A recent audit found the Social Security Administration made $37 million of retirement and disability payments to roughly 750 veterans who were already dead, resulting in millions of taxpayer dollars going to waste. The Inspector General for the agency said, in most instances, the Department of Veteran Affairs failed to send death information to the SSA and, alarmingly, that there could be even more deceased veterans receiving payments.

The Washington Free Beacon has the story:

The inspector general for the agency reported more retirement and disability payments could be made to deceased individuals if action is not taken to correct the government’s death record system.

…

“SSA issued payments to 3,925 beneficiaries who had dates of death in VA’s records,” the inspector general said. “Our audit results indicated that at least 11 percent of these beneficiaries were alive, and death information in VA’s records was erroneous. However, our audit results also indicated that at least 19 percent of these beneficiaries were deceased, and death information in VA’s records was accurate.”

The inspector general found that, in most instances, the Department of Veterans Affairs failed to disclose death information to the SSA.

This is a prime example of how our government should not operate. The Department of Veteran Affairs’ failure to catch these errors has wasted millions of American tax dollars. Click here to help Tea Party Patriots fight against wasteful government spending and demand that the Department of Veteran Affairs cleans up its act!