Overview

• The Social Security Administration's backlog has reached an all-time high, with 5.2 million pending actions.
• Improper payments, both overpayments and underpayments, have totaled $1.1 billion between 2018 and 2023.
• Staff shortages, increased workloads, and insufficient overtime funding have exacerbated processing delays.
• Beneficiaries often face financial hardship due to delayed corrections of payment errors.
• The SSA is implementing new policies to address overpayment recovery and improve processing times.