Congressional Response Report: Payment of Social Security Benefits to Individuals Who May Have Participated in Nazi Persecution
Office Affiliation: The Office of Audit
Audit Report Number: A-09-15-50013
The Social Security Act prohibits paying retirement and/or disability benefits to individuals who are placed under a final order of deportation or removal from the United States for participating in Nazi persecution or committing crimes of genocide.
On October 20, 2014, we received a request from Representative Carolyn Maloney to review the payment of Social Security benefits to individuals who participated in Nazi persecution during World War II.
On December 18, 2014, the President signed the No Social Security for Nazis Act into law. The law terminates the payment of Social Security benefits to additional individuals who participated in Nazi persecution.
For our review, we obtained information from SSA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine that 133 individuals who may have participated in Nazi persecution received Social Security benefits.
The objective of our audit was to determine the amount of benefits SSA paid to individuals who may have participated in Nazi persecution. We also determined whether SSA properly stopped benefits to individuals who participated in Nazi persecution in accordance with the No Social Security for Nazis Act.