More than $31 million in erroneous Social Security payments to deceased individuals has been clawed back by the Treasury Department, with an official saying it’s only scratching the surface of improper payments to dead people.
The recoveries were made during a five-month pilot program using the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Full Death Master File, as part of Treasury’s efforts to prevent fraud and improve payment integrity, according to a Jan. 15 press release.
Congress granted Treasury a temporary, three-year access to the file, which contains over 142 million records dating back to 1899.
“These results are just the tip of the iceberg,” the Treasury Department’s Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk said in a statement. “Congress granting permanent access to the Full Death Master File will significantly reduce fraud, improve program integrity, and better safeguard taxpayer dollars.”…