17/18

Recommendation 3: Emphasize to managers and employees, through training and reminders, the importance of addressing aged due-process requests and benefit withholding actions.

Open

Open. We are providing PC refresher training that addresses the issues identified in this audit. All PCs have completed the training with the exception of PC7. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PC 7 employees will complete the training once they return to the office. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-07-17-50182 (22018012)

Underpayments Paid on Supplemental Security Income Records with

7/23/18

Recommendation 1: Determine whether, as part of its IT systems modernization, it could limit the number of manual actions required to ensure it withholds SSI prior month underpayments from SSI recipients to recover outstanding overpayments.

Open

Open. We are considering whether we can incorporate limiting the number of manual actions required to withhold prior month underpayments from SSI recipients to recover outstanding overpayments. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

Outstanding Overpayments

A-08-18-50582

(22018020)

Accuracy of Month of Entitlement Determination for Supplemental Security Income Recipients Awarded Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits

7/27/18

Recommendation 2: Clarify policies and procedures to assist SSA technicians in establishing correct [Old Age, Survivor and Disability Insurance (OASDI) months of entitlement (MOE)] for SSI recipients.

Open

Open. In October 2020, we published an MOE Determination Tool to assist technicians in establishing correct OASDI MOEs for SSI recipients. We anticipate releasing additional policy reminders in the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-04-16-50145 (22018024)

The Social Security Administration’s Use of Administrative Tolerance Waivers

8/2/18

Recommendation 1: As part of its Debt Management modernization initiative, establish controls in the new [DMP] that ensure technicians can only use the administrative tolerance waiver for overpayments allowable under the provision.

Open

Open. We plan to address this recommendation with our new DMP, which is a multi-year project with full implementation anticipated by the end of FY 2023. We expect the initial release of DMP in FY 2022 will enable us to collect, store, monitor, and report Title II and Title XVI debt activity with accuracy, and timeliness.

A-02-17-50140 (22018001)

Institutionalized Beneficiaries Who Have Earnings

8/20/18

Recommendation 2: Determine whether there is value in establishing a control to identify Primary Insurance Amount increases caused by earnings added to the records of beneficiaries after they began residing in institutions, especially those with higher earnings amounts or older beneficiaries. If such a

Open

Open. We will address this recommendation through our IT Modernization efforts. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

change would add value, make the change.

A-02-17-50140 (22018001)

Institutionalized Beneficiaries Who Have Earnings

8/20/18

Recommendation 3: Re-examine the controls to prevent the erroneous posting of earnings for individuals with previously removed or disclaimed earnings.

Open

Open. We are considering this recommendation as part of our IT Modernization effort. We do not anticipate implementation until FY 2023 or later.

A-14-17-50097

(22017016)

The Social Security Administration’s Comprehensive Integrity Review Process

9/10/18

Recommendation 1: Conduct a comprehensive review of Comprehensive Integrity Review Process (CIRP) to determine whether it identifies potentially improper or fraudulent transactions in the most cost-effective manner.

Open

Open. We will resolve this recommendation in a phased approach ending in December 2021 with full implementation of the Re-engineered Comprehensive Integrity Review Program (RCIRP).

A-14-17-50097

(22017016)

The Social Security Administration’s Comprehensive Integrity Review Process

9/10/18

Recommendation 2: Review CIRP alert criteria to determine whether (a) existing criteria remain appropriate and (b) additional criteria should be developed and implemented.

Open

Open. We will resolve this recommendation in a phased approach ending in December 2021 with full implementation of RCIRP.

A-14-17-50097 (22017016)

The Social Security Administration’s Comprehensive Integrity Review Process

9/10/18

Recommendation 3: Review CIRP guidance, including the Integrity Review Handbook [(IRH)], to ensure it is accurate and current.

Open

Open. We continue to review and update the IRH to ensure it is accurate and current. As we migrate cases from the CIRP to RCIRP, we are updating the relevant IRH sections to reflect RCIRP business processes and procedures. We will complete our actions on this recommendation once we migrate all criteria to RCIRP by December 2021.

