Social Security Distributed Almost $72 Billion in Improper Payments, Watchdog Says

The Social Security Administration (SSA) made nearly $72 billion worth of improper payments over a period of seven years, with almost a third yet to be recouped, according to the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG). “SSA issues over $1 trillion in benefit payments annually. Even the slightest error in the overall payment process can result in billions of dollars in improper payments,” the OIG said in an Aug. 19 statement, citing an analysis published in July. Improper payments can be either overpayments—agency pays a beneficiary more than what is owed—or underpayments. “From fiscal years 2015 through 2022, SSA paid almost $8.6 trillion in benefits and made approximately $71.8 billion (0.84 percent) in improper payments, most of which were overpayments.”...