A SOCIAL Security recipient felt disappointed when their benefits vanished.
James Steverding shared his frustration on Facebook after discovering Social Security would slash overpayment amounts.
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“They finally got their s**t together about robbing millions of SSA recipients of their benefits because they may have been accidentally overpaid,” he wrote.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays around $1.4 trillion in benefits to over 70 million people each year, according to the SSA.
Overpayments occur when the SSA determines needing to recover debt if a person got a monthly payment they weren’t entitled to.
“I wish they would have fixed this problem before they took all of my benefits over several years to pay back a $13,000 overpayment,” said Steverding.
He claimed he wasn’t aware of the overpayment and had been on Social Security for five years.
The U.S. Sun contacted the Social Security Administration for a comment.
NEW RULE
On March 20, the SSA announced an update to address improper payment amounts.
We are continually improving how we serve the millions of people who depend on our programs, although we have room for improvement, as media reports last fall revealed.
Martin O'Malley
Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said the SSA would stop withholding 100% of an overpaid beneficiary’s monthly benefits.
The SSA now takes 10% of monthly benefits instead, if a recipient fails to respond to a demand for repayment.
O’Malley noted this more manageable rate was similar to the amount for the SSA’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
“We are continually improving how we serve the millions of people who depend on our programs, although we have room for improvement, as media reports last fall revealed,” O’Malley said in a press release.
He also said the SSA would implement an easier process for overpaid beneficiaries to request a waiver of repayment.
BROKE BENEFICIARIES
Steverding joins many social media users who expressed feelings of betrayal by the system for their unexpected SSA overpayments.
Another Facebook user warned other recipients to “be aware” of the issue after getting two whopping overpayment notices.
Filing Waiver Form SSA-632
Those who cannot afford to pay back the overpayment amounts noted by the SSA or feel they should not have to can file a specific form.
- The form is identified as SSA-632 on the SSA website and can be filled out and submitted at a local office.
- “If you agree that you have been overpaid, but you feel you should not have to pay it back because you did not cause the overpayment and you cannot afford to repay it, you should file Form SSA-632,” the SSA notes on its website.
- It also lists multiple repayment options.
- Recipients with additional questions are urged to call 1-800-772-1213.
The first was for $2,400, while the second overpayment was for $4,111, totaling over $6,000.
Wells said she had worked as a school crossing guard before retiring in May 2022.
She brought paperwork to the SSA’s office to collect her payments and had pay stubs to ensure the payment amounts were accurate.
After receiving the overpayment notices, she tried filling out a waiver to cancel the debt but was unfortunately denied.
The U.S. Sun has related coverage on stimulus checks and live blogs for Social Security.
One beneficiary said they lost their apartment after Social Security took their $1,700 monthly benefits.
Another person said they owed $22,000 in repayments to Social Security despite updating their information nine years ago.