Major Management and Performance Challenges
The Office of the Inspector General issues an annual report on the Social Security Administration’s major management and performance challenges
In Fiscal Year 2021, we identified the following management and performance challenges:
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SSA’s Response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus SSA continues to provide its customers with limited service in its field offices as most employees telework, a major challenge for an agency that, before the pandemic, served over 40 million customers a year in its field offices.
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Improve Administration of the Disability Programs SSA continues to face challenges with pending disability hearings and related processing times, and the COVID-19 pandemic renewed challenges with pending disability claims and continuing disability reviews. Continued focus is necessary to simplify work incentive regulations and create new opportunities for returning disabled beneficiaries to work.
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Improve the Prevention, Detection, and Recovery of Improper Payments SSA must be a responsible steward of the funds entrusted to its care by minimizing the risk of making improper payments and recovering overpayments when they occur.
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Improve Service Delivery SSA faces growing workloads and the expected retirement of experienced employees as it pursues its mission to deliver quality service to the public.
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Protect the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of SSA’s information Systems and Data SSA must ensure its information systems are secure and sensitive data are protected.
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Modernize Information Technology SSA must continue modernizing its information technology to accomplish its mission despite budget and resource constraints.