GAO finds $1 billion in disability overpayments

WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration doled out nearly $1 billion too much in disability payments last year, frequently sending checks to people who had returned to work, congressional investigators said Monday.

The overpayments grew by 15 percent since 1999, contributing to mounting debt of nearly $3 billion in 2003, the congressional Government Accountability Office said.

In some cases, the payments have continued for years because Social Security uses outdated earnings information to verify that recipients remain eligible to collect disability, GAO said.

Even armed with figures to question eligibility, Social Security moves slowly to cut off payments, the GAO said. Investigators found one person who collected $105,000 in excess payments stretching nearly seven years and Social Security officials could not explain why, the GAO said.

The government paid $70 billion to 7.5 million disabled workers, their spouses and dependents in the 2003 spending year, the GAO report said. The average monthly benefit was about $723.

People who work and earn more than $810 a month lose their eligibility.