Social Security Eliminates Overpayment Burden

Social Security Eliminates Overpayment Burden for Social Security Beneficiaries – Automatic Overpayment Recovery Rate Reduced to 10 Percent

March 29, 2024 

By Jeffrey Buckner, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Reading Time: 3 Minutes; Last Updated: March 29, 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.

Social Security Report can be completed online

 The Disability Update Report Can Now be Completed Online

The Disability Update Report is part of our Continuing Disability Review (CDR) process, which is required by law. We periodically review each case to determine if the beneficiary continues to meet the eligibility rules to receive disability benefits. We mail the Disability Update Report, or Form SSA-455, to disabled beneficiaries to obtain updated information about their medical conditions and recent treatments. They now also have the option to complete the SSA-455 online at https://www.ssa.gov/ssa455-online-form.

SSA is making it easier for people who receive Social Security disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income payments to submit their Disability Update Report - SSA Form 455 online.  This form is completed periodically by some beneficiaries for their Continuing Disability Review (CDR).  The law requires us to complete a CDR to determine if a beneficiary still has a disabling condition.

In addition to completing the form online, beneficiaries can still submit it by mail or over the phone with a representative by calling our customer service number at 1-800-772-1213.

The notices sent to beneficiaries this month explain that the online option is coming soon. Future mailed notices will provide information about the option to submit the form online. I encourage you to share this information with your members, colleagues, affiliates, and other interested parties.

Social Security Launches New Campaign to Fight Scammers

News Release SOCIAL SECURITY

The Social Security Administration launched a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign to continue warning people about the ongoing nationwide telephone impersonation scheme.  The PSAs feature a message from Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul.  Social Security and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) continue to receive reports about fraudulent phone calls from people falsely claiming to be Social Security employees.  The scammers mislead victims into making cash or gift card payments for help with purported identity theft, or to avoid arrest for bogus Social Security number problems.
 

“I want every American to know that if a suspicious caller states there is a problem with their Social Security number or account, they should hang up and never give the caller money or personal information.  People should then go online to oig.ssa.gov to report the scam call to Social Security,” said Commissioner Saul.

People should also be on the lookout for a new version of this scam.  Fraudsters are now emailing fake documents in attempts to get people to comply with their demands.  Victims have received emails with attached letters and reports that appear to be from Social Security or the OIG.  The letters may use official letterhead and government jargon to convince victims they are legitimate; they may also contain misspellings and grammar mistakes.

The new PSA addressing the telephone impersonation scheme is available online at: www.youtube.com/socialsecurity
 
Social Security employees do occasionally contact people--generally those who have ongoing business with the agency--by telephone for business purposes.  However, Social Security employees will never threaten a person, or promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information or money.  In those cases, the call is fraudulent and people should just hang up.

Generally, the agency mainly calls people who have recently applied for a Social Security benefit, someone who is already receiving payments and requires an update to their record, or a person who has requested a phone call from the agency.  If a person is not in one of these situations, they normally would not receive a call from the agency.

Social Security will not:

• Tell you that your Social Security number has been suspended.
• Contact you to demand an immediate payment.
• Ask you for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
• Require a specific means of debt repayment, like a prepaid debit card, a retail gift card, or cash.
• Demand that you pay a Social Security debt without the ability to appeal the amount you owe.
• Promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information or money.
  

If there is a problem with a person’s Social Security number or record, in most cases Social Security will mail a letter.  If a person needs to submit payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions and payment options.  People should never provide information or payment over the phone or Internet unless they are certain of who is receiving it.

Social Security Headache

My experience at the Memphis Social Security Office

By Allison Donald

Before attempting to write this blog I must make a couple of confessions about my own personal journey with Social Security.  First, I tried to do research about this particular subject and still came away with more questions than answers.  Also, I did not realize or maybe even want to admit to myself how much I had become reliant on that money every month and now that it has been taken away I will have to make some difficult choices.

