Report says 60,000 veterans get triple benefits

FILE - In this July 9, 2014 file photo, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Coburn requested a Government Accountability Office report which showed nearly 60,000 veterans collected more than $3.5 billion in 2013 in military retirement pay, disability benefits from Veterans Affairs and disability checks from Social Security. Coburn said officials should fulfill promises to veterans, but work to streamline duplicative programs. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) FILE - In this July 9, 2014 file photo, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Coburn requested a Government Accountability Office report which showed nearly 60,000 veterans collected more than $3.5 billion in 2013 in military retirement pay, disability benefits from Veterans Affairs and disability checks from Social Security. Coburn said officials should fulfill promises to veterans, but work to streamline duplicative programs. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

By Associated Press November 1, 2014 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Nearly 60,000 veterans were triple dippers last year, drawing a total of $3.5 billion in military retirement pay plus veterans and Social Security disability benefits at the same time, congressional auditors report.

It’s all legal.

The average payment was about $59,000, but about 2,300 veterans, or 4 percent of the total, received concurrent payments of $100,000 or more, the Government Accountability Office said.

The highest payment was to a veteran who received $208,757 in combined payments in 2013.

Some lawmakers say the report shows the need for better coordination among government programs that are facing severe financial constraints. The Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund could run out of money in as soon as two years, government officials say.