Learn about Overpayments and Our Process
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: October 13, 2023
The Social Security Administration works to ensure that we pay the right person the right amount at the right time, and our payment accuracy rates are high. Given the magnitude of the benefits we pay each year—$1.4 trillion in benefits to more than 70 million people—and complexity of the programs we administer, overpayments can happen.
Social Security is required by law to adjust benefits or recover debts when people receive payments they weren’t entitled to. We take seriously our responsibilities to our customers and to taxpayers to safeguard the integrity of our benefit programs and be good stewards of the trust funds.
Overpayments can occur for many reasons, like when someone does not timely report work or other changes that can affect benefits or when an individual chooses to continue receiving payments during an appeal. Each person’s situation is unique, and we handle overpayments on a case-by-case basis.
Getting an overpayment notice may be unsettling or unclear, and we work with people to navigate the process. We inform people about the fact and amount of the overpayment, their right to appeal, and the options to repay or, in some cases, receive waivers for the debt.
People have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the amount. They can also ask Social Security to waive collection of the overpayment, if they believe it was not their fault and can’t afford to pay it back. We examine every waiver request to determine if the person caused the debt and their ability to repay. If we can’t waive the debt, we have flexible repayment options—including repayment of as low as $10 per month.
Social Security is working to prevent overpayments and make the process easier.
For more information about the overpayment process, please see our Overpayments Fact Sheet.
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Valerie S.
Every single time i called the at 1-800-772-1213 or have gone into a social security office i have received different answers on how to go back to work. I reported ALL of my wages either electronically, physically through the mail or verbally over the phone. Now i have a $32000 overpayment! I went back to work to be financially independent but due to Social security’s inability to get their story straight they want to ruin my life? This is a joke right? When i got into the office i NEVER get a straight answer. The only way this is going away is if i somehow prove i verbally gave my wages or sent in mail 3 years ago? AND i have to be financially destitute???? What was the point of going back to work??? Maybe i should try to get on 60 minutes too so yall will waive my overpayment. It is not like any single person working in this agency cares about the people who need or needed these benefits.
Sue
Hi, Valerie. Thanks for reading our blog. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. For your security, we don’t have access to private information in this venue. We encourage you to read our Overpayments fact sheet and to continue to work with your local Social Security office. You can ask to speak to a supervisor during your next call or visit. You can also submit feedback by visiting our Contact Social Security page. Once there, select the “Email Us” link. This will take you to the “Email A Question to our Support Team” form where you can complete and submit a compliment, complaint, or suggestion. We hope this helps.
Lisa
Social Security needs a statute of limitation. I get different amounts that I was overpaid because I was married but separated. So Social Security takes out 94 dollars out of my widows benefits. Bad enough I am disabled with multiple health problems . I wished money would go farther like Social Security this it should pay all my bills this day and time. I only get 923.00 a month and sounds like they want to hurt me for the rest of my life paying over $74, 300 I was lied to twice they claim they changed the amount. They went down then went up. It’s discussing when they don’t want you to make any money to pay your bills. Is Social Security jealous of people’s Health issues and they try and handicap them financially. Ok , I have tax and insurance due now. Are you going to pay it ? Why no , So what do you expect people to do. I wished prices was as cheap as Social Security thinks it is.. I need to go to the media and congress to get this off. Because filing a waiver is a joke. They want you to be penniless so when something brakes down you lose everything you sacrifice your entire life. Please everyone reading this contact your Congressmen and tell them about overpayment. Because going through Social Security is a joke. It’s very stressful and puts you in a stage of suicide because of the pressure of paying it back. I don’t believe I did anything wrong but can’t fight with Social Security because they act like they never make mistakes.
tom
keep reading the response we dont have access to your information it is obvious all these complaints are not being read it is a joke. but they had access setting home during covid 19 see when there time comes to collect they will have a better system in place where they will never feel or go through what we do they took everything from me and im disabled they even took my medicare for something there claiming 25yrs ago.i cant buy medication now and when something happens its all blamed on mental health well yes when the goverment puts you in that position they dont care about nobody or nothing they make good money and have big fancy houses they need money very bad for all the ones coming in that dont belong so we are paying for it in many ways we are paying the main one is ssa saying half the country owes them money and we pay it and it pays for for free phones free hotel rooms free medical free living free transportation so they take from there own who worked hard all there lives and give to ones who were never born hear best thing after you pay your bills you go to food pantries food kitchens you go and get what you can for free every where you possibly can salvation army any place possible go everyone else dose lets join the crowd and as far as counting on your congressman now is the time to to get in there ears because its election year there not all perfect as we all no in congress but lets try to find one for the people but here is another thing that many should think about during covid 19 everyone was working from home what about the ones from the ssa were they home working i would like to no that how did they get our files why were they allowed to look at things from home around friends and family and neighbors who else seen our information how did they look in are files thats many questions that need answered here is another good one read there letters it says they will beleive that you received it in 5 days from the date but we tell them we returned our information and they say no you didnt we did not receive it it happened to me twice so we have to beleive them but they dont have to beleive us but yet we are wrong we are the bad people ssa they did nothing but they want millions back to give to the ones who came here to the so called land of the free there are 2 parts of the usa now you have to decide which part of the usa you want to live in
Tena
I received a letter that my SS check will be lowered. I sent my divorce papers in as told to SS and they did receive the papers. Divorced since April 2023. My only income is SS. The check was $744/mo and now will be one hundred less. Why would they pay me $744 and then change it?
