Social Security Eliminates Overpayment Burden for Social Security Beneficiaries – Automatic Overpayment Recovery Rate Reduced to 10 Percent
Reading Time: 3 MinutesLast Updated: April 17, 2024
Social Security announced it will decrease the default overpayment withholding rate for Social Security beneficiaries to ten percent (or $10, whichever is greater) from 100 percent, significantly reducing financial hardship on people with overpayments.
“Social Security is taking a critically important step towards our goal of ensuring our overpayment policies are fair, equitable, and do not unduly harm anyone,” said Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. “It’s unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment.”
The agency works to pay the right people the right amounts at the right time, and Social Security issues correct payments in most cases. However, there is room to improve, as people count on the agency to prevent overpayments from happening and make it easier to navigate the recovery and waiver processes when they occur.
When a person has been overpaid, the law requires the agency to seek repayment, which can create financial difficulties for beneficiaries. As of March 25, 2024, the agency will collect ten percent (or $10, whichever is greater) of the total monthly Social Security benefit to recover an overpayment, rather than collecting 100 percent as was previous procedure. There will be limited exceptions to this change, such as when an overpayment resulted from fraud.
There will be a short transition period where people will continue to experience the older policy. People placed in 100 percent withholding during this transition period should call Social Security’s National 800 Number at 1-800-772-1213 to lower their withholding rate.
The change applies to new overpayments. If beneficiaries already have an overpayment with a withholding rate greater than ten percent and would like a lower recovery rate, they too should call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or their local Social Security office to speak with a representative. If a beneficiary requests a rate lower than ten percent, a representative will approve the request if it allows recovery of the overpayment within 60 months – a recent increase to improve how the agency serves its customers from the previous policy of only 36 months. If the beneficiary’s proposed rate would extend recovery of the overpayment beyond 60 months, the Social Security representative will gather income, resource, and expense information from the beneficiary to make a determination.
Social Security launched a comprehensive review in October 2023 of agency overpayment policies and procedures to address payment accuracy systematically. Learn about Overpayments and Our Process and read our Press Release. This procedure change is a direct result of the ongoing review. This change and the adjustment to 60-month repayment are part of four recently announced key updates to address improper payments. The agency also is working to reduce wage-related improper payments by establishing information exchanges with payroll data providers that will significantly reduce the number of improper payments, once implemented. The agency will continue examining programmatic policy and making regulatory and sub-regulatory changes to improve the overpayment process.
Additionally, people have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the amount. They can 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. The agency does not pursue recoveries while an initial appeal or waiver is pending. Even if people do not want to appeal or request a waiver, they should contact the agency if the planned withholding would cause hardship. Social Security has flexible repayment options, including repayment of as low as $10 per month. Each person’s situation is unique, and the agency handles overpayments on a case-by-case basis.
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Frank W.
I read the blog and can’t say I believe a bit of it having had issues with an inaccurate and incorrect overpayment amount. I began my Federal career with SSA as a Technical Claims Examiner in SSA’s Office of International Operations at SSA Headquarters in Baltimore and was fully trained in SSA law, policies and procedures, as well as having learned during the intense training we were given that some of SSA’s systems did not fully work and many things we had to calculate manually. And two things we were always told both during training and working in our modules we needed to be accurate in everything we did and that our decisions and work should always be to the benefit of the number holder. I guess that all has been thrown out and it’s now throw whatever you can at the wall and see what sticks, because SSA will always say they are correct and you just have to pay what they say you owe.
Due to errors and problems with the Federal Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs when they erroneously based my compensation on 156 weeks when OWCP procedures and policies, along with 5 U.S.C. 8107(c)(22) specifically provide a compensation schedule for injuries that were sustained on or after September 7, 1974 and that each lung has a total value of 156 weeks of disability and therefore the award should have been based upon 312 weeks of disability. This after becoming disabled and unable to work from injuries at my Federal place of employment I have fought an erroneous and outrageous overpayment with SSA for years now to no avail. The biggest issue is with the handling of the legal expense exclusions on the legal fees I have incurred in first obtaining my worker’s compensation and more to get it corrected when the employees at OWCP failed to follow procedures, policies and the law in awarding my worker’s compensation. Although duly notified of the legal expenses and the screw ups by OWCP, SSA just jumped right in and calculated an overpayment ignoring I had legal expenses and would incur more legal expenses.
And not only that, my first overpayment statement said from August 2019 to April 2021 they paid me $55,926.00, should have only been paid $26,371.00 and I was overpaid $29,555.00. I went back and did the math myself for this period from my bank statements and records of payments from SSA. From April 2019 thru April 2021, I received direct deposits totaling $40,772.00 plus the $6,000.00 from benefits paid directly to my SSA attorney by SSA totaling $46,772.00.
Simple mathematics prove I actually received $22,850.00 less than the $55,926.00 SSA says I got for this period. The statement then said I owed an overpayment of $33,217.00, $3,662.00 more than what they previously stated in the same notice when it says I was paid $29,555.00 more than I should have been. Talk about creative accounting, being I minored in accounting in college and have no idea how they came up with these figures.
The issue continues thru today as despite SSA stating on my SSA-1099’s that for 2021 and 2022 they recovered a total of $21,131.00 for the overpayment, they still show I owe a balance of $24,196.00. How does one initially owe $33,217.00 and after paying back $21,131.00 still owe $24,196.00. It is mathematically impossible as simple subtraction shows that $33,217.00 minus $21,131.00 equals $12,086.00.
And when I used my knowledge of SSA policy and procedures in SSA POMS I have recalculate everything from day one thru today allowing for the offsets and calculating the overpayment on the final accurate and complete worker’s compensation and taking into account the legal expense exclusion. Based on the full correct actual award amounts from August 2019 to September 2024 (including CPI increases in the periodic payments each year by OWCP), the full legal expenses of $36.240.00 incurred to obtain the initial award and the DE NOVO DECISION Amended Award (since OWCP erred) and the actual SSDI payments I have received to date I calculated that my overpayment as of May 2021 would have been $23,079.90 and not the SSA stated $33,217.00. After deducting amounts recovered per my SSA-1099’s for 2021 and 2022 totaling $21,131.00, as of today I should owe a balance of 1,948.90 and not the SSA stated balance of $24,196.00.
I received a notice on June 6, 2024 SSA stating that they would be withholding my full reduced benefit of $427.70 beginning in June 2024 until March 2029 to recover the erroneous and incorrect $24,196.00 overpayment balance they say I still owe. Not to mention my worker’s compensation ends in September 2024 and my SSDI should return to the full amount since I will no longer be receiving WC/PDB and SSDI benefits concurrently.
But as I have found with these Federal agencies it will be years before it gets resolved and I will just have to face the consequences and face the dire financial consequences of trusting our government to do what is right, fair and equitable and ethical. On top of them willingly and knowingly injuring and disabling me and then having to fight for what is due me at every turn.
Even when you can show that their calculations are mathematically impossible and do not reflect the truth or facts, they will tell you “you owe it and to pay it”.
Helena M.
The agency does not pursue recoveries while an initial appeal or waiver is pending.
That’s a lie because I keep getting letters that I owe them $24,329 even though I have started the appeal process in January of this year and it’s still pending.
Either this blog is lying or getting harassing letters is illegal and if Social Security breaking the law and I should get an attorney.
Frank W.
It’s all BS. SSA first told me in my overpayment notice they paid me $55,926.00, should have only been paid $26,371.00 and I was overpaid $29,555.00. I went back and did the math myself for this period from my bank statements and records of payments from SSA. From April 2019 thru April 2021 I received direct deposits totaling $40,772.00 plus the $6,000.00 paid directly to my SSA attorney for a total of $46,772.00. SSA can’t even do simple mathematics. And the statement said I owed a $33,217.00 overpayment and to send them a check.
I have fought it for years now and although they on my SSA-1099’s that for 2021 and 2022 show they recovered a total of $21,131.00 for the overpayment, they still show I owe a balance of $24,196.00. How does one initially owe $33,217.00 and after paying back $21,131.00 still owe $24,196.00. It is mathematically impossible as simple subtraction shows that $33,217.00 minus $21,131.00 equals $12,086.00 which is not $24,196.00 as their system reflects and has reflected since June 2022.
