A June 28, 2013 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled, “USDA Needs to Do More to Prevent Improper Payments to Deceased Individuals” bluntly lays out a pervasive problem that can be easily resolved.
SSDI Funding at Risk
In fiscal year (FY) 2010, the Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI) shelled out approximately $123 billion in benefits to more than 10 million disabled workers and their dependents. Reforms in the SSDI program are long overdue; without them, the fund is expected to be depleted by 2018 according to a June 14, 2011 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. One reason for SSDI’s financial woes is a 63 percent increase in overpayments, from $860 million in FY 2001 to $1.4 billion in FY 2010.