How Social Security Fraud Actually Works

You will perhaps be unsurprised to hear that there are not 20 million Americans over the age of 100 collecting social security benefits.

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[Zenerd]

I think it was Minnesota that found it was cheaper to buy lunch for every kid at school rather than hire auditors to police eligibility. Sometimes it really isn’t worth the squeeze.

[kaylinsmith]

As a person who has been trying to get on disability for years and has been told that I'm not disabled enough and also not trying hard enough... What lies are people telling to get the benefits to then turn around and be fraudulent? Because if my well-documented, multiple diagnoses are not enough, what lengths are these people going to? Honestly, if they're willing to put that kind of effort in, I'm not even mad. It is wild to me that we're penny pinching for 1% fraud for SSI/SSDI, but the Pentagon can fail 7 audits in a row, and that's not even a headline. Make it make sense. You can't.

[mackenziekay]

Thank you for not knowing Mary Jane's and mules are shoes because, I for once knew something you did not and that makes me very happy

[marshallthorne]

i think another huge reason some ppl commit ssi/ssdi fraud is because its often not actually enough to live on, and you basically arent allowed to save up money and have any sort of fund for emergencies.

[annieainegoolie]

When my mother died, the funeral home told the SSA of her death on the afternoon they came for her body. The SSA called me the next morning before we left to make her funeral arrangements to tell me that I needed to pay back her benefits for that month as she had died.

[WilfredGrundle]

As someone who works in IT, you don't delete records just because the person is no longer around. You never know when you might need to go back and look up that information for an audit, etc. And for something like Social Security, you might need the the deceased person's record to track survivor benefits.

[TheHenryzx]

As someone that works with unhoused people who need SSI and SSDI to afford basic necessities and housing, this push to get people off is an awful change to our society. Literally putting many of the most vulnerable people at risk to pump more money into defense and contractor spending is hard to comprehend. Why can't we look at fraud in defense contracting?? Insane way to rip down what little social safety net we have left for people barely surviving at the margins.

[Kunabee]

As someone who is disabled and on social security disability: I get $740 a month, and an additional $123 a month in food stamps.
I live with roommates, and get additional food from food banks.
I cannot afford to live on my own. I can't even TRY to find an apartment. I can't pay my own phone bill, or a lot of other bills - I have to get things paid for me.
This is an option for me. If I did start paying, I'd get more money.
But to start paying, I'd have to end up going "without" for months.

The system is designed to discourage.

Part of the reason it takes, AT MINIMUM, two years to get on disability is so that people who need it will die in the process.

It is. INSANE. It is DELIBERATELY DESIGNED in a MALICIOUS MANNER.

And this is just making it worse.

[shutupsprinkles]

And sometimes, like in my mom's case, you report to the government as you're supposed to, they may still overpay you after you go back to work, and then require you to PAY IT ALL BACK even though you did the right and legal thing in the first place :)

[wiizaever]

As someone on disability, the difficulty of reporting those changes so often is the reason they don't get reported. It just feels icky that the gouvernement gets to ask for my bank account report every month. It's icky that I'm not allowed to have savings.

[StephStarr]

Hi Hank! A former Social Security Administration employee here! I can assure you their computer system is old as hell and is terrible. Also- keep in mind SSI programs are not funded through the Social Security taxes, it is funded through the general revenue fund. So housing situations generally don’t affect the traditional Social Security payments. Each field office does a project called the “centurion project” where we research those over 95. Also a Medicare Utilization project where we reach out and research those over 85 who have not submitted any Medicare claims in over a year. These help catch those “dead people”.
I can say that working prior to full retirement age causes overpayments and that the field offices have the ability to just “forgive” any overpayments of $1, 000 or less based on the idea that it costs more administratively to work those and get the money back than to just wipe out the debt. We did this for thousands of people. No questions asked- you just have it waived. And as long as the overpayments are under that 1k limit you can do this over and over again.

[InsomniaDoodles]

As an honest SSI recipient who does not commit fraud, I can tell you I understand why some folks might lie to get more benefits. Have you looked at what the maximum benefits are? I’m barely scraping by, and others are struggling even worse than I am. Lying is bad, yes, but I can’t help but sympathize in this case.

[aprildawnsunshine]

2 things. 1 if the social security office lacks a birthdate the default age is 150 for complicated international banking reasons. 2 if you report a change in income or housing you lose more than your social security, you lose healthcare and food stamps too. Meaning a job could leave you worse off than without one, but the benefits aren't enough to make ends meet.
Also, why's it up to the person you're living with to support you? Shouldn't disabled people be able to move in with a partner or get married without punishment and becoming dependent on someone else for shelter and food? We're people, not puppies to be adopted.

[talkingdot]

I am on SSI disability, I have Myasthenia Gravis, I am blind, I don't know what I wold do if I am kicked off Social Security or Medicaid


them lying about this crap is terrifying

[bryanbooneart]

You also have to wonder how much "fraud" is someone just barely scraping by in the last years of their life and they happen to get a small part time job or something that will help them pay for their meds. Now all of a sudden technically they are supposed to report that, but A. do they know they have to, and B. if they do, they may also know that would put them in worse shape.

Side note, when my dad died I got to see the process in person. The hospital alerted the crematorium (it would have been a funeral home if he'd wanted that) and they filed with the social security office. There was zero way to avoid doing what was supposed to happen.

[jpe]

part of the new "efficiency" of government is demonstrated by a letter from Social Security I got yesterday, for my sister, who has down syndrome and collects modest disability benefits. I now have to prove, with documentation from her primary care physician, that she hasn't yet recovered from her disability. Why are they wasting time on this? They have the diagnosis of Down Syndrome right there in the letter, they already know what's going on. My suspicion is that they are going to revoke benefits from everyone like her with a genetic condition that can't be cured or improved.

[amandajones]

I'm leas worried about a granddad who maybe welds on the side so he can pay for medication, than I am about the richest man on the planet raiding our private information for his own gain.

[jasonburguess]

I receive social security, and three points to consider: 1. It's not enough to live on in any state in the US. 2. It has never kept up with inflation 3. If they take it away I would definitely die of starvation or exposure. If they used actual data to decide on the amounts paid, I would be receiving 3000/ month instead of 900/ month. The metrics used to determine social security disability payments is extremely outdated and the data is not just off, it's absolutely and totally wrong. No one in America can live on 900/month if they have rent to pay or any medical costs. No one!

[ericherde]

Thanks Hank! Whenever I hear people railing against “waste, fraud, and abuse”, I want to just scream at them that there is an inverse relationship between waste and fraud.

[mrkokonut]

I don't remember how I found out about this, but the SSA has something called the "Death Master File" and people sometimes get accidentally put into the file (which screws up lots of stuff). When I first heard about this, I assumed that it was just a couple of people every few years, but an audit estimated that it was about 1, 000 PER MONTH. WHAT? They are called credit zombies, and it's a pretty crappy situation to go through. My favorite part is a quote from the wiki article: "It is unclear why living people are added to this list." WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DON'T KNOW?!