Summary: The Social Security Administration (SSA) has not met the legal requirements for conducting continuing disability reviews, which ensure that individuals receiving government disability benefits are eligible for them. Significant operational problems due to unprecedented increases in initial claims for social security benefits have prompted SSA to shift resources from conducting the reviews to processing these claims. Since fiscal year 1987, SSA has done only about half of the more than 2 million required reviews. Consequently, SSA will pay more than a billion dollars to beneficiaries who have improved enough to return to work. Further, the integrity of the trust funds is affected because thousands of ineligible beneficiaries remain on the disability rolls. In 1991, SSA streamlined its continuing disability review process by being more selective about which beneficiaries are reviewed. SSA is evaluating ways to further refine its process. GAO believes that SSA should (1) continue to examine ways to better target reviews for beneficiaries who may have medically improved and (2) increase the number of reviews beyond those planned.