A-02-18-50543 (22018028)

9/13/18

Recommendation 1: Review and take appropriate actions to correct the Interim Benefits Paid After a Disability Claim is Denied

Open

Open. We completed our processing instructions, and we are finalizing the Title II and Title XVI notices required by our processing instructions. We expect to complete processing of these cases by the end of FY 2021.

cases we determined were not accurately processed.

A-02-14-34090 (22018038)

Accuracy of the Determination of Workers’ Compensation Offset During Disability Insurance Claims Processing

9/25/18

Recommendation 4: During systems modernization, consider requiring that reporting sheets be included in printed applications provided to beneficiaries in every case. The reporting sheets should not be an optional selection staff have to select to include them in the printed applications.

Open

Open. We continue to evaluate the appropriate application to satisfy the recommendation. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-07-18-50257

(22018019)

Accuracy of Disability Entitlement Dates for Primary Beneficiaries Who Previously Filed Disability Claims

12/21/18

Recommendation 2: Determine the feasibility of expanding existing screening tools in the [Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB)] claims process to identify retroactive entitlement based on prior filings.

Open

Open. We are considering this recommendation as part of our IT Modernization effort. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-07-18-50257

(22018019)

Accuracy of Disability Entitlement Dates for Primary Beneficiaries Who

12/21/18

Recommendation 4: Determine whether we need to review additional beneficiaries who had prior [DIB] filings and may have incorrect entitlement dates.

Open

Open. We are completing an internal sample review and a work year estimate to address the cases before moving forward. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

Previously Filed Disability Claims

A-09-15-15039

(22018022)

Beneficiaries Whose Payments Have Been Suspended and Who Have Death Information on the Numident

12/21/18

Recommendation 2: Develop controls for suspended beneficiaries with death information on the Numident to ensure they are resolved in a timely manner.

Open

Open. We are working to determine the most effective way of terminating these records in order to reduce the volume of cases we release to field offices. We do not have an estimated completion date for this recommendation.

A-15-18-50612

(22018016)

Supplemental Security Income Underpayments

12/28/18

Recommendation 1: Implement systems controls to ensure compliance with current policy, including the two-Personal Identification Number review process.

Open

Open. We will address this recommendation through our IT Modernization effort. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-15-18-50612

(22018016)

Supplemental Security Income Underpayments

12/28/18

Recommendation 2: Implement data analytics and review processes to identify underpayment transactions that require further analysis.

Open

Open. We are conducting a study to identify whether there are underpayment transactions that require further analysis. We expect to complete the study in the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-05-18-50620

(22018045)

Processing of Deferred Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits with a High Risk of Benefit Payment Error

03/15/19

Recommendation 1: Correct the 54 cases with improper payments we identified

Open

Open. We are currently processing these cases. We anticipate completion in the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-05-18-50620

(22018045)

Processing of Deferred Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits with a High Risk of Benefit Payment Error

03/15/19

Recommendation 2: Correct the two cases with incorrect overpayments we identified.

Open

Open. We anticipate completion of the cases in the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-05-18-50620

(22018045)

Processing of Deferred Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits with a High Risk of Benefit Payment Error

03/15/19

Recommendation 3: Review the population of deferred OASDI cases we identified to assess whether additional cases need correction.

Open

Open. We will use the results from our analysis of recommendations 1 and 2 to determine if we will take additional action. We do not have an estimated completion date for this recommendation.

A-07-18-50622

(22018049)

SSA's Application of Due-process Provisions for Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Overpayments

03/29/19

Recommendation 2: Improve its alert and quality review processes for overpayments requiring manual notices to ensure notices are complete, accurate, and sent timely.

Open

Open. All PCs completed the National Overpayment Refresher Training with the exception of PC7. The training was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees will complete the training upon return to working in the office. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-07-18-50622

(22018049)

SSA's Application of Due-process

03/29/19

Recommendation 3: Revise systems programming to ensure automated overpayment notices contain all required due-process language.

Open

Open. We recognize that our system combines the language for the work Continuing Disability Review (CDR) Final Notice and the Overpayment Notice into one consolidated notice. We are working on solutions to address this recommendation. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

Provisions for Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Overpayments

A-04-18-50651

(22019003)

Recovery of Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Overpayments When a Contingently Liable Beneficiary Stops Receiving Benefits

05/15/19

Recommendation 1: Review the 1,030 terminated contingently liable records and take action to adjust benefits.