The Supplemental Security Income program pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources.  SSI benefits also are payable to people 65 and older without disabilities who meet the financial limits.  

People who have worked long enough may also be able to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or retirement benefits as well as SSI. SSDI is not based on how severe your disability is or how much income you have. Most SSDI recipients receive between $800 and $1,800 per month (the average for 2019 is $1,234). 

As an adult with a disability the question becomes: why do you work?  I mean, you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If you don’t work then your income is limited to $771 a month. That money is supposed to cover food, clothing, and shelter.  In other words, you have to stick to a stringent budget just to survive.  With most one-bedroom apartments costing over $500 a month, most people who get SSI only have minimal resources for all of life’s necessities.

If you work, the social security administration monitors every asset that you receive.  To remain eligible for Social Security disability benefits, you cannot receive employment income that is greater than the substantial gainful activity (SGA) limit. The SGA limit for 2018 for a non-blind person was $1,180 a month and for a person who is blind it was $1,970. Your income may go up and your benefits will go down. 

Most people who work will at some point have an “over-payment.” That is the term that Social Security uses when they reduce the benefit. It can be a headache, I feel that if most people could afford to live without the benefit, they would tell the government to keep it.  The aggravation is not worth it.

I would like our system to be better.   The way the system is set up now, it seems to encourage people not pursue a better standard of living.  The Social Security System seems to create a cycle of poverty that becomes almost impossible to escape.  

It is such a large and difficult bureaucracy, it is hard to see most people being motivated to get off the system once they have qualified. The risk and anxiety people accept in the system prevents more people from attempting to get off of benefits. 

I left my review with Social Security feeling conflicted.  I was angry and more than a lit bit frustrated, but I am also optimistic about the opportunity that is now in front of me. I have chosen to do without the benefit, so I no longer have constraints on what I can earn each month. But, lose the monetary benefit.

Food Stamps to begin a work requirement

MCIL’s Timothy Redd is a national panelist

By Timothy Redd
On Feb 21, 2018 the Food Stamp work requirements will be reinstated for most of Tennessee.  Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday that Tennessee will re-establish federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits work requirements in 70 counties for able-bodied adults without dependents.  The work requirement was waived in 2008 during the recession and will continue to be waived for sixteen economically distressed counties.
 
Haslam states it's now difficult to justify the waiver amid record-low unemployment rates and substantial job growth. The governor's office also points out that other states have similarly restored work requirements. The change affects 58,000 of about 1 million Tennesseans on food stamps. The administration says Haslam also will propose legislative changes to reduce welfare fraud, waste and abuse.
 
"According to the most recent census data,” said US Rep. Steve Cohen, “the Memphis metro area has the highest poverty rate of metro areas with at least one million people. We need to be making nutrition assistance more available, not less.”
 
Yesterday my coworkers and I had a discussion about the work requirement with various viewpoints. I would agree with Cohen that we need to make food assistance more available but I also don’t think there is anything wrong with a work requirement. I did notice that people with disabilities are exempt from this requirement.
 
Historically people with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed and that is where the issue is for me. According to the Department of Labor, in 2016, the unemployment rate for the general population was 4.6 percent, but for people with disabilities it was stuck around 10.5 percent. Finding employment for people with disabilities is extremely challenging and if our community could truly take advantage of skill training and employers were more accommodating I think people with disabilities could make our workforce stronger. What do you think?
 
This past Tuesday, September 12, I took part in The American Public Human Services Association Conference’s, Improving Access to SNAP for People with Disabilities panel discussion at the Hilton Hotel.  I shared the panel with Oregon’s Belit Burke, Self Sufficiency Design Administrator Oregon Department of Human Services and Massachusetts Brittany Manini, Acting SNAP Director Department of Transitional Assistance. 
 
My contribution to the discussion was about barriers. It’s hard to schedule transportation for SNAP benefits because waits are so long at the office, kiosk are not accessible, emergency responses for replacement benefits have not been very accommodating to folks with disabilities; these are some of the areas I addressed.
 
