A-07-09-29147 - Alternate Format

OFFICE OF
THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

FULL MEDICAL CONTINUING
DISABILITY REVIEWS

March 2010

A-07-09-29147

EVALUATION REPORT

Mission

By conducting independent and objective audits, evaluations and investigations, we inspire public confidence in the integrity and security of SSA’s programs and operations and protect them against fraud, waste and abuse. We provide timely, useful and reliable information and advice to Administration officials, Congress and the public.

Authority

The Inspector General Act created independent audit and investigative units, called the Office of Inspector General (OIG). The mission of the OIG, as spelled out in the Act, is to:

 Conduct and supervise independent and objective audits and investigations relating to agency programs and operations.
 Promote economy, effectiveness, and efficiency within the agency.
 Prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in agency programs and operations.
 Review and make recommendations regarding existing and proposed legislation and regulations relating to agency programs and operations.
 Keep the agency head and the Congress fully and currently informed of problems in agency programs and operations.

To ensure objectivity, the IG Act empowers the IG with:

 Independence to determine what reviews to perform.
 Access to all information necessary for the reviews.
 Authority to publish findings and recommendations based on the reviews.

Vision

We strive for continual improvement in SSA’s programs, operations and management by proactively seeking new ways to prevent and deter fraud, waste and abuse. We commit to integrity and excellence by supporting an environment that provides a valuable public service while encouraging employee development and retention and fostering diversity and innovation.

MEMORANDUM

Date: March 30, 2010 Refer To:

To: The Commissioner

From: Inspector General

Subject: Full Medical Continuing Disability Reviews (A 07 09 29147)

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this evaluation was to determine the financial impact to the Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs as a result of conducting fewer full medical continuing disability reviews (CDR).

BACKGROUND

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide benefits based on disability: the DI and SSI programs. The DI program, established under Title II of the Social Security Act (Act), provides benefits to wage earners and their families if the wage earner becomes disabled. The Act also provides disability benefits for disabled adult children of wage earners who have died or retired and to certain disabled widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses of deceased wage earners. Most payments under the DI program are funded from the DI Trust Fund. The SSI program, established under Title XVI of the Act, provides benefits to financially needy individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled. Payments under the SSI program are funded from the General Fund.

After an individual is determined to be disabled, SSA is required to conduct periodic CDRs to determine whether the individual continues to be disabled. By regulation, review diaries are set based on the likelihood of medical improvement since SSA generally cannot find an individual’s disability has terminated without finding medical improvement has occurred. Specifically, diaries are set for 6 to 18 months where improvement is expected, up to 3 years where improvement is possible, and 5 to 7 years where improvement is not expected (that is, permanent impairments). Further, a full medical CDR should be conducted no later than 12 months after birth for a child whose low birth weight was a material contributor to the determination that the child was disabled under the SSI program.

SSA employs a profiling system that uses data from SSA’s records to determine the likelihood of medical improvement for disabled beneficiaries. SSA selects beneficiaries’ records profiled as having a high likelihood of medical improvement for a full medical review by disability determination services (DDS). Beneficiaries profiled as having a medium or low likelihood of medical improvement are sent a mailer questionnaire. If the completed mailer questionnaire indicates medical improvement, SSA will send the case to the DDS for a full medical review.

RESULTS OF REVIEW

According to SSA, resource limitations and increases in its core workloads prevented it from conducting full medical CDRs when they became due. As a result, SSA estimates a backlog of over 1.5 million full medical CDRs will exist at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2010.

SSA has made, and will continue to make, benefit payments to individuals who would no longer be eligible if the backlog of 1.5 million full medical CDRs had been conducted when they became due.

• From Calendar Year (CY) 2005 through CY 2010, we estimate SSA will have made benefit payments of between $1.3 and $2.6 billion that could have potentially been avoided if the full medical CDRs in the backlog had been conducted when they became due (see Appendix C).

• Although SSA plans to conduct an increased number of full medical CDRs in FY 2011, the 1.5-million full medical CDR backlog will most likely remain. Therefore, we estimate SSA will pay between $556 million and $1.1 billion during CY 2011 that could have potentially been avoided if the full medical CDRs in the backlog had been conducted when they became due (see Appendix C).

