US disbursed $601m to dead people, report says

By Ed O’Keefe Washington Post / September 24, 2011

 

WASHINGTON - The federal government pays out millions of dollars to dead people each year, including deceased retired federal workers, according to a report.

In the past five years, the Office of Personnel Management has made more than $601 million in benefits payments to deceased federal annuitants, according to the agency’s inspector general. Total annual payouts range between $100 million and $150 million.

Inspector General Patrick McFarland, who previously reported on the improper payments in 2005 and 2008, urged the agency to more closely track such mistakes.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2011/09/24/us_paid_dead_people_601_million_over_past_five_years_report_says/