According to an audit by the Office of the Inspector General
the SSA has identified $165 million in benefits erroneously paid to deceased OASDI beneficiaries and another $12.4 million paid to deceased SSI recipients.
The SSA uncovered this information by partnering with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify beneficiaries over 90 who have not used Medicare Part A or B in 3 years or longer. Now, the OIG is recommending the SSA take this approach one step further by using both Medicare and Medicaid claim data to identify potentially deceased recipients.