Social Security 2024: How To Verify or Fight Overpayments If You Owe Money Back
Could you imagine receiving Social Security benefits to pay for groceries, housing, and other necessities every month, only to find you owe the agency thousands of dollars or more? For many Americans, this is reality.
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In 2023, the Social Security Administration collected $4.9 billion in overpayments, and is going after another $23 billion from beneficiaries, according to KFF Health News. An investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group revealed that more than 2 million people fall victim to Social Security clawbacks annually.
What Is a Social Security Clawback?
Overpayment, and a subsequent clawback from the SSA, occurs when the administration discovered they paid too much money to a Social Security Income beneficiary who is disabled, blind or at least 65 years old, or to a disabled worker or dependent who received Social Security Disability Insurance.
If a beneficiary receives a notice of overpayment and doesn’t respond, the SSA can halt benefits or take collections action.
Do You Owe Social Security Money?
If you received a statement in the mail saying you received an overpayment in benefits, you should pay attention. According to the SSA, you will have at least 35 days from the date of the notice to take care of it.
The only way to find out if you overpaid is to look for a notice in the mail.
What To Do If You Receive a Notice of Overpayment
You have several options if you did receive an overpayment notice:
You can submit a Request for Change in Overpayment Recovery Rate, which will reduce the monthly payments to manageable amounts. If you don’t have online access, you can also fax or mail the form to your local Social Security Office.
You can ask the SSA to waive repayment if you feel the error wasn’t your fault by sending a Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery.
If you don’t agree that you’ve been overpaid or believe the amount is incorrect, you can request a reconsideration or an appeal, which the SSA said takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete online. If you have the money and believe the clawback is valid, you can make a payment online or by phone.
If you have any questions, you can call the Social Security office at 800-772-1213. SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley admitted to KFF Health News that the “only thing that’s really clear about the notice is to call the 800 number.” But SSA phone lines are also plagued with problems, including long wait times.
How To Avoid Overpayments
Ideally, you can avoid overpayments. Many overpayments occur because people experience a change — such as increased income, marriage or death of a beneficiary. If your marital status, income or living situation changes, be sure to alert the SSA by the 10th day of the month after it happened. You can do so by calling the SSA or visiting a local office.
SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley told KFF Health News that he is working to propose changes to halt or reform the clawback process. He said that he aims to institute a statute of limitations, impose a 10% limit on clawbacks for some beneficiaries and put the burden on the agency to show proof of overpayment.
“One would assume that in a country where people are innocent until proven guilty, that the burden should fall more on the agency than on the unwitting beneficiary,” he told KFF Health News.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Social Security 2024: How To Verify or Fight Overpayments If You Owe Money Back