Open

Open. We finalized the processing instructions and released the cases to payment centers in October 2020. We anticipate completing the cases in the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-04-18-50651

(22019003)

Recovery of Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Overpayments When a Contingently Liable Beneficiary Stops Receiving Benefits

05/15/19

Recommendation 2: Review and take action to remove the overpayment balance from the 4,690 terminated contingently liable beneficiaries and transfer the debt balance to the original debtor for an immediate payment of the overpayment or seek recovery through additional debt collection tools.

Open

Open. We finalized the processing instructions and released the cases to payment centers in October 2020. We anticipate completing the cases in the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-04-18-50651

(22019003)

Recovery of Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Overpayments

05/15/19

Recommendation 3: Establish controls to remove the outstanding debt from terminated contingently liable beneficiaries and transfer the balance to the original debtor for an immediate payment of the

Open

Open. We plan to address this recommendation with our new DMP, which is a multi-year project with full implementation anticipated by the end of FY 2023.

When a Contingently Liable Beneficiary Stops Receiving Benefits

overpayment or seek recovery through additional debt collection tools when available.

A-15-18-50678

(22019010)

SSA's Compliance with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 in the Fiscal Year 2018 Agency Financial Report

05/20/19

Recommendation 1: Develop and/or enhance systems to capture data that measure the effectiveness of corrective actions.

Open

Open. As we continue to identify and measure the root causes of improper payments and align our corrective actions with those causes, we will look for opportunities to assess effectiveness, where feasible. We do not have an estimated completion date for this recommendation.

A-13-17-50169

(22017049)

Follow Up: Minor Children Receiving Social Security Payments Without a Representative Payee

06/06/19

Recommendation 2: Implement a process to periodically identify all children under age 17 and 5 months being paid directly; and determine and document whether the Agency needs to appoint representative payees.

Open

Open. We have identified the cases that meet the recommendation criteria and developed instructions to address the cases. We released the cases in January 2021. We anticipate completing the cases by the end of September 2021.

A-01-18-50347

(22019011)

Medical Improvement Review Standard Exceptions Other

06/06/19

Recommendation 1: We recommend SSA provide employees, at the Agency and the State [Disability Determination Servicess] who make disability determinations, additional training and guidance on the proper use of MIRS exceptions.

Open

Open. We sent out training information and released an Administrative Message in the second quarter of FY 2021. We expect to publish the policy updates in May 2021. We anticipate completion of this recommendation in June 2021.

Than Failure to Cooperate

A-07-18-50676

(22019002)

Follow-Up: Underpayments on Prior Supplemental Security Income Records

06/07/19

Recommendation 4: Implement a diary alert for all outstanding underpayments on prior SSI records.

Open

Open. We determined implementing a diary alert for outstanding underpayments is not feasible. We continue to identify actionable underpayments and to address case corrections on a flow basis. Taking action on the underpayments will help us determine our next steps to implement this recommendation. We do not currently have an estimated implementation date.

A-09-16-50077

(22018050)

Follow-up: Aged Beneficiaries Whose Benefits Have Been Suspended for Address, Whereabouts Unknown, or Foreign Enforcement

08/06/19

Recommendation 1: Revise its policy to terminate benefits for beneficiaries it could not locate and whose payments it had suspended for address reasons.

Open

Open. We plan to revise our Title II undeliverable mail policy to reflect the audit recommendation by the end of FY 2021. In addition, we will revise our whereabouts unknown policy consistent with the updated undeliverable mail policy.

A-09-16-50077

(22018050)

Follow-up: Aged Beneficiaries Whose Benefits Have Been Suspended for Address, Whereabouts Unknown, or

08/06/19

Recommendation 2: Based on its revised policy, terminate benefits for the 59 beneficiaries identified by our audit.

Open

Open. Implementation of this recommendation depends on the actions we take for recommendation 1. We expect to complete this recommendation in FY 2022.