To avoid benefit payments to individuals who are no longer eligible, SSA will need sufficient resources to eliminate the full medical CDR backlog and conduct full medical CDRs that become due each year. However, SSA faces resource challenges in being able to perform its CDR workload while meeting the growing need to serve the public.

Recent Decrease in CDRs Conducted

At the end of FY 1996, there was a backlog of about 4.3 million CDRs. According to SSA, the backlog of CDRs occurred because of budget constraints on conducting CDRs. In response to this CDR backlog, Congress authorized about $4 billion to fund SSA’s 7 year plan to eliminate the CDR backlog. From FY 1996 through FY 2002, SSA conducted an estimated 9.4 million CDRs and became current with its CDR workload.

After the special CDR funding expired in FY 2002, the number of CDRs conducted decreased, particularly between FYs 2004 and 2008 with a decline of approximately 65 percent. In fact, the number of full medical CDRs conducted by SSA decreased from 681,000 in FY 2004 to 240,000 in FY 2008 (see Figure 1). According to SSA, budgetary constraints caused a shortfall between the number of CDRs due and the number conducted each year. Therefore, SSA estimates a backlog of 1.5 million full medical CDRs by the end of FY 2010.

We estimate SSA could potentially identify lifetime Federal benefit savings of almost $15.8 billion if it had the resources to conduct all 1.5 million full medical CDRs in FY 2010. The Federal benefit savings includes

• SSA lifetime savings of $9.6 billion (DI and OASI Trust Funds and General Fund)
• Medicare lifetime savings of $3.2 billion (Medicare Trust Fund)
• Medicaid lifetime savings of $3.0 billion (General Fund)

Social Security Benefits Paid to Individuals with a CDR in the Backlog

From CY 2005 through CY 2010, we estimate SSA will have made benefit payments of between $1.3 and $2.6 billion that could have potentially been avoided if the full medical CDRs in the backlog had been conducted when they became due. Because of their complexity, the calculations are presented in Appendix C.

In FY 2010, SSA plans to conduct 329,000 full medical CDRs. Although this is an increase in the number of full medical CDRs conducted compared to the previous year, SSA estimates the backlog will increase by 26,000 full medical CDRs. Therefore, even with SSA’s plan to conduct 360,000 full medical CDRs in FY 2011, the 1.5 million full medical CDR backlog will most likely remain. Therefore, we estimate SSA will pay between $556 million and $1.1 billion during CY 2011 that could have potentially been avoided if the full medical CDRs in the backlog had been conducted when they became due (see Appendix C).

SSA Resources for CDRs

To avoid benefit payments to individuals who are not entitled, SSA needs sufficient resources to conduct all CDRs when they become due. However, SSA faces resource challenges in being able to perform the CDRs that become due each year and, at the same time, meet the growing need to serve the public. This challenge is heightened given the need to eliminate the full medical CDR backlog.

Furthermore, SSA is challenged to have the DDS resources available to conduct full medical CDRs given the ever-increasing numbers of initial disability applications. In FY 2009 alone, SSA received almost 3 million applications for disability benefits, an increase of 15 percent over FY 2008. As a result, initial claims pending grew to about 770,000 at the end of FY 2009. SSA expects 350,000 more initial disability claims than first projected for FY 2010 and estimates that the pending level could reach over 1 million during FY 2010.

The increase in initial disability applications challenges SSA’s ability to provide world-class service, creating workloads that exceed resources. These numbers also create challenges for SSA with respect to stewardship, forcing the dedication of resources to processing applications, rather than conducting full medical CDRs, or taking other steps to ensure program integrity.

However, it is important for SSA to continue striving to ensure that only those entitled to benefits are receiving them. To do so, SSA should continue working with Congress to secure the funds necessary to eliminate the existing full medical CDR backlog and conduct the CDRs that become due each year.

To help ensure SSA receives the funds necessary to conduct the CDRs that become due each year, we support a self-funding program integrity fund. In July 2009, we recommended that SSA continue pursuing the establishment of a self-funding program integrity fund, and SSA agreed to do so. To ensure CDRs are conducted timely, we believe the mechanism to provide funding for CDRs should not depend on annual appropriations nor be subject to SSA’s discretion for expending these funds. During the last several years, significant backlogs arose with costs in the billions because SSA chose not to conduct all full medical CDRs as they became due. A permanent, indefinite appropriation will ensure that needed funds are available and SSA cannot use those funds for other purposes.

