Speech #970075267

Aside from the dramatic increase in the number of foreign beneficiaries. it is my sense that opportunists exploit the social security system abroad simply because of the inherent difficulties in administering it. Among the most highly visible problems are the following: The overseas beneficiary population is growing rapidly (from 98.791 in 1960 to 313.342 in 1981). Benefits are obtained through fraudulent means. The high number of undocumented workers in the United States raises the specter of massive increases in future benefit claims. For benefit purposes. the Social Security Administration does not keep statistics on the number of workers here legally or illegally. It is estimated that 8 million of these individuals are workers.