Foreign Enforcement

A-09-16-50077

(22018050)

Follow-up: Aged Beneficiaries Whose Benefits Have Been Suspended for Address, Whereabouts Unknown, or Foreign Enforcement

08/06/19

Recommendation 3: Based on its revised policy, identify and terminate benefits for the estimated 6,374 beneficiaries identified by our current audit who could not be located and whose benefits were suspended for 7 years or longer.

Open

Open. Implementation of this recommendation depends on the actions we take for recommendation 1. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-09-16-50077

(22018050)

Follow-up: Aged Beneficiaries Whose Benefits Have Been Suspended for Address, Whereabouts Unknown, or Foreign Enforcement

08/06/19

Recommendation 4: Based on its revised policy, identify and take appropriate action for the 20,710 beneficiaries identified by our 2011 audit whose benefits remained in suspense

Open

Open. Implementation of this recommendation depends on the actions we take for recommendation 1. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-09-16-50077

(22018050)

Follow-up: Aged Beneficiaries Whose Benefits Have Been Suspended for

08/06/19

Recommendation 5: Implement controls to identify and terminate benefits to beneficiaries whose benefits were suspended for address or whereabouts unknown for 7 years or longer.

Open

Open. Implementation of this recommendation depends on the actions we take for recommendation 1. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

Address, Whereabouts Unknown, or Foreign Enforcement

A-09-16-50077

(22018050)

Follow-up: Aged Beneficiaries Whose Benefits Have Been Suspended for Address, Whereabouts Unknown, or Foreign Enforcement

08/06/19

Recommendation 6: Ensure it documents efforts to locate beneficiaries suspended for address, whereabouts unknown, or foreign enforcement.

Open

Open. Implementation of this recommendation depends on the actions we take for recommendation 1. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-09-16-50077

(22018050)

Follow-up: Aged Beneficiaries Whose Benefits Have Been Suspended for Address, Whereabouts Unknown, or Foreign Enforcement

08/06/19

Recommendation 7: Implement controls to ensure employees change the payment status to whereabouts unknown when they cannot locate a beneficiary who did not return the foreign enforcement questionnaire.

Open

Open. We continue to determine the feasibility of policy and systems changes to automate the suspense code change from address unknown to whereabouts unknown. We do not have an estimated completion date for this recommendation.

A-13-17-34132

(22017010)

08/08/19

Recommendation 4: Finalize changes to its administrative finality policy regarding whether the Agency

Open

Open. We are working on this recommendation.

Windfall Elimination Provision Exemptions

should continue to pay prospective benefits even where administrative finality currently prohibits reopening the determination.

A-14-18-50498

(22017060)

Security of the Social Security Administration’s Cloud Environment

08/29/19

Recommendation 4: Complete implementation of its continuous monitoring program for cloud environments and educate security authorization managers and system owners of their responsibilities.

Open

Open. We acquired a new Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tool, XACTA, which will manage our cloud systems. XACTA is designed to make the authorization decision process more automated and allow for more granular security. We expect XACTA to eliminate the need to track down documents and maintain version control. Once fully implemented, XACTA will produce automated reminders for annual documentation updates, quarterly Plan of Action and Milestones updates, and process step completions for incomplete information. We expect to implement this recommendation by the end of FY 2021.

A-07-18-50570

(22019020)

The Social Security Administration’s Processing of Returned Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Payments

09/12/19

Recommendation 3: Improve its controls over processing returned OASDI payments to ensure employees are using a payment worksheet or The Auditor to verify payment amounts due beneficiaries.

Open

Open. We released national training to provide a refresher on this topic. The training was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees will complete the training upon return to working in the office. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation. Additionally, we are analyzing future controls as part of the new DMP. We do not have an estimated completion date for this recommendation.

A-09-18-50655

(22018029)

The Social Security Administration's

09/13/19

Recommendation 7: Test whether it should use additional characteristics, such as incorrect earnings, marriage, and Medicare information to identify Controls for Identifying Potentially Fraudulent Internet Claims

Open

Open. Our ability to analyze the necessary data is limited because we do not have the data in an automated format. Once we migrate iClaim analytics to the Anti-Fraud Product Line, planned for FY 2022, we will be able to test some of these characteristics. We do not have an implementation date for this recommendation.

potentially fraudulent [internet claims (iClaims)] and document its rationale if the Agency decides to not implement this control.