A proposal for a self-funding program integrity fund formerly considered by SSA contained the following elements.

• Provide authority for SSA to expend a portion of actual collections of erroneous payments on activities to prevent, detect, and collect erroneous payments. Specifically, the proposal would establish permanent indefinite appropriations, subject to Office of Management and Budget apportionment, to make available to SSA up to 25 percent of the actual overpayments collected during the base FY and make available to the Office of the Inspector General up to 2.5 percent of the same collected overpayments.

• Establish a revolving fund that would be financed from SSA’s stewardship/program integrity activities’ projected lifetime savings. That is, SSA would be permitted to deposit up to 50 percent of the estimated future lifetime program savings from processing such program integrity activities as (but not limited to) CDRs, SSI redeterminations, Cooperative Disability Investigation Units, and Special Office of the General Counsel prosecutions. The Commissioner would be authorized to fund initiatives that would yield at least a 150-percent return on investment in a 10-year time period. This proposal would link budgeting for cost-effective program integrity activities with their results.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

SSA has made, and will continue to make, benefit payments to individuals who would potentially no longer be entitled if the backlog of 1.5 million full medical CDRs had been conducted when they became due. From CY 2005 through CY 2010, we estimate SSA will have made benefit payments of between $1.3 and $2.6 billion that could have potentially been avoided if the full medical CDRs in the backlog had been conducted when due. Further, although SSA plans to conduct an increased number of full medical CDRs in FY 2011, the 1.5 million full medical CDR backlog will most likely remain. Therefore, we estimate SSA will pay benefits of between $556 million and $1.1 billion during CY 2011 that could have potentially been avoided if the full medical CDRs in the backlog had been conducted when due.

The growing need to serve the public and the increase in initial disability applications challenges SSA’s ability to provide world-class service delivery, creating workloads that exceed resources. These numbers also create challenges for SSA with respect to stewardship, forcing the dedication of resources to processing applications, rather than conducting full medical CDRs, or taking other steps to ensure program integrity. However, it is important for SSA to continue to strive to ensure that only those entitled to benefits are receiving them.

We recommend SSA continue to work with Congress to secure the funds necessary to eliminate the existing full medical CDR backlog and to conduct the CDRs that become due each year. To the extent that resources are not available to conduct the CDRs that become due each year, SSA should report the reasons and the associated impact on Federal benefit payments in its annual CDR Report to Congress.

AGENCY COMMENTS

SSA partially agreed with our recommendation. SSA disagreed with the portion of our recommendation that suggested it report in the annual CDR Report to Congress the reasons and associated impact on Federal benefit payments of not conducting all CDRs that become due each year. According to SSA, the amount of time it takes to prepare the annual CDR Report to Congress undermines the usefulness of reporting this information. See Appendix D for the full text of SSA’s comments.

OIG RESPONSE

To be good stewards, SSA must ensure that it pays benefits only to those individuals who continue to be entitled. To accomplish full stewardship, SSA needs to conduct the full medical CDRs that become due each year so that benefits can be terminated for individuals who are no longer entitled. This level of stewardship is of utmost importance given the current and projected economic condition of the DI and OASI Trust Funds. For example, DI program costs have exceeded tax revenues since 2005 and exhaustion of the DI Trust Fund is projected for 2020.

The Act also specifies that benefit payments shall be made only from the applicable Social Security Trust Fund. Consequently, if the DI Trust Fund becomes insolvent, full Social Security disability benefits may not be paid on time. To help ensure the solvency of the DI Trust Fund, SSA should conduct full medical CDRs when they become due so that funds are not used to pay benefits to ineligible individuals.

Furthermore, in accordance with the President’s commitment to transparency and open Government, we continue to believe SSA should fully disclose to Congress the reasons and associated impact on Federal benefit payments of not conducting all CDRs that become due each year. To ensure full transparency and accountability, SSA should report this information to Congress as timely as possible.

/s/
Patrick P. O’Carroll, Jr.

