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March 29, 2024 •By Jeffrey Buckner, Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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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Tags: overpayment, Payments
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About the Author
Jeffrey Buckner, Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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Comments
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Yvonne R.
I was in a situation in 2021. I applied for SS Benefits., when I was called for phone interview, I informed the Representative that I was back to work and I wanted to withdraw my application. I was informed at that time by the Rep., to continue with the interview. We went through the process and I was told that SS owed me X amount of money and that the check would be deposited in my account with in the week. I received the money and at the time I had been off work due to illness that kept me out of work for a few months. About 6 months later I received a letter from SSA saying I owed X amount of dollars. When I explained the situation and what I was told by the Rep, I was verbally assaulted by the Rep. I was made to feel like It was my vault and that I had lie. To this day I pay well over 10 percent.
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Chris P.
ReplyWriting this to serve as a warning to others.
When my husband went on long-term disability from his state job, as a retiree, I became ineligible to be carried under his insurance (don’t ask me why this is a rule, I have no clue). I was forced to apply for Medicare Part B in January 2024. The state pension office specifically requested on my application that Part B start on Feb. 1. Didn’t happen. Nor did it happen in March. I checked the SSA site frequently to see if my status had changed – nothing. Correspondence – none. Medicare card -nowhere to be found. Medicare insurance: unusable without a card.
I also checked in with the pension office each month to tell them I still hadn’t been approved and to ensure that they continued to contact SSA about moving my application along and to make sure they continued to take out premiums from my pension check to pay for my state health insurance plan until Medicare kicked in.
In mid-April, I received a letter saying I owed SSA $540 in overpayments for Medicare insurance premiums for January, February and March. I immediately filed an appeal to tell them I was NOT covered by Medicare for those months, that I had no Medicare card and no way to use it, and to not take the $540 from my May paycheck because I was appealing the overpayment. When my May paycheck was deposited, it was short $750 for Medicare premiums for January, February, March and April! I talked to my representative’s congressional staff last month and gave them copies of all the paperwork I had – they were quite interested. It’s now August, and the only thing I’ve received from SSA is a “We’re looking into it” letter that came a couple of weeks after talking with the congressional staff. I’d really like to get my money back.
In the last year, I’ve had a friend who lost his entire savings after getting steered wrong by a SSA staff member who told him he wouldn’t go over the earnings cap, and subsequently had to go with no SSA pay whatsoever for 3 months when he went over the cap. He can barely afford his rent. And my husband is dealing with overpayments from the state’s long-term disability insurance company, apparently caused by miscalculations of his SSDI benefit.
The government needs to subject itself to the same “No Surprise Bills” legislation that hospitals are now required to observe. Until that happens, this country’s answer to getting old or becoming disabled is to kick you while you’re down and make sure you suffer financially.
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Victoria T.
No one would tell me what to do on how to get a reduction on back pay. They started taking my entire check! I called and asked them how they could do that. Leave me with nothing. I lost everything. I’m homeless.
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I told them they shouldn’t be able to do this … My only response from them was. “WELL THEY DID!”-
T.Y.
Hello, Victoria. Thank you for reading our blog. We are sorry to hear of your situation and we understand your frustration. Unfortunately, your problem is more complex than we can handle in this forum. For your security, we do not have access to information about your overpayment. For more information and to learn about appeal and waiver rights read our publication on “Overpayments“. If you still have questions, or for further assistance, you should call our toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-078) for assistance, between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Wait times to speak to a representative are typically shorter early in the day (between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. local time) or later in the afternoon (between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time). We hope this information helps.
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Julie
I lost my husband in March of 2021. I filled for survivor benefits and started receiving them a short time later. I received a letter of overpayment June 13,2024 and was informed that all payments would be withheld until December 2024. Withholding my SSI until December will cause me to file for bankruptcy and lose everything. I will have our home paid off in September of 2027. Losing my husband is hard enough but then to lose our home on top of that is more than I can bare! I donot understand how SS can just stop providing benefits in 8 days but I was told it would take 3-4 months for my appeal to be processed. How am I going to pay my bills and survive until December of 2024? June 28, 2024 I filed a formal appeal. July 8, 2024 I provided all documents to my local SS office and still have not been able to set up a repayment plan or find out the status of my appeal. Can anyone please help! I am feeling very defeated and discouraged.
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S.D.
We’re sorry to hear about your situation, Julie. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. Our new policy allows us to collect 10% of your total monthly Social Security benefit to recover most overpayments. We encourage you to continue to work with your local Social Security office. You can ask to speak with a supervisor during your next call or visit. For more information about the overpayment process, visit our Frequently Asked Questions. We hope this is resolved soon.
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Julie
I filled for survivor benefits and started receiving them a short time later. I received a letter of overpayment June 13,2024 and was informed that all payments would be withheld until December 2024. Withholding my SSI until December will cause me to file for bankruptcy and lose everything. I will have our home paid off in September of 2027. Losing my husband is hard enough but then to lose our home on top of that is more than I can bare! I donot understand how SS can just stop providing benefits in 8 days but I was told it would take 3-4 months for my appeal to be processed. How am I going to pay my bills and survive until December of 2024? June 28, 2024 I filed a formal appeal. July 8, 2024 I provided all documents to my local SS office and still have not been able to set up a repayment plan or find out the status of my appeal. Can anyone please help! I am feeling very defeated and discouraged.
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steven l.
Interesting. My July SSA payment never showed up and online it just shows payment issued through June and then August. Nothing about July. Coincidentally they indicate I had an overpayment (news to me) and they deducted it from August check. More than 10% I can tell you.
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