BY standing their ground with the Social Security Administration, a person shared how they relieved the pressure of financial weight.
The user described their long-fought battle on Reddit and said the overpayment had been on their record “for years.”
They said they applied for the $6,000 overpayment fee to be waived by Social Security.
“It now shows I have no overpayments, and I called the office to confirm,” they wrote.
“They should be sending something in the mail saying they have decided to remove the overpayment!”
But not all members of Social Security have received this fortunate fate.
One person said their 76-year-old mother got a letter from Social Security saying she owed $36,000 in overpayment fees.
“My theory is that it was their mistake and that’s why they didn’t list a reason why she needs to repay or why she got overpaid,” they said.
REDDIT REPLIES
Users flocked to the thread’s comment section to share their experiences advocating to relinquish fees.
“Congrats!” one person commented. “Took months but they also approved my overpayment of around 3,000!”
“Good for you. How long did it take?” another person asked.
They said it had taken a year for someone to look at their case and return a $40,000 overpayment fee.
“Around 4 months!” the user replied.
“They messed up the claim number when I first submitted, then I resubmitted it, and on Friday it was approved!”
Another person asked the user how they started the process, and they said they filed their claim on “Form SSA-632-Bk.”
One person said they didn’t know submitting a waiver for the fee was even an option, and their mom had to pay $12,000.
OVERPAYMENT APPEAL
After 30 days of getting notified about an overpayment, Social Security starts to collect.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) lists several factors that could cause overpayment:
- Income is greater than you estimated
- Living situation changes
- Marital status changes
- No longer disabled but still getting benefits
- More resources than the allowable limit
- Social Security had incorrect information to calculate benefits
Beneficiaries with overpayment fees from Social Security can appeal the decision by issuing a waiver or overpayment recovery form.
The SSA says it will grant someone a waiver for their overpayment if the submitter shows:
- They were not at fault for causing the overpayment
- Paying the fee would mean they wouldn’t be able to afford housing, medical expenses, food, or clothes
- They believe paying Social Security back is unfair for another reason
If the SSA does not approve the request for a waiver, a person can request reconsideration of the denial.
MORE SOCIAL SECURITY
A former teacher shared her Social Security debacle when she received a notice from the Educational Service District.
Even though she had been laid off from her school due to underfunding, it said she owed $2,000.
The subject line was labeled “reasonable assurance for school employees,” saying she owed $2,000.
Read the schedule for this year’s COLA social security deposits.
Meanwhile, a retiree said they owed $72,000 due to a major error.