Social Security spent $300M on 'IT boondoggle'

(AP)—Six years ago the Social Security Administration embarked on an aggressive plan to replace outdated computer systems overwhelmed by a growing flood of disability claims.

Nearly $300 million later, an internal report says the new system is nowhere near ready and agency officials are struggling to salvage a project racked by delays and mismanagement.

The project is still in the testing phase, and the agency can't say when it will be completed or how much it will cost.

In the meantime, people filing for disability claims face long delays at nearly every step of the process—delays that were supposed to be reduced by the new processing system.

The report was commissioned by Social Security to save the project. It was done by consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

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