A-04-18-50607

(22018048)

Dedicated Account Underpayments Payable to Children Receiving Supplemental Security Income

09/17/19

Recommendation 2: Identify and take corrective action on the remaining population of SSI recipients with unpaid dedicated account underpayments.

Open

Open. We continue to identify the remaining population of SSI recipients with unpaid dedicated account underpayments. We do not have an implementation date for this recommendation.

A-04-18-50607

(22018048)

Dedicated Account Underpayments Payable to Children Receiving Supplemental Security Income

09/17/19

Recommendation 3: Improve controls to ensure it timely pays dedicated account underpayments for children receiving SSI, such as establishing management reports, retaining diaries, and/or adding automation as discussed in the report.

Open

Open. We are evaluating the required enhancements to determine if they are systematically feasible. We are unable to provide an implementation date at this time.

A-04-18-50546

(22019015)

Overpayments Pending Collection for Miscellaneous Reasons

09/24/19

Recommendation 1: Resolve the miscellaneous due process status for the 130 debtors identified by this audit.

Open

Open. We resumed activity on the cases associated with this recommendation in November 2020. We expect to complete all cases by the end of the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-04-18-50546

(22019015)

09/24/19

Recommendation 2: Identify and resolve all debtors with a Overpayments Pending Collection for Miscellaneous Reasons

Open

Open. We resumed activity on the cases associated with this recommendation in November 2020. We expect to complete all cases by the end of the third quarter of FY 2021.

miscellaneous due process status for longer than 1 year.

A-04-18-50546

(22019015)

Overpayments Pending Collection for Miscellaneous Reasons

09/24/19

Recommendation 4: Regularly monitor the debt management database, and build controls into the modernized debt system, to ensure employees take appropriate action for overpayments in a due process status.

Open

Open. We plan to address this recommendation with our new DMP, which is a multi-year project with full implementation anticipated by the end of FY 2023. The DMP will address this recommendation.

A-04-18-50633

(22019023)

The Social Security Administration’s Accounting for, and Monitoring of, Court-ordered Restitutions

09/24/19

Recommendation 1: Reconcile all available Office of Investigations documentation for [court-ordered restitutions (COR) to the Social Security Administration’s records to ensure the Agency has recorded all restitutions in its systems.

Open

Open. We continue to explore ways to reconcile the Office of Investigations documentation and ensure we have recorded all restitutions. We anticipate completing our business process to document and upload the COR documents into the COR Tracking tool in the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-04-18-50633

(22019023)

The Social Security Administration’s Accounting for, and Monitoring of, Court-ordered Restitutions

09/24/19

Recommendation 2: Use the reconciled list, mentioned in recommendation 1, to ensure the Department of Justice (DOJ) is collecting the [COR cases], and if not being collected, use all methods of recovery and/or contact DOJ, as required by policy, to determine whether civil actions should be taken.

Open

Open. We are modernizing and streamlining our overpayment collection systems into one system, the DMP. The DMP will improve our control and monitoring of COR cases. The initial DMP release is scheduled in FY 2022.

A-04-18-50633

(22019023)

09/24/19

Recommendation 3: Develop a tracking system to record and monitor CORs.

Open

Open. We are developing a tracking tool. The Office of the Inspector General is working on a process to provide the data to be used in by the tool. We anticipate release of the tool being in the third quarter of FY 2021.

The Social Security Administration’s Accounting for, and Monitoring of, Court-ordered Restitutions

A-04-18-50633

(22019023)

The Social Security Administration’s Accounting for, and Monitoring of, Court-ordered Restitutions

09/24/19

Recommendation 4: Determine the status of DOJ’s collection efforts for the 85 [CORs] identified in our prior audit and use available collection methods to recover these [CORs].

Open

Open. We continue to develop instructions for COR cases. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-07-18-50317

(22019006)

Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Beneficiaries with Overpayments on Suspended and Terminated Records

09/25/19

Recommendation 2: Establish a process to identify overpayments that exist on suspended or terminated Social Security numbers that the Re entitled Beneficiaries process does not detect, so the Agency can transfer and recover them via benefit withholding.