Appendices
APPENDIX A – Acronyms

APPENDIX B – Scope and Methodology

APPENDIX C – Benefit Payments to Individuals with a Full Medical Continuing Disability Review in the Backlog

APPENDIX D – Agency Comments

APPENDIX E – OIG Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments

Appendix A
Acronyms

Act Social Security Act
CY Calendar Year
C.F.R. Code of Federal Regulations
CDR Continuing Disability Review
DDS Disability Determination Services
DI Disability Insurance
FY Fiscal Year
OASI Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Pub. L. No. Public Law Number
SSA Social Security Administration
SSI Supplemental Security Income
U.S.C. United States Code

Appendix B
Scope and Methodology

To complete the objectives of our review, we

• Reviewed applicable laws, regulations, and pertinent parts of the Program Operations Manual System related to continuing disability reviews (CDR).

• Reviewed the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) annual CDR Reports to Congress and the Office of Quality Performance Website information to obtain

o CDR cessation rates,
o the savings-to-cost ratio of CDRs,
o estimated benefit reductions related to CDR cessations, and
o cost to perform a CDR.

• Interviewed personnel from SSA’s Office of Quality Performance to obtain

o the estimated CDR backlog each fiscal year,
o the CDR selection process, and
o an explanation of the growth in the backlog of CDRs.

• Calculated benefit payments related to the backlog of CDRs.

The entity reviewed was SSA’s Office of Operations. Our work was conducted at the Office of Audit in Kansas City, Missouri, and SSA’s Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, from March through November 2009. We determined that the data used in this report were sufficiently reliable given the review objective and their intended use. We conducted our review in accordance with the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency’s Quality Standards for Inspections.

Appendix C
Benefit Payments to Individuals with a Full Medical Continuing Disability Review in the Backlog

From Calendar Year (CY) 2005 through CY 2010, we estimate the Social Security Administration (SSA) will have made benefit payments of between $1.3 and $2.6 billion that could have been avoided if the 1.5 million full medical continuing disability reviews (CDR) in the backlog had been conducted when they became due. Further, if the number of full medical CDRs SSA plans to conduct in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 remains consistent with FY 2010, the 1.5-million full medical CDR backlog will remain and most likely increase. Therefore, we estimate SSA will pay benefits from $556 million to $1.1 billion during CY 2011 that could have been avoided if the full medical CDRs in the backlog had been conducted when they became due.

Our estimates are based on the following methodology.
Table C-1
FY 2010 CDRs Due by Original Due Date
CDR Due Date Number of CDRs Percent of Total
2005 250,322 10%
2006 242,309 9%
2007 387,015 15%
2008 579,124 23%
2009 590,741 23%
2010 508,172 20%
Total 2,557,683
100%

1. SSA provided a file with almost 2.6 million CDRs due for FY 2010. This file included both full medical and mailer CDRs. Using information contained in this file, we identified the original due dates for these CDRs. Based on the original due dates, we identified the percentage of the 2.6 million CDRs due each year since CY 2005 (see Table C-1).

2. Of the 2.6 million CDRs due in FY 2010, SSA estimates 1.5 million full medical CDRs will not be conducted in FY 2010. Since this is an estimate, SSA could not identify the specific 1.5 million full medical CDRs and their associated due dates. Therefore, we applied the annual percentages identified in Table C-1 to the 1.5 million full medical CDRs to estimate their original due dates. For example, Table C-1 shows that 10 percent of the 2.6 million full medical and mailer CDRs were originally due in 2005. Hence, we applied 10 percent to the 1.5 million full medical CDRs to estimate 146,806 full medical CDRs had a CY 2005 due date (see Table C-2).

Table C-2
CDR Backlog by Estimated Due Date
CDR Due Date Estimated Number of Full Medical CDRs Percent of Total
2005 146,806 10%
2006 142,107 9%
2007 226,972 15%
2008 339,638 23%
2009 346,451 23%
2010 298,027 20%
Total 1,500,001
100%

3. We estimated the numbers of full medical CDRs that would have ultimately resulted in a cessation if the CDRs were conducted in the year they became due. Historically, SSA estimated 12 percent of all CDRs conducted would ultimately result in a cessation of disability benefits, according to information obtained from SSA’s annual CDR Reports to Congress. However, SSA typically conducts CDRs with the highest cessation rates first. Specifically, SSA typically conducts Title II adult and Title XVI child CDRs before Title XVI adult CDRs. Therefore, the backlog of CDRs may consist mainly of Title XVI adult cases, which have a historical cessation

rate of 6 percent. Therefore, we estimated the number of full medical CDRs from Table C-2 that would ultimately result in a cessation based on a 6 percent and a
12-percent cessation rate. For example, we applied 12 percent to the 146,806 CDRs we estimated were originally due in CY 2005 and determined that 17,617 CDRs would have ultimately resulted in a cessation if the CDRs had been conducted in CY 2005 (see Table C 3).

