The Treasury Department recently revealed that it has successfully recovered over $31 million in fraudulent and improper payments to deceased individuals within just five months of gaining access to the Social Security Administration's federal death database.
Each year, the Treasury Department disburses billions of dollars in various payments, such as benefit payments and state-administered funds. Unfortunately, mistakenly sending funds to deceased individuals has been a persistent issue within the federal government.
In 2020, the Government Accountability Office reported that approximately $1.4 billion in COVID-19 stimulus checks were mistakenly sent to deceased individuals during the initial round of payments. Throughout all three rounds of pandemic stimulus checks, nearly $3.6 billion ended up in the hands of deceased recipients.
The Social Security Administration maintains the sole database tracking the deaths of U.S. citizens. In 2023, Congress authorized the Treasury Department temporary access to this database to prevent improper payments to deceased individuals. This temporary access is scheduled to expire in 2026.
A spokesperson emphasized the importance of interagency communication in recouping taxpayer funds and preventing improper payments. The blame for the billions of dollars in misdirected stimulus payments was placed on the Internal Revenue Service's failure to cross-check the SSA's death database.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the Small Business Administration mistakenly allocated over $3 billion in forgivable loans to deceased individuals listed on the Treasury Department's 'Do Not Pay' list.
Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk expressed that the recovered payments represent just a fraction of the potential savings. He advocated for Congress to grant permanent access to the Full Death Master File, which would significantly reduce fraud, enhance program integrity, and protect taxpayer dollars.
