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Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits Withheld Pending a Windfall Offset Determination

March 23, 2016

Office Affiliation: The Office of Audit

Audit Report Number: A-09-15-15041

The windfall offset provision prevents an individual from receiving monthly Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in excess of the total amount beneficiaries would have been paid had the OASDI benefits been disbursed when they were due rather than retroactively.

In potential offset cases, SSA employees must enter a windfall indicator code on the Windfall Offset Data line of the Master Beneficiary Record. When SSA processes an OASDI claim, it temporarily withholds past-due benefits pending a windfall offset determination. SSA controls the offset determination by a follow-up diary and alert to ensure the offset is processed.

Our objective was to determine whether SSA had adequate controls to ensure it accurately and timely paid OASDI benefits it withheld pending a windfall offset determination.

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