Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Politics

Treasury Department recoups $31 million in improper government payments to dead people

by January 17, 2025
January 17, 2025

The Treasury Department announced this week that it had recouped more than $31 million in fraud and improper payments to dead people during just five short months of having access to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) federal death database. 

The Treasury Department issues billions of payments every year, including benefit payments, federally funded state-administered payments and other miscellaneous payments. Sending those funds and others by accident to people who are dead has been a long-standing problem within the federal government, according to fiscal watchdog group OpenTheBooks

In 2020, the Government Accountability Office estimated that during the first round of COVID-19 stimulus checks, $1.4 billion was sent to dead people. Across all three rounds of stimulus checks during the pandemic, nearly $3.6 billion went to dead people, according to OpenTheBooks.

The SSA is the only government agency with a database that records the deaths of U.S. citizens. In 2023, as part of an omnibus appropriations bill, Congress granted access for the Treasury Department, on a temporary basis, to have access to the database to help prevent improper payments to dead people. The temporary basis is set to expire in 2026.

‘While this should have been a no-brainer for a long time, it’s promising to see some taxpayer funds being recouped with basic communication among executive agencies,’ said John Hart, executive director of OpenTheBooks. ‘Too often the left hand just doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, and it’s resulted in trillions of dollars in improper payments.’

Hart blamed the nearly $4 billion in COVID-19 stimulus payments sent to dead people on the Internal Revenue Service’s failure to check the SSA’s death database. 

He also pointed out how, in addition to improper payments through the stimulus check program, the Small Business Administration also sent more than $3 billion more to dead people in the form of forgivable loans ‘to entities on the Treasury Department’s ‘Do Not Pay’ list.’

‘Today’s news is a step in the right direction, but there are miles to go before we break even,’ Hart said.

After news of the recovered payments was announced, Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk noted that the results were ‘just the tip of the iceberg.’

‘Congress granting permanent access to the Full Death Master File will significantly reduce fraud, improve program integrity, and better safeguard taxpayer dollars,’ he said. 

Related Topics

PoliticsSocial SecurityEconomic PolicyCoronavirus

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Obama wishes wife Michelle happy birthday as she stays away from key public events
next post
How the S&P 500 Reaches 6500 By March 2025

You may also like

China can use TikTok as ‘propaganda’ tool, ‘absolutely’...

March 13, 2023

New text message allegedly reveals Hunter Biden proposed...

May 23, 2024

“I Do Not Give a F*ck What Happens...

November 2, 2022

California politicians have message for Taylor Swift, Eras...

August 2, 2023

GOP senator says Dr Oz ignored his questions...

March 26, 2025

Judge rules DOGE likely subject to public records...

March 11, 2025

GOP lawmakers, NRA slam ATF rule to regulate...

January 14, 2023

WAYNE ROOT: Here’s How to Destroy Democrats: Make...

September 18, 2022

UN’s global ammunition framework worries Second Amendment advocates:...

June 30, 2023

Treasury ‘mistakenly’ gave Musk DOGE worker ability to...

February 12, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025
    • House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: ‘Iceberg is ahead’

      June 7, 2025
    • Call with China’s Xi, and Trump-Musk exchange fueled barbs during 20th week in office

      June 7, 2025
    • Trump’s conservative allies warn Congress faces critical ‘test’ with $9.4B spending cut proposal

      June 7, 2025
    • Tech ETFs are Leading Since April, but Another Group is Leading YTD

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,567)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved