THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 18, 1994 TAG: 9411180485
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Thousands of retired Americans were underpaid an average of $1,000 in Social Security benefits due to a 1978 computer glitch. The government is now trying to reimburse them.
The Social Security Administration recently discovered the mistake and must now identify as many as 426,000 elderly people whose retirement checks were shorted by an average of $10 a month, some for a decade or more.
Agency officials said Social Security intends to notify and repay all the recipients. The error totals $478.5 million. The agency will pay survivors and retireees' estates, but will not pay interest.
Commissioner Shirley Chater said she was gratified that agency employees helped uncover the mistake, but ``it is now imperative that we take immediate action to correct the problem so that it will not occur again and then move quickly to begin processing the underpayments that are long overdue.''
Social Security spokesman Phil Gambino noted the error affects fewer than 1 percent of the 43 million Americans who receive benefits.
But fixing the problem is still expected to be a burden for an agency struggling to answer its telephones, reduce a backlog of claims for disability benefits and crack down on fraud. MEMO: Social Security's toll-free phone number is (800) 772-1213. Hours are 7
a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, business days.
by CNB