Terminating Social Security Disability Benefits after Cessation Determination

A review of 250 Disabled Individual medical cessation determinations by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed that 30 percent of beneficiaries were receiving benefits improperly, as benefits were not terminated in a timely manner. In some instances, around two-thirds of the sample, beneficiaries received improper payments anywhere from 1 to 6 months. 5 cases were discovered to have received improper payments for 31 to 63 months. About 16 percent of Social Security Income cases received improper payments as well.

Since 2003, SSA has been working on correcting this issue. Despite their efforts, the Agency was unable to routinely recognize these improper payments due to limitations of resources and other work priorities. For example, increased work loads for SSA workers forced them to rely on automated systems that terminate payments, which did not always work because of system limitations.

SSA workers should be reminded to check cases manually until the SSA can configure their automated system’s ability to terminate payments in a timely fashion.

To increase your chances of winning your Social Security Disability claim it is important for you to hire an experienced Social Security Disability attorney to get you the Social Security Disability help you deserve. Please call us at 1-800-882-5500 or fill out a form on our website for a FREE claim evaluation.