Social security is complicated.

It is largely a pay-as-you-go system, and to get a better understanding, it looks somewhat like a savings account where you contribute money now, and use the money when you stop working. Taxes from today’s workers are used to fund the benefits of today’s retirees, and that, simply put, is how it works.

Well, according to sources, the systems what they call ‘overhauled’ between 1983 and 2010, where the amount of payroll tax dollars flowing into the system was higher than the amount of money that was needed to fund benefits. This is great. but it is only expected to last until 2034, where the surplus is currently expected to run out.

But how is it really being spent so fast?

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that THIS could be a portion of the reason why.

An audit,was just released on January 17th 2017, where The Office of the Inspector General brought to attention of the General of the Social Security Administration something alarming..you won’t believe what was discovered.

According to the audit:

The objective (of the audit) was to determine whether the Social Security Administration had adequate controls to ensure it recorded individual representative payees’ Social Security numbers in its payment records.

Turns out The Social Security Administration paid $1 billion in benefits to individuals who did not have a Social Security Number.

Here are the findings as indicated:

“Findings SSA needs to improve controls to ensure it (a) records individual representative payees’ SSNs in its payment records and (b) retains the application for representative payees who do not have an SSN. Based on our random sample, we estimate that 150,257 beneficiaries had an individual representative payee who had a valid SSN that SSA should have recorded on the MBR/SSR. Of these, 26,912 beneficiaries had representative payees whom, according to eRPS, SSA had terminated or not selected. From October 2004 to September 2016, SSA paid these representative payees about $853.1 million. Furthermore, unless it takes corrective action, we estimate SSA will pay these representative payees about $189.6 million in benefits annually.

In addition, we estimate that 22,426 beneficiaries had an individual representative payee who did not have an SSN, and SSA had not followed its policy to retain the paper application. These representative payees were not in eRPS. From April 2006 to September 2016, SSA paid these representative payees about $1 billion. Furthermore, unless it takes corrective action, we estimate SSA will pay these representative payees about $182.5 million in benefits annually.”

The Inspector General made it very clear that the SSA has 60 days to submit a corrective action plan for each recommendation.

BOOM!

THIS IS TRUMP’S AMERICA NOW, BOY!