Open

Open. We plan to address this recommendation with our new DMP, which is a multi-year project with full implementation anticipated by the end of FY 2023.

A-05-18-50627

(22019008)

Appropriateness of Actions Taken on Pending Workers’

10/07/19

Recommendation 1: Correct the remaining 28 worker’s compensation cases we identified with improper payments.

Open

Open. We took corrective action on 26 of the 28 cases. We are awaiting additional policy guidance for the two remaining cases. We anticipate completing the remaining cases by the end of June 2021.

Compensation Cases

A-03-18-50703

(22019038)

Accuracy of Manual Actions for Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Underpayments over $6,000

12/02/19

Recommendation 2: Review the remaining 3,572 Claim Account Numbers with 4,132 underpayments from Sample Frame 3, focusing on underpayments processed not using appropriate staff to conduct secondary reviews and with the most significant payment errors, to determine whether the underpayments were paid accurately and take corrective action where appropriate.

Open

Open. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation, partially due to changing workload requirements due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A-14-18-50709

(22019013)

The Social Security Administration’s Controls Over Malicious Software and Data Exfiltration

12/05/19

Recommendation 3: Enforce the principle of least privilege for network shares. SSA should create a process for identifying shares with excessive privileges and limiting who has access to view and write to them.

Open

Open. We procured a product to perform automated network sweeps to find open file shares, clear text passwords, determine attribution via heuristic algorithm, notify owners, and mitigate ownership conflicts. We anticipate completion of our policy and pilot testing by September 30, 2021.

A-14-18-50709

(22019013)

The Social Security Administration’s Controls Over Malicious Software and Data Exfiltration

12/05/19

Recommendation 4: Enhance blocking and detection capabilities, perhaps via enabled modules on firewalls and real-time Splunk alerting based on Domain Name System request logs.

Open

Open. We are working on boarding and monitoring of internal domain name system (DNS) servers. In addition, we will implement DNS exfiltration capabilities on Checkpoint Firewalls. We expect to complete implementation of this recommendation by the end of the third quarter of FY 2021.

A-14-18-50709

(22019013)

The Social Security Administration’s Controls Over Malicious Software and Data Exfiltration

12/05/19

Recommendation 5: Enhance data loss prevention mechanisms to identify data exfiltration avenues such as the one used during the assessment.

Open

Open. We are continually investigating how we can improve contextual rules to detect sensitive data loss prevention while maintaining a low false positive rate. We evaluated existing tools that we own to understand what other improvements around data exfiltration could be made to the Data Loss Prevention program. We have implemented changes to the rules, and we are evaluating O365 options. We also plan to procure a new tool. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-14-18-50710

(22019014)

The Social Security Administration's Controls over Malware Introduced by Email Phishing

12/05/19

Recommendation 2: Restrict the use of Universal Serial Bus [(USB)] drives to authorized users.

Open

Open. We established technical controls over removable media, and we will conduct analysis on technical solutions to restrict the use of removable media to authorized users only, but first we need to develop criteria to define "authorized user." We are working to provide suitable alternatives to the USB drive use cases provided. We are also moving from password based USBs to forced encryption so non-SSA systems cannot read the devices. We launched our forced encryption pilot, and we implemented phase 1 of 3 on February 17, 2021. We anticipate completion of the remaining phases by the end of September 2021.

A-14-18-50710

(22019014)

The Social Security Administration's Controls over Malware Introduced by Email Phishing

12/05/19

Recommendation 5: Enforce certificate-based Network Access Controls to ensure only SSA owned assets are allowed on the SSA internal network.

Open

Open. On December 13, 2019, we initiated a proof of concept for network access control with a limited number of users. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-08-18-50472

(22019034)

Multiple Social Security Numbers Assigned to Noncitizens Using the Enumeration Beyond Entry Program

12/17/19

Recommendation 1: Cross-reference the multiple [SSNs] the Agency assigned to the 94 non-citizens we identified during our review.

Open

Open. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to take action on the cases OIG identified because they require face-to-face interviews. We do not have an estimated completion date for this recommendation.