Worst yet is that I incurred $36,240.00 in legal expenses to get my Federal Worker’s Compensation for my on-the-job injuries that caused me to be unable to work and disabled and those they did not exclude in the initial calculations for overpayment and offsets of my SSDI as their own SSA POMS DI-52150.050 1. a). clearly states that “If the expenses represent amounts for a specified period, deduct expenses from the period they represent”. Instead, they have used the approach of let’s throw whatever we want at it and see if it sticks to determine the offsets and overpayment.
As for the recent Commissioner O’Malley saying they would stop the heavy-handed practice of intercepting 100 percent of an overpaid beneficiary’s monthly Social Security benefit, I just received a notice saying my entire reduced benefit of $427.70 a month was to be withheld June 2024 to March 2029 and I would receive zero dollars. And my worker’s compensation ends in September this year and my SSDI should return to the full amount.
They say to call them about it. That does no good. They refuse to fix errors and do what is right. And this whole mess was caused by miscalculations at the Federal Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs (OWCP) failed to properly calculate my compensation when they erroneously based my compensation on 156 weeks when OWCP procedures and policies, along with 5 U.S.C. 8107(c)(22) specifically provide a compensation schedule for injuries that were sustained on or after September 7, 1974 and that each lung has a total value of 156 weeks of disability and therefore the award should have been based upon 312 weeks of disability. This caused more delays and me to spend more legal fees to get it corrected and since the worker’s comp affects my SSDI benefits and the overpayment and offsets imposed, this screw up has created a real mess for me. Not to mention it is wreaking havoc on us financially.
But because Federal employees at these agencies fail to do their jobs and ensure accuracy in the computations and fail to even follow law, I get to pay the price of outrageous overpayments and not receiving the full SSDI benefits I legally and rightfully deserve. And SSA seems to take a very apathetic attitude towards us when they can’t even do simple addition and subtraction and it shows.
Brenda P.
Ss decided that my daughter who has MS is not disabled. They are demanding 55k immediately. I don’t know where they got info to back their decision. My daughter has active lesions in her brain right now. SS did not contact her doctors. Yes she has worked a couple of days a week, if she’s was able. She has to rest during work. Her employer is aware of her condition. If she says she needs to go to her car, they know she’s going to rest even sleeping. I feel the SS department is attacking her because she will accept their threats and not argue for herself. They cut her check not for repayment of overpayment but because they determined her to have gainful employment. My daughter called SS to let them know she was trying to work and they told her she was not over the amt they set. Not to worry. MY DAUGHTER DOES NOT WANT TO BE DISABLED!! she will try to work more hours which will cause her to have an exacerbation. Then she will not be able to do anything. She does not want to talk about this audit because she is trying to stay calm so her health will not decline. SS says they make their determinations based on individual basis. I don’t care what they say. I know my daughter. She is disabled. She doesn’t want their money. She’s gonna try to make more money but if she can’t sh will file for SS again!
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Lanette N.
When is there going to be a review of SSI agents counting pandemic payments as resources? I have a close relative who received an overpayment notice because of the stimulus payment she received in 2021. She explained at her review that her bank account was over $2000 because of the stimulus payment, but they ignored her explanation and said she was overpaid, and she is required to pay back her benefits. They are in the wrong, but she is afraid to appeal.
Martina J.
I thought that my payments stopped even though I was in the ticket to work program and had lost my job. I filled out a form to Social Security and I did not replace my payment card when it expired in April 2023. My disability involved a coma and a brain Damage that really impacts my ability to deal with stress and numbers. I got a 1099 that showed that I got paid a full years benefit, but I never collected the benefit. I had been getting my benefits on a card and I hadn’t replaced the card so now I don’t know how to get the money that , Social Security agrees I was owed. I am going to try to make an appointment to talk to someone at Social Security to help me because my children and I have been under a lot of financial pressure because I have a really hard time holding down a job my disability. If Anyone at SSA can help me, please contact me. I even added $7000 of debt to the IRS when someone did my taxes because I just couldn’t understand what was going on. Now I understand that I’m still eligible and I’m gonna update my deposit information, but I would like to get some money that I was due, and then I actually paid taxes on
Margaret M.
