Social Security Administration: Many Letters Difficult to Understand
(Testimony, 03/22/94, GAO/T-HEHS-94-126).

The Social Security Administration (SSA) each year sends letters to more
than 44 million people. To accommodate this extremely high volume,
virtually the entire process is automated. SSA relies on these letters
to officially notify individuals about their eligibility for benefits or
adjustments SSA is making to their benefits. SSA has had longstanding
problems communicating clearly in its letters. Although SSA's recently
revised communication standards appear to be a positive step, they do
not address problems such as illogically ordered information or missing
details. GAO staff trained in accounting and the Social Security program
examined a representative sample of 500 letters and found them hard to
understand. GAO concludes that SSA needs to establish overall
communication objectives, including identifying its customers'
preferences and measuring progress toward achieving such objectives.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-HEHS-94-126
     TITLE:  Social Security Administration: Many Letters Difficult to 
             Understand
      DATE:  03/22/94
   SUBJECT:  Computerized information systems
             Beneficiaries
             ADP
             Systems conversions
             Overpayments
             Eligibility determinations
             Communications operations
             Data transmission operations
             Social security benefits
             Data base management systems
IDENTIFIER:  Supplemental Security Income Program
             Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program
             Social Security Program
             
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