Did Feds Get Improper Social Security Benefits?

Nearly 1,500 federal employees may have received fraudulent or improper Social Security payments between October 2006 and December 2008, according to a Government Accountability Office study set for release at a Senate hearing today. But the Social Security Administration disputed that conclusion.

The report, detailed by the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe, matched civilian federal payroll records with data from the Social Security Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income program. That led auditors to conclude that some employees may have improperly received benefits from the programs.

But GAO said it couldn't determine the exact number and type of improper payments without more detailed investigation. That led SSA officials to argue that the GAO report provided little in the way of proof of wrongdoing. In an interview with O'Keefe, Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue called the audit "fatally and hopelessly flawed," saying it "relies on anecdotes and it inflammatorily characterized the situations it found."