The SSA confuses its own personnel through its policies POMS. Every payment which exceeds that owed is not a legally binding overpayment and the SSA does not include the exceptions in the policies but rather mischaracterizes all excess payments as “overpayments” when they are not all LDOs. Moreover, it has deducted $2760 from my legitimate payments to cover an incorrect payment from my ex-spouse’s brother who received a 2009 incorrect payment to a joint acct after my ex-spouse had died, which is not an LDO, is not deductible from my benefits as an overpayment, and withheld processing of a 7162 Form to gather the $2760 illegally predicated on fraud and then lied about it by misrepresentations in the letter issued after-the-fact on March 5, 2024 and then the Bangor office did not return copy of my formal faxed appeal, despite requests.
ASue2
It’s interesting that so much attention is being given to the waiver and reduced payment options. Those are only for persons who agree that they were overpaid. If the person disagrees that they were overpaid—not just that the overpayment wasn’t their fault—the correct venue is to file a Request for Reconsideration (SSA-speak for appeal) of the adverse action described in the Notice of Planned Action (NOPA) What isn’t being mentioned is that under something called Goldberg-Kelly, SSA is required to continue paying benefits until the appeal is adjudicated and decided. Specifically, SI 02220.017 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Overpayment Reconsideration A.1.a requires “[w]hen an overpayment reconsideration is filed within 60-days of the overpayment notice date: Stop recovery actions; Refund by AOTP any payments withheld in the month of the request or later (See SM 01901.001); Resume adjustment only when the reconsideration determination affirms the fact of the overpayment” consistent with the information stated in the 2/5/2024 NOPA. EM-21064 REV. B (Effective Dates: 10/29/2021 – Present) further requires: “[R]ecipients who file a request for reconsideration more than 15 days after the date on the GK notice, but within 65 days after the date on the GK notice shall also receive GK payment continuation, unless the recipient waives GK payment continuation, as explained below.”
I’m seeing SSA ignore or else be completely ignorant of this part of their manual and suspend benefits immediately and completely regardless of whether an appeal has been filed timely. And then sit on the appeal while the person goes without benefits.
Clarence W.
What if I miss the 60day window what do I do
Stacy S.
We’re sorry to hear about your experience, Clarence. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. We encourage you to continue to work with your local Social Security Office. Or you can call us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. We hope this is resolved soon.
MEG
I believe something is going on with the government and corruption in this thing with overpayments! I really think it needs to be investigated. Is there anyway that you could contact me? I have a few questions?
Caryl
I’ve thought that long ago. Awful funny that they are short staffed and a two year backlog, but somehow the Overpayment switch got triggered. Disgruntled employee?
The problem, is ever, Congress. Except for Representative John Larson, no Member seems interested. See him on YT.
Linda
They stopped my payments for 3 years and then when I retire took the 5,700 out of my check that they owed me
Janice F.
Both my husband and I will be homeless because the SSA decided that we were overpaid. My husband had a life altering injury and received SSDI, the SSA decided he wasn’t eligible after several years, and never notified us.
I retired in the middle of the year so, my job paid well until then. Now I am being penalized for deciding to collect my money in the middle of the year.
This is unfair.
Stacy S.
Hi Janice. Thanks for reading our blog. We’re sorry to hear about you and your husband’s situation. For security reasons, We do not have access to private information in this venue. However, if your husband has limited income and resources, he may be eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in addition to your monthly Social Security benefit. SSI is a needs-based program that provides payments to people with limited income and resources who are age 65 or older, blind, or have a qualifying disability. To learn more about SSI eligibility requirements and how to apply, visit our Who Can Get SSI page. You can also call us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. In addition, you both may be able to receive assistance from the state in which you live. To learn about services in your community, you can contact your state or local social services agency or welfare office. For other resources, check out our recent blog: How Connecting to Benefits Program Can Save You Money. We hope this information is helpful.