Social Security Announces Cost Cutting Initiative Following Audit

The Social Security Administration (SSA) on March 19 announced a plan to reduce costs and enhance security measures following stakeholder feedback and a recent audit by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The SSA said in a statement that a “phased approach will be adopted to reduce operating costs by up to approximately 40 percent going forward.” The savings measure will focus on the Electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (eCBSV) service, which will be streamlined for better “addressing the needs of customers, including the financial industry and various governmental bodies.” Annual fees charged to participating entities related to the service will be reduced by approximately 25 percent, said the agency....