Sue
Hi, Tena. Thanks for reading our blog and for your question. For your security, we don’t have access to private information in this venue. If you have questions about the notice you received, please call 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and ask a representative to assist you. Or you can contact your local office. We hope this helps.
Marie
Does difficulty of care income from a CADI waiver for care of a relative who you reside with count as SGA for SSDI title II?
Jonny C.
Social security are fraudsters themselves you see what it says
YOU the social security office should be professional and not over pay in the first place whose fault is it that they were over payed? Yours the social security and yet you make them pay it back like that’s way backwards if you ask me and I really hope someone fixes that you made the mistake not them you should take the LOSE NOT RUIN PEOPLES LIVES
tom
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Matt T.
I saw a video online about a woman owing money to the SSA due to her astranged father collecting an overpayment while she was a child. Is this true and can you explain the process?
tom
i seen many cases that go back 40 years yes they dont care there was a guy who is in his 30s now and his mother got an overpayment when he was 11 and they want it from him they cant remember sending overpayments but they remember you owe one and nobody will explain that to you
Donna G.
I am making $100 monthly “payments” to SSA because I went over the salary limit in 2021 and 2022. I reach full retirement age in 2024, and will not have paid the amount in full by then. Will I have to cotninue making those payments once I reach full retirement age? Thanks.
Ann C.
Hi, Donna. Thanks for visiting our blog. Please work with our offices with your specific question. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., for assistance. You can also contact your local Social Security office. We hope this helps.
tom
dont listen to that garbage you have to pay until paid in full there giving you the run around
Margaret
We have been trying to do something ever since we got the over payment letter.We had no idea that my husband got over paid. We have been trying to pay it back.They wanted a large amount of money monthly that I knew we couldn’t afford. To make a long story short, they took his whole check off of him.Now we are getting 0 answers. We have Bill’s waiting to get paid with no money to pay them!! My husband is sick and has been on ss disability, worked and paid in to ss for almost 40 years!! Si what do we do?
Sue
Hi, Margaret. We’re sorry to hear about your husband’s situation. For his security, we don’t have access to private information in this venue. For general information, check out our Frequently Asked Questions. We encourage your husband to work with his local Social Security office. He can ask to speak to a supervisor during his next call or visit. You can also submit feedback by visiting our How can we help? webpage. Once there, select the “Email Us” link. This will take you to the “Email A Question to our Support Team” form where you can complete and submit a compliment, complaint, or suggestion. We hope this is resolved soon.
elizabeth
i have been in sdi since June and have a return to work date of 11-27, I was offered a job and started training on 10-23, i will not be paid the minimum wage till 11-10, can I still file for my last week sdi benefit??
Ann C.
Hi, Elizabeth. Unfortunately, your question is a bit more complex than we can handle in this forum. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. We ask that members in our Blog community work with our offices with specific questions. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., for assistance. You can also contact your local Social Security office. We hope this helps.
Deborah
If you apply and receive ss benefits at 62, then decide you want to go back to work, ot says you must repay
..but is it on payments or do they just take your entire paycheck until they are totally repaid?
Ann C.
Hi, Deborah. Thanks for visiting our blog. If you’re receiving Social Security benefits and receive an overpayment due to work, we will withhold the full amount of your benefit each month, unless you request a lesser withholding amount and we approve your request. Full withholding will start 30 days after we notify you of the overpayment. For more information about overpayments, please read our publication here. We hope this helps.
tom
you can also cancel your payments completely until your ready to file again in the future maybe then they will have there system fixed and you wont owe nothing
James N.