Table C-3
Estimated Cessations if CDRs Were Conducted When Due
Assuming 6- and 12-Percent Cessation Rates
CDR Due Date Estimated Number of Full Medical CDRs Estimated Cessations Assuming a 6-Percent Cessation Rate Estimated Cessations Assuming a 12-Percent Cessation Rate
2005 146,806 8,808 17,617
2006 142,107 8,526 17,053
2007 226,972 13,618 27,237
2008 339,638 20,378 40,757
2009 346,451 20,787 41,574
2010 298,027 17,882 35,763

4. Using cessation data and benefit payment reduction estimates from SSA’s CDR Reports to Congress, we calculated the benefit payments made to individuals whose CDRs would have resulted in a cessation of benefits if the CDRs had been conducted when they originally became due. We combined the estimated annual benefit payments for CYs 2005 through 2010 to arrive at the $1.3 to $2.6 billion in payments that could have potentially been avoided if the 1.5 million CDRs had been conducted in the years they became due (see Tables C-4 and C-5).

Although SSA plans to conduct an increased number of full medical CDRs in FY 2011, the 1.5 million full medical CDR backlog will most likely remain. Therefore, we estimate SSA will pay between $556 million and $1.1 billion during CY 2011 to individuals who would potentially no longer be eligible if the full medical CDRs in the backlog had been conducted when due (see Tables C-4 and C-5).

Table C- 4
Benefit Payments to Individuals with a Full Medical CDR in the Backlog Assuming a 6-Percent Cessation Rate
CYs 2005 – 2011
Benefit Payments Made By CY
CDR Due Date 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
2005
See Table C-6 $16,999,440 $55,631,328 $57,947,832 $55,631,328 $50,989,512 $46,356,504 $44,040,000
2006
See Table C-7 $22,628,004 $55,964,664 $61,924,338 $57,158,304 $51,207,156 $48,819,876
2007
See Table C-8 $11,343,794 $77,540,892 $88,898,304 $81,326,696 $79,433,794
2008
See Table C-9 $42,936,446 $126,608,514 $138,570,400 $131,519,612
2009
See Table C-10 $43,798,209 $129,149,631 $141,351,600
2010
See Table C-11 $37,677,374 $111,100,866
Annual Benefit Payments $16,999,440
$78,259,332
$125,256,290
$238,033,004
$367,452,843
$484,287,761
$556,265,748

CYs 2005 – 2010 Benefit Payments $1,310,288,670

Table C- 5
Benefit Payments to Individuals with a Full Medical CDR in the Backlog Assuming a 12-Percent Cessation Rate11
CYs 2005 – 2011
Benefit Payments Made By CY
CDR Due Date 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
200512
See Table C-6 $34,000,810 $111,268,972 $115,902,243 $111,268,972 $101,984,813 $92,718,271 $88,085,000
2006
See Table C-7 $45,258,662 $111,935,892 $123,855,939 $114,323,312 $102,420,318 $97,645,478
2007
See Table C-8 $22,688,421 $155,087,478 $177,803,136 $162,659,364 $158,873,421
2008
See Table C-9 $85,874,999 $253,223,241 $277,147,600 $263,045,678
2009
See Table C-10 $87,596,418 $258,299,262 $282,703,200
2010
See Table C-11 $75,352,641 $222195,519
Annual Benefit Payments $34,000,810
$156,527,634
$250,526,556
$476,087,388
$734,930,920
$968,597,456
$1,112,548,296

CYs 2005 – 2010 Benefit Payments $2,620,670,764

Table C-6
Benefit Payments Made During CYs 2005 – 2011 That Could Have
Been Avoided By Conducting CDRs That Became Due In CY 2005
6-Percent Cessation Rate 12-Percent Cessation Rate
Benefit Payments Made During CY 2005
Reported Cessations: Estimated number of CDRs that ultimately resulted in a cessation of benefit payments in FY 2005 as reported in the FY 2005 CDR Report to Congress. 57,000 57,000
FY 2005 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions: Benefit payments not made in FY 2005 as a result of the CDR cessations as reported in the FY 2005 CDR Report to Congress. $110,000,000
$110,000,000

