In September 2024, automated computer systems flagged more than 400,000 people who were potentially wrongly receiving Social Security checks. Employees at the Social Security Administration ignored or did not fully review an estimated 80% of the alerts and are still sending out the checks today, according to a new inspector general audit.
Recipients received more than $1 billion in the past two years. The report estimates that the government can still claw back $344 million, but $664 million is likely lost forever.
Key facts: A Social Security recipient who returns to work is required to report their new job to the government. Their benefits might be reduced if their employment income is above the legal limit and they are not yet 66 years old.
Government computer systems alert staff when a beneficiary claims to still be eligible for full Social Security benefits, but their tax filings show new sources of income.
Auditors sampled 100 of the alerts and found that 37 had never been reviewed. Twenty-six were only partially reviewed. Seventeen were dismissed without a full review of the recipient’s income.
Of the 100 sample recipients, 42 had hidden income that should have reduced their Social Security checks. They received more than $300,000 inn extra money in August 2026 alone. Nine of the recipients had been repeatedly flagged for at least five years, including one that was first identified in 2018.
“We could not determine why employees did not initiate or complete reviews of earnings alerts in accordance with Agency policies, and Agency subject-matter experts could not provide an explanation,” the inspector general wrote.
Social Security generally can’t recover overpayments made more than two years ago, unless the recipient is convicted of fraud.
Background: Social Security reported $11.3 billion worth of improper payments in fiscal year 2025, more than any other year in history except 2023.
Summary: The Social Security Administration already has much of the information it needs to prevent at least some improper payments. Officials simply need to make better use of it.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.
This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.
