Section 2 

 PROBLEMS AND FINDINGS 



THE CONCERNS EXPRESSED AND THE PROBLEMS THAT WERE THOUGHT TO EXIST WITH 

 A DIRECT-DEPOSIT SYSTEM, AND THE FINDINGS WITH RESPECT TO THESE PROBLEMS 

 AND CONCERNS, HAVE BEEN CONSOLIDATED INTO FIVE MAJOP PROBLEM CATEGORIES: 

 (1) PROVIDING INFORMATION TO BENEFICIARIES, (2) OBTAINING INFORMATION 

 FROM BENEFICIARIES, (3) CREATING OVERPAYMENT SITUATIONS, (4) DETERMINING 

 BENEFICIARY INTEREST IN DIRECT DEPOSIT AND (5) COSTS. THE FIGURE BELOW 

 DELINEATES ALL THE CONCERNS AND SUSPECTED PROBLEMS. 



Direct-Deposit Suspected Problems 



Providing Information to Beneficiaries 



Lack of prompt notification of change in payment status 

 Lack of prompt advice of general program changes 



Obtaining Information from Beneficiaries 



Lack of beneficiary incentive to notify SSA of events that affect 

 their payment 



Creating Overpayment Situations 



Loss of returned check as notice of termination or suspension event 



Loss of individual endorsement on check 



Deposits to joint accounts might create problems with overpayment 



recovery 

 Loss of ability to withhold promptly the current month payment 



Determining Beneficiary Interest in Direct-Deposit 



Lack of massive beneficiary interest in a direct-deposit 



system could result in an uneconomical program. 

 Premature publicity may lead to poorly timed implementation. 



Costs 



Costs for extensive system revisions could be prohibitive. 



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