Grassley Pushes Social Security Administration for Answers and Accountability on $718 Million in Alleged Improper Payments

Grassley Pushes Social Security Administration for Answers and Accountability on $718 Million in Alleged Improper Payments

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is pressing the Social Security Administration (SSA) for answers and corrective action to address the agency's failure to confront verification issues that have resulted in millions, and perhaps billions, in improper Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. Grassley has pushed the SSA about improper payments for over two decades. He is a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and currently chairs the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy.

"Every dollar lost to improper payments is one less dollar for recipients entitled to benefits. It's imperative the Social Security Administration use available tools to weed out improper payments, sooner rather than later," Grassley said of his most recent oversight push.

The Access to Financial Institutions (AFI) application is a secure verification tool that allows SSA to automatically request and receive certain financial information from banking institutions to verify bank account balances for recipients and applicants. Social Security Office of Inspector General (IG) reports have shown that failures to fully utilize the AFI process can prevent accurate SSI determinations. Based on sample results, its September 2024 report estimated that 198,960 recipients received $718 million in improper payments due to undisclosed financial account funds.

"Based on its findings, the IG recommended SSA expand use of this verification tool to catch these occurrences. Previous IG reports have also recommended more frequent use of this tool during the lifecycle of an SSI case to combat improper payments. In both cases, SSA has resisted making changes until completion of a long-delayed study. In the interest of government efficiency and substantial taxpayer savings, SSA must give a full accounting of its progress and plans to pursue an expanded use of this tool," Grassley wrote.

Grassley noted that verifications only occur at the initial SSI claim and at "redeterminations," reviews for non-medical eligibility factors, including financial resources. The time between these can be substantial, allowing undiscovered improper payments to pile up. For most recipients, a redetermination occurs every one to six years, according to SSA.

"A 2018 IG report found that SSA had not completed eligibility determinations for approximately 1.1 million SSI recipients in over 10 years. The IG estimated that, in fiscal year 2021, SSA could have prevented approximately $1.4 billion in overpayments due to financial accounts had it performed AFI searches between the initial application and redetermination," Grassley continued.

Grassley also outlined the cost of SSA's self-imposed limitation on AFI's usage for applicants or recipients who report having less than $400 in liquid assets.

"This policy effectively exempts a significant number of cases from AFI verification and increases SSA's reliance on self-reported information … [An IG report] evaluated AFI data in 140 cases where no verification had taken place … It found that, of the 140 cases sampled, SSA made inaccurate SSI resource determinations for 27 recipients, paying them $130,430 in payments they were not eligible for … The IG report also highlighted earlier studies, from SSA itself, demonstrating the need for change on the issue," Grassley wrote.

Read Grassley's full letter HERE.

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