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SSA to Scrub Pension Offset Records
SSA has said it will improve its system for keeping track of spousal beneficiaries affected by the government pension offset, following an inspector general report disclosing that the records needed to determine that offset are often incomplete or wrong….
The report said that some 438,000 Social Security persons do not receive a spousal benefit from that program because of the offset. However, it found problems with the data used to determine the offset. The auditors found that nearly 7,800 of those could be eligible for a benefit, however, and that nine-tenths of an identified group of about 1,000 who are receiving an incorrect amount are being underpaid. “Generally, these errors occurred because SSA employees had not resolved alerts that required they verify and update the MBR [master beneficiary record] with current pension and GPO amounts. We also found that SSA employees recorded incorrect pension and GPO amounts on the MBR,” the report said. Read More…