"Where did you get the money to pay for this trip?" This is a typical question that SSA (Social Security) staff is asking Korean-American seniors who have recently returned from visits to Korea. The Department of Social Security is closely investigating SSI benefits, and randomly samples travel records of beneficiaries, who are then investigated, regardless of the length of the trip abroad.
The stepped-up scrutiny has produced an increase in the number of cases in the N.Y. Korean community, and is showing that most of the people being investigated did not report their overseas trips to SSA prior to departure. Upon their return, many are faced with penalties and the forced repayment of benefits for the period in question. In some cases, their status as beneficiaries has been changed and they no longer qualify for benefits.
One Korean grandmother, 71 year-old Mrs. Choi, who had been living on SSI [Supplemental Security Income, the federal income program for the aged, blind, or disabled] received notice of an investigation by the SSA. Mrs. Choi had visited her son in Korea for a month last autumn, and returned without incident to the United States. When an SSA employee asked about the source of the funds for travel, Mrs. Choi answered that her son had provided the ticket. As a result, she will receive a reduction in her benefits this year; the ticket fee of $1,300 plus the SSI benefit of $700 for one month – a total of $2000 – will be deducted from her allotted benefits.
The U.S. Social Security Administration has been plagued by serious deficits in the past years, prompting strong enforcement of their rules and investigations into false claims, fraud, or abuse. These investigations have netted many elderly Korean-Americans who go on trips abroad.
SSA periodically contacts banks and USCIS in order to obtain information on beneficiaries, and randomly samples names from those collected lists to determine whether violations have been committed. According to SSA regulations for current SSI benefits, a stay abroad over 30 days must be reported. However, these days SSA seems to be randomly investigating anyone who has traveled abroad, regardless of length of stay. In cases where an individual remains abroad over 30 days without reporting the stay, the SSI benefits accrued must be returned, and a 30-day holding period on scheduled payments is put in place.
Ms. Moon Katelyn, the director of a Korean American Senior Center in NY, said, "Currently over 70 percent of Korean SSI beneficiaries here have questioned whether travelling to Korea is advisable, given their limited financial situations. SSA is targeting Korean-American seniors who have not reported trips in 2009 and re-examining benefits and qualification for those sampled." She added, "SSA is also strictly enforcing the rule stipulating that a beneficiary must report a new address or residence prior to a move; in the case of travel, prior notification to SSA will allow the beneficiary to maintain benefits, minus those accrued during the period of overseas travel."
