Social Security's Inspector General: Master death list missing 1.2 million
The Social Security Administration did not record 1.2 million dead people on a national master list, according to a new report.
The 1.2 million dead people found in the SSA Office of the Inspector General study were not listed on the Death Master File, a national record of death information that is used to verify identity and to make sure deceased people aren’t wrongly paid benefits.
“This missing death information could result in erroneous payments made by Federal benefit-paying agencies that rely on the DMF to detect inaccurate or unreported deaths,” the report states. “The missing death information will also hinder private industry and State and local governments’ ability to identify and prevent identity fraud.”
The SSA provides monthly benefits to retired and disabled workers, as well as their dependents and survivors. But once the SSA receives a death report, it ends the payments. The Death Master File is also used to verify a person’s identity and prevent fraud, and in 2010, President Barack Obama directed federal agencies to review the various databases, including the SSA’s DMF, to ensure an individual’s eligibility before releasing any payment or award.
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