2.1 Providin g Information to B eneficiaries 



PROBLEM: Since the current SSA computer system accommodates onlv one address ,■ 

 paying social security beneficiaries at financial organizations results in 

 financial organization receipt of correspondence intended for beneficiaries. 

 The SSA directs two types of notices to beneficiaries First, general no 

 tices (inserts) are included with checks about four times a year and relate 

 to general program changes in benefit rate, health insurance P™»^; P" ne „ 

 gram benefits, etc. Second, special notices are directed to * nd ^idual bene 

 riciaries, in a separate mailing, and usually relate to changes In the bene 

 ficiaries payment status (adverse action). It is particularly impor ant 

 that these latter notices reach the beneficiarv as soon as possible since 

 the time period during which the beneficiary may protest the action to he 

 taken is based on the date of the letter. Under the current system, If a 

 henericiarv is to receive this correspondence, it must be forwarded to hi* 

 by his financial organization. 



FINDINGS: Survey findings with respect to those banks which indicated that 

 they were currently serving P ower-of-attornev beneficiaries indicate that 

 92% of the banks forward check inserts to beneficiaries, and 95,. of such 

 banks receiving adverse action notices forwarded the notices to beneficiaries 

 Regarding future practices, 83% of ail banks indicated a willingness to for- 

 ward material to beneficiaries within one week of its receipt. On the bene- 

 ficiarv side, general program information directed to beneficiaries in the 

 form of check inserts is received by 89% of the power-ot-attorney benefici- 

 aries. However, of those power-of-attorney beneficiaries who were subject 

 to an adverse action, 27% received notice of the action after the affected 

 payment was due. 



Figure 2.1 depicts these and other findings. 



CONCLUSION: Based upon the extent to which (1) power-of-attorney benefici- 

 aries are now receiving general program information in the form of check in- 

 serts (?) financial organizations are now forwarding check inserts to bene- 

 ficiaries and (3) financial organizations would be willing to forward check 

 inserts to beneficiaries in the future, communicating general program infor- 

 mation to beneficiaries by means of check inserts under a direct-deposit pro- 

 gram will be satisfactory. The survey results do disclose that bank willing- 

 ness to forward material will decline from 92% to 83* if the volume of such 

 material increases substantially; however, this declination, which is not sif 

 nificant enough to alter the foregoing conclusion, could be averted by time! 

 implementation of an EFT system. An FFT system would require mailing o, all 

 informational material directly to beneficiaries by the Government and thus 

 eliminate any dependence on financial organizations to do so. Although finar 

 cial organizations do forward adverse action notices and will continue to do 

 so in the future, the extent to which they will do so is not adequate (1/ 

 would not be willing to forward material) nor are the notices forwarded 

 timely enough (27% were not received by recipients until after tne affected 

 payment was due). The capability to secure and maintain the current mailing 

 address of beneficiaries, and to mail adverse action notices to these addres: 

 must be developed. 



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