The Social Security Administration is a lie. They sent me a letter informing me that I had received an overpayment. I called the Social Security Administration over ten times in an attempt to get a reduced payment of $193 for three years. I called the SSA headquarters phone numbers ten times and visited the SSA local office in San Jose, California twice. I filled out all of the documents they wanted for my reduced payment, and after 6 months, the SSA took 100% of my check, leaving me to struggle and become homeless. Now I live in my car since I don’t have enough money to eat. I can’t say anything else about their lies.
Gail M.
My husband and I had been separated for years. Long story but because of situations I applied for SSI, which they told me they were using some of his credits to approve me. I have a provable legit disability. In Jan of 22, I had an interview. The SSA rep who called me who horribly rude. He asked me did I have life insurance and I was truthful. I said yes, it’s term life with no cash value. This guys says “ then you no longer qualify for SSI. I sent in proof of having term life which I don’t even pay for. I get a letter that I had way over the income limit. WHAT? Non countable income. Federal income tax, PUA, unemployment and stimulus money. My husband got very sick and did not want to even apply for disability. While waiting for SSA he had all right and applied for a little amount of unemployment.Their Dr found him unable to work. It took them 9 months to approve him. So he got a lump sum of back money. Not countable either.
The SSA have put me through hell for over a year & 9 months. I submitted over one hundred pages of proof. Waited, called, left messages and no return calls. When I did call and got a rep, she said oh you could apply on your husbands disability. I asked “ don’t I have to be 62? No ma’am! Waited for weeks for an appointment to hear, sorry you have to be 62 years old! Ok great , I finally get a call back from a woman named Mrs Durham from the Bakersfield ,CA office who told me a decision was made that I have to pay back $15’+ I asked why? When I proved to you all, all the supposed big money was from non countable sources ( by their own rules). Also might I add, that Mrs Durham clearly told me she DID NOT READ MY FILE OR ANY SUPPORTING DOCS I SENT IN!!! So how can you make a decision?
She finally called me back early this year and said she will look over everything and she will let her supervisor know they made an error with the dates , when my husband actually came back home,but it will take time! I waited again for months and finally called her back! No answer, no response! Sent in pages of proof again. No response! I called a second time, no answer, no response!
I get a letter from SSA saying that I asked for a reconsideration already and they looked over everything and found I had over the income limits and my request for a reconsideration is denied but if I get medical help in my county , help may still be a single because aliens are eligible in some cases. Whiskey, Tequila, Fudge… I am a naturalized citizen and a legal resident since 1976. I am at my wits end with this and just don’t know where else to turn. SSA’s employees make many life changing errors and have no accountability. We pay the price!
Gail M.
Help May still be available *** typo on my comment
tom
go with the refugees thats where your money is going sign up and get what they are getting thats why ssa wants money to take care of them instead of there own sad when they do it to there own why they set and decide peoples lives did you notice you did not get a response from them because they dont care
Jerald P.
I think the SSA should not make citizens, who finally have reached retirement age after difficult and long careers, pay back their own money to the SSA because the citizens chose to take a lesser amount monthly at age 62, but cannot make over $18500 a year. Why not?! We decide to forfeit 8% of our own money per month until our death, but we cannot work and make a decent wage for 4 1/2 years! Then, when you’re worn out even more, make all you want.
But, if we do make more than poverty wages while receiving our own money that was taken all our careers, SSA will collect it back any way they want!
This program is wrong and frankly evil!
SSA has created a hardship for its retirees, when they could give them a great opportunity to enjoy a having little more money for a few years after a long life of trying to be financially afloat amongst all of our beautiful struggles.
Let them continue to earn good wages as long as they want. They’ve given up the larger distribution but they will be better off financially, SSA will receive more from deductions, and your agency will have less upset citizens.
Thank you for the forum
Tim Z.
You are spot on Jerald P. The system is set up for all advantages to go to SSA, and not those that feed them. I took SSA 18 months early, and have been paying dearly for continuing to work part time. Don’t get into an “over-payment” situation, that’s where the real evil comes into play.
Vivian B.
Ive been dealing with an overpayment for 13 years filing over 10 appeals for some odd reason my very first appeal was never discovered for 13 years mind you overpayment was not my fault they new i had workers compensation and the amount i was getting from them Ssa continued to pay me for a full year until one day i het a letter saying hey you owe $70,000 then i appeal and they say hey no its $89,000 then appeal again mind you all these appeals tookbover a year of wait my main SSA office was confused as well wondering why Baltimore office is saying things like my check was one amount and there is no way both amounts made no sense no appeals helped no one help so at the end of the day they took my whole check and left me homeless
tom
go apply for welfare and medicaid and foodstamps tell them ssa told you to do so thats what we all need to do so they stop this non cence