GAO: Social Security lags on return-to-work demonstrations
Agency hasn’t taken advantage of projects encouraging those under disability insurance to get back to work, report says.
The Social Security Administration hasn't taken full advantage of its authority to conduct demonstration projects aimed at encouraging beneficiaries of the disability insurance program to return to work, according to a Government Accountability Office report published Thursday.
Disability insurance provides financial assistance to citizens unable to work because of long-term disability. The program has grown rapidly in the last 20 years, and costs threaten to bankrupt the program by 2029, GAO reported. Between 1982 and 2002, the number of beneficiaries doubled while payments quadrupled. In fiscal 2003, the program provided $70 billion to 7.5 million beneficiaries and family members.
SSA has created incentives for disability insurance beneficiaries to re-enter the workforce, but they have had little impact. Each year, less than 1 percent leave the program because they have returned to work.
Since 1980, Congress has required SSA to conduct return-to-work demonstration projects, and the agency has had the authority to waive certain program rules. It can, for example, give exemptions to a cap on the amount a person can earn at work while continuing to receive benefits. The legislation granting this authority suggested several options for study, including providing benefits at a reduced level when recipients return to work, extending the trial period before those who have returned to work leave the program and providing rehabilitation earlier.
The agency has not used this opportunity effectively, GAO found. In 24 years, it has completed only four demonstration projects. These efforts have been directed toward vocational rehabilitation and employment services rather than studying key policy issues, and there is no formal record of demonstration results. The report acknowledged, however, that measuring results of projects involving social programs is "inherently complex and difficult" because many factors can influence outcomes.
However, the report found that SSA has proposed eight projects since 2003 that address a wide range of important return-to-work options, including continuing benefits at reduced levels for those who earn more than the program allows, and ongoing medical benefits.