Since the US Social Security Administration opened its books to the Treasury Department’s Fiscal Service Bureau, it has been able to stop and recover more than $31 million in improper Social Security payments to deceased people.
WASHINGTON — since US Social Security Administration he opened his books Fiscal Service Office of the Department of Financehas been able to stop and recover more than $31 million in improper Social Security payments to deceased individuals.
“These results are just the tip of the iceberg,” Treasury Secretary David Lebry said in a news release.
As part of the 2021 omnibus appropriations bill, Congress granted Treasury temporary access to the SSA’s “Full Death Master File” for three years, from December 2023 to 2026. The SSA maintains the most comprehensive federal database of deceased persons and the File contains more than 142 million records dating back to 1899, according to the Treasury Department.
The Treasury expects to recover more than $215 million over the three-year access period.
“Congress granting permanent access to the Complete Death Master File will significantly reduce fraud, improve program integrity and better protect taxpayer dollars,” Lebryk said.
The effort has highlighted areas where the government is preventing fraud, waste and abuse, one of which Donald Trump’s campaign promises
The President-elect has taken on two business titans – Elon Musk and Vivek Rameswamy – carry Government Efficiency Departmentor DOGE, a new nongovernmental task force assigned to find ways to lay off federal workers, cut programs and reduce federal regulations, is part of what Trump calls his “Save America” plan for his second term in the White House.
A representative of the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the incoming administration would continue the efforts or make the temporary access to the Treasury file permanent.