Benefit Reduction per Cessation: Average benefit payments not made per ceased case in FY 2005 (calculated as FY 2005 SSA Benefit Reductions divided by Reported Cessations). $1,930
$1,930

Estimated Cessations: Number of CDRs we estimate would have resulted in a cessation if the CDRs due in CY 2005 were conducted in CY 2005 (shown in Table C-3). 8,808 17,617
Benefit Payments in CY 2005: Benefit payments that would not have been made to individuals in CY 2005 if CDRs due in CY 2005 were conducted (calculated as Benefit Reduction per Cessation times Estimated Cessations). $16,999,440
$34,000,810

Benefit Payments Made During CY 2006
Reported Cessations 57,000 57,000
FY 2006 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions $360,000,000 $360,000,000
Benefit Reductions per Cessation $6,316
$6,316

Estimated Cessations 8,808
17,617
Benefit Payments in CY 2006 $55,631,328
$111,268,972

Benefit Payments Made During CY 2007
Reported Cessations 57,000 57,000
FY 2007 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions $375,000,000 $375,000,000
Benefit Reductions per Cessation $6,579
$6,579

Estimated Cessations 8,808
17,617
Benefit Payments in CY 2007 $57,947,832
$115,902,243

Benefit Payments Made During CY 2008
Reported Cessations 57,000 57,000
FY 2008 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions $360,000,000 $360,000,000
Benefit Reductions per Cessation $6,316
$6,316

Estimated Cessations 8,808
17,617
Benefit Payments in CY 2008 $55,631,328
$111,268,972

Benefit Payments Made During CY 2009
Reported Cessations 57,000 57,000
FY 2009 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions $330,000,000 $330,000,000
Benefit Reductions per Cessation $5,789
$5,789

Estimated Cessations 8,808
17,617
Benefit Payments in CY 2009 $50,989,512
$101,984,813

Benefit Payments That Will Be Made During CY 2010
Reported Cessations 57,000 57,000
FY 2010 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions $300,000,000 $300,000,000
Benefit Reductions per Cessation $5,263
$5,263

Estimated Cessations 8,808
17,617
Benefit Payments in CY 2010 $46,356,504
$92,718,271

Benefit Payments That Will Be Made During CY 2011
Reported Cessations 57,000 57,000
FY 2011 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions $285,000,000 $285,000,000
Benefit Reductions per Cessation $5,000
$5,000

Estimated Cessations 8,808
17,617
Benefit Payments in CY 2011 $44,040,000
$88,085,000

Table C-7
Benefit Payments Made During CYs 2006 – 2011 That Could Have
Been Avoided By Conducting CDRs That Became Due In CY 2006
6-Percent Cessation Rate 12-Percent Cessation Rate
Benefit Payments Made During CY 2006
Reported Cessations: Estimated number of CDRs that ultimately resulted in a cessation of benefit payments in FY 2006 as reported in the FY 2006 CDR Report to Congress. 35,800 35,800
FY 2006 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions: Benefit payments not made in FY 2006 as a result of the CDR cessations as reported in the FY 2006 CDR Report to Congress. $95,000,000 $95,000,000
Benefit Reduction per Cessation: Average benefit payments not made per ceasd case in FY 2006 (calculated as FY 2006 SSA Benefit Reductions divided by Reported Cessations). $2,654
$2,654

Estimated Cessations: Number of CDRs we estimate would have resulted in a cessation if the CDRs due in CY 2006 were conducted in CY 2006 (as shown in Table C-3). 8,526 17,053
Benefit Payments in CY 2006: Benefit payments that would not have been made to individuals in CY 2006 if CDRs due in CY 2006 were conducted (calculated as Benefit Reduction per Cessation times Estimated Cessations). $22,628,004
$45,258,662

Benefit Payments Made During CY 2007
Reported Cessations 35,800
35,800

FY 2007 Reported SSA Benefit Reductions $235,000,000 $235,000,000
Benefit Reductions per Cessation $6,564
$6,564