Regular LAE: Social Security Advisory Board

What this funds

We are deeply committed to preserving and protecting Social Security and ensuring that all eligible individuals receive the benefits they are entitled. We have consistently maintained high payment accuracy for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Our internal quality reviews, validated by a third-party auditor, indicate that our fiscal year (FY) 2024 OASDI benefit payments were 99.79 percent free of overpayments and 99.93 percent free of underpayments. 10 For the same year, 89.97 percent of all Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments were free of overpayments, and 98.45 percent were free of underpayments.11 FY 2025 data are not yet available. Given the magnitude of annual benefit payments, even small error rates result in substantial improper payment amounts. For instance, in FY 2024, we issued about OASDI and $7.3 billion for SSI. We have taken decisive action to improve SSI accuracy. For the first time in the history of the program, we have named an executive lead to improve the SSI program. In FY 2025, we implemented changes targeted to address the leading causes of SSI payment error: undisclosed wages and assets. For all SSI Aged initial claims, we now query the Access to Financial Institutions (AFI) data at the time of claim intake with a zero-dollar tolerance, which identifies before the claim is adjudicated undisclosed assets, which may make a claimant ineligible. We intend to expand this same practice to all initial SSI Blind and Disabled claims. To timely identify wages that may impact the eligibility or payment amount of SSI recipients, at the beginning of each month, we now run a verification through our Payroll Information Exchange (PIE) (as authorized in statute), so we can correct benefit payments earlier in the process and prevent payment error. Addressing payment accuracy is a top priority, and we are actively implementing process improvement and technology measures to improve the SSI payment We are committed to being good stewards of taxpayer resources and improving the integrity of our programs. In September 2025, the Commissioner established a new SSI Improvement office to ensure comprehensive and dedicated oversight of the SSI program and to advance key administrative reforms in policies, processes, and automation. Since its inception, we have revised and clarified a number of SSI policies, prioritized work that will drive down improper payments, and improved the program's digital footprint through the expansion of AFI and Foreign Travel Data (FTD). Our efforts to reduce improper payments include actions such as leveraging data from exchanges with Federal, State, and private partners; automating our business processes; performing quality reviews; and conducting employee training and focused outreach. To improve understanding and reduce the burden on our customers and their employers, we updated several disability-related forms, including the Work Activity form (SSA- 821) and Self-Employment Activity form (SSA-820) to simplify, consolidate, and clarify questions. We also formed a workgroup to redesign the Employee Work Activity Questionnaire (SSA-3033) to simplify and reduce the burden on employers and service providers, providing examples of subsidy and guidance on calculating subsidy amounts. 10 We derive accuracy rates for OASDI based on a monthly sample of beneficiaries who reside in the U.S. and outside of the 50 States or U.S. territories. 11 We derive accuracy rates for SSI using data collected from the review of a national sample of SSI cases.

Extracted from Social Security Administration, p. 45. Verbatim; nothing here is paraphrased.

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