A-09-1850562

(22018053)

Follow-up Beneficiaries Who Had Not Cashed Their Social Security Checks Within 1 Year

12/23/19

Recommendation 1: Resolve and reissue payments, if eligible, to the 45 OASDI beneficiaries and 34 SSI recipients identified by our audit.

Open

Open. We have completed the necessary processing instructions, although case processing is delayed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on workloads. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-09-1850562

(22018053)

Follow-up Beneficiaries Who Had Not Cashed Their Social Security Checks Within 1 Year

12/23/19

Recommendation 2: Based on the results of recommendation 1, resolve and reissue payments, if eligible, to the estimated population of 77,140 beneficiaries and 27,468 recipients who had not cashed their checks.

Open

Open. We will determine our next steps after we complete the cases in recommendation 1. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-09-1850562

(22018053)

Follow-up Beneficiaries Who Had Not Cashed

12/23/19

Recommendation 3: Improve controls to ensure its employees issue replacement checks to eligible beneficiaries and recipients who have not cashed their checks. This should Their Social Security Checks Within 1 Year

Open

Open. We continue to evaluate how to implement this recommendation, particularly with uncashed checks on terminated records. We will determine our next steps after we complete the cases associated with recommendation 1. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

include revising the SSI Diary Control program to track recipients who have uncashed checks on terminated SSRs.

A-09-18-50562

(22018053)

Follow-up Beneficiaries Who Had Not Cashed Their Social Security Checks Within 1 Year

12/23/19

Recommendation 4: Document its rationale and, if appropriate, revise guidelines for determining when SSA employees must follow up to resolve why OASDI beneficiaries had not cashed their checks.

Open

Open. We are considering the recommendation and strategies for implementing it. We do not have an estimated implementation date for this recommendation.

A-04-18-50600 (22018026)

Social Security Administration’s Programs and Projects that Assist Beneficiaries in Returning to Work

11/05/18

Recommendation 2: Continue advising Congress on the progress of [Benefit Onset National Demonstration (BOND)] and, with future demonstration projects, advise Congress when early results indicate a project is not effectively working as designed.

Open. Federal law requires the Agency to implement the Ticket To Work and PASS programs and conduct demonstration projects that would test alternative work rules designed to give DI and SSI beneficiaries an incentive to work and reduce their reliance on SSA benefits. This review provided an update on SSA’s return-to-work programs and project on which we previously reported. We recognize a research project’s design includes a duration of treatment. However, as a good steward of trust fund dollars, we continue to believe that advising Congress of early results will allow it to make timely decisions regarding funding or legislative changes. Otherwise, SSA could continue spending trust fund dollars to conduct return-to-work demonstration projects that early results show do not warrant a change in policy.

Closed on November 7, 2018. We provide an annual report to Congress summarizing the status and findings of all demonstration research authorized by Section 234 of the Social Security Act. We also notify Congress at least 90 days before beginning demonstration research projects. In addition, we participate in several briefings every year with Congressional staff in which we provide information on project funding, project design, available findings, and any other relevant issues for these demonstration research projects. The current Congressional report is fully transparent about the known impacts of the policies being tested and the associated costs.

Further, we disagree with the apparent definition of “effectively working as designed.” The purpose of a demonstration project is to produce evidence of whether, when, how, for whom, and at what cost a potential policy might work. Conducting research does not guarantee that a tested policy will be effective; rather, research provides the opportunity to test potential policies and learn about them without committing the agency or the government to a potentially ineffective policy.

A-04-18-50546

(22019015)

Overpayments Pending Collection for Miscellaneous Reasons

09/24/19

Recommendation 3: Establish timeliness standards for resolving overpayments in a due process status.

Open. We agree with the need to prioritize workloads. However, we continue to believe SSA should establish timeliness standards to resolve overpayments in a due process status. SSA stated that in preparation for its new system, it initiated a clean-up of overpayment cases pending for more than 120 days and expects to complete this clean-up by the end of Calendar Year 2019. If SSA were to perform similar clean-ups on a regular basis, we believe it would meet the intent of our recommendation.

Closed September 24, 2019. We prioritize our workloads to ensure we meet our budgeted workloads and agency priority goals. Future automation improvements, however, will provide additional opportunities to improve the timely resolution of overpayments in a due process status.