United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1996-09-12 monographic deposited born digital 21 p. GA 1.13:T-HEHS-96-210 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-HEHS-96-210 P0b002ee1803a1753 f:he96210t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-T-HEHS-96-210 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-HEHS-96-210 T-HEHS-96-210 Social security benefits Forms (documents) Information dissemination operations Public relations Retirement benefits Customer service Federal social security programs SSA Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statement Canada Canada Pension Plan Social Security Program Testimony HEHS GAO discussed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement (PEBES). GAO noted that: (1) the public has reacted favorably to unsolicited PEBES, and SSA has improved the statement in response to public feedback; (2) the public generally feels that the statement is a valuable tool for retirement planning, but the statement does not clearly convey its purpose and related information on SSA programs and benefits; (3) PEBES weaknesses have resulted from its piecemeal development and the lack of testing for comprehension; (4) there is no consensus on the best model for PEBES; (5) SSA plans to redesign PEBES only if the redesign results in lower printing costs; (6) this approach fails to recognize the hidden costs arising from the need to answer public inquiries about statement information and the undermining of public confidence in SSA programs by the statement's poor design; (7) SSA needs to improve PEBES layout and design and simplify certain explanations, obtain more detailed feedback from its frontline workers, conduct comprehension tests, and consider alternative statement formats; and (8) SSA senior management attention is needed to ensure the success of the statement initiative by redesigning PEBES to present benefits information more effectively. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-HEHS-96-210/html/GAOREPORTS-T-HEHS-96-210.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-HEHS-96-210/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-HEHS-96-210.pdf GAO/T-HEHS-96-210 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-HEHS-96-210 Testimony GAO/T-HEHS-96-210; SSA Benefit Statements: Statements Are Well Received by the Public but Difficult to Comprehend; Social security benefits Forms (documents) Information dissemination operations Public relations Retirement benefits Customer service Federal social security programs SSA Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statement Canada Canada Pension Plan Social Security Program Public Law 101-239 Public Law 101-508