Few Government agencies touch the lives of as many people as the Social

Security Administration (SSA)

SSA administers:Old-Age, Survivors & Disability Insurance

(OASDI), commonly referred to as “Social Security”

► monthly benefits are financed through payroll taxes paid by workers & by self-employed workers

► benefit payments are based on an individual’s taxable earnings during his/her lifetime

SSA also administers:Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

►designed to provide/supplement the income of aged, blind or disabled adults & children with limited income & resources

►payments are financed by general tax revenues

The Statistics:► Over 54 million people receive monthly Social Security or SSI benefits

► Through their tax revenue, 163 million are earning valuable Social Security coverage for themselves and their families

► During the last 10 years, the number of OASI bene- ficiaries has grown by 8%

► Disability Insurance has grown by 40% & SSI by 11%

Applying for Benefits:

► To receive benefits, the claimant must fill out an application; this may be done via the internet, telephone or at the local office

► Once the application is received, the process begins with review of the application

Social Security Benefits:

► Receiving benefits depends on how soon the claimant will be retiring

► Claimant must be 61 years and 9 months or older & plan to start receiving retirement benefits within 4 months

Disability Benefits:

► SSA reviews submissions to ensure all information is complete

► SSA sends forms to the State’s office

► The State office requests medical records

► The State office then reviews all the medical records when they are received

Determination of Benefits

► Change in status

► The process of a claim

► Payment and Accounting Branch

Payment & Accounting Branch

► 14 employees in the Division

► Nine Analysts

► Four Certifying Officers

Payment & Accounting Branch

► Disbursement of payments

► Government-Wide Accounting System

► Information on the report

Certification of Benefits

► Included Excel spreadsheets and Access Databases

► Involved a great amount of time/ manpower, requiring more people in order to complete the job at hand

Beginning of Automation

In 2005, we began a journey of automation through a web-based system developed by the “web heads” that are located in our area

• Quality Service • Human Error

Benefits of Certification System

► Uses latest web technology

► Designed with a flexible environment

► Audit trail capabilities included

► Increase of internal control

► Enhanced Report Capability using a data mining tool

► Easy to use – which will result in ease of training new staff

Operations Branch

After PAB certifies a beneficiary’s payment,if a beneficiary claims they did not receive an

SSI payment (non-receipt), TOB receives notification from Treasury

Exception Processing

► These transactions are called “exceptions”

► Consists of 8 analysts

► Approximately 25,000 SSR exceptions annually

The Importance of: SIR

SERVING ++ REVIEWING ==

Effectiveness

combined withcombined with

INTERACTION ==

Efficiency

Building Relationships

► Brainstorm & find ways to develop a more productive method

► With consistent & loyal teamwork, we can build a relationship that will be beneficial to both agencies