Belit Burke shared that for a long time Oregon system had not been the friendliest for people with disabilities. Advocates are a big reason why things have improved. Today Oregon offers same day benefits, program evaluations, feedback on websites, and even focus groups to improve service.

Much has changed in Massachusetts on the heels of a now settled lawsuit. Harper vs Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance was a class action lawsuit brought by disabled clients alleging that the Department violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide clients with disabilities with equal access to Department benefits.
 
The plaintiffs alleged that the Department fails to provide clients with disabilities the special assistance needed to ensure that they can maintain their benefits. Today there are system enhancements, screen prompts and scripts for employees, built in tracking to maintain customer documentation, mobile alerts, and employees assist in filling out paperwork and reading notices through home visits for people with disabilities. The offices now have at least one director of Disability Access in each office whose goal is to keep disability access in the discussions as well as collaborate with community liaisons and other agencies.
 
Massachusetts currently partners with the aging commission and other agencies. There is also an Elder Unit being developed that will cater to seniors 60 and older and also provide a direct line for them to call with no automation.
 
At the end of the discussion I met Lisa Cowell, Tennessee SNAP Director. She informed that she submitted a ticket to have the kiosk lowered which will make them more accessible and she forwarded my information to Shelby County’s Field Management Director Yolanda Shegog-Wright.  Ms. Cowell also advised that Tennesseans can now send emails for a 48 hour response, apply for SNAP benefits online and also take advantage of live chat by accessing the website at https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/article/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap.  

After hearing some of what is happening in other places I am convinced that a better system for accessing SNAP benefits is possible if we as a community continue to speak and make demands when we see barriers.

Plan to Achieve Self Support

Learn more about the Employment with the PASS program

By Timothy Redd
Here at MCIL we are constantly out in the community staying abreast of information that can help our community.  August 30, 2016, I attended the Social Security Administration Workshop by Dorothy Bailey, Jodie Oakes, and Carolyn Smith, the PASS Specialists serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. PASS is SSI work incentive plan that stands for “Plan to Achieve Self Support.”


This workshop focused on how you can receive disability benefits like SSI and SSID and still work. The Social Security Administration has some stipulations that apply to benefits if you work.


Did you know you can earn up to $1,780 per month in addition to  your SSI disability benefit if you are under 22 and regularly attending school? Did you know that there is a trial period of nine months that you can work and receive your benefits? Did you know there is a not a limit on what you can earn during the trial work period?


With a PASS plan you can set aside income or an excess resources to pay for things to needed to reach a work goal. The PASS program can benefit someone who wants to be self-supporting by working. PASS is available for an individual in vocational rehab, ticket to work program, an SSI beneficiary with income other than SSI, and a person that receives SSDI and could become eligible for SSI with a PASS.


The information that I have provided is only the tip of the iceberg. Often times we as people with disabilities do not work because we fear that we will lose our benefits. However, as I have stated, there are ways that we can work.


It’s no secret that living on a fixed income is very difficult. If you are interested in learning more about getting back to work you may contact social security via the web at www.socialsecurity.gov  or call toll-free 1-800-772-1213. To learn more about the PASS Program you can speak directly to a PASS agent by calling 1-800-254-9489

Social Security PASS Program

Returning to work with a disability

By Tim Redd
Here at MCIL we are constantly out in the community staying abreast of information that can help the community we serve.  August 30, 2016 was no exception, I attended the Social Security Administration Workshop by Dorothy Bailey, Jodie Oakes, and Carolyn Smith, PASS Specialist serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. 

You may be wondering what PASS is, we’ll get to that in a second. This workshop focused on how you can receive SSI and or SSID benefits and still work. There are stipulations that apply.
 
Did you know you can earn up to $1,780 per month if you are under 22 and regularly attending school? Did you know that there is a trial period of nine months that you can work and receive your benefits and there is a not a limit on what you can earn at that time?
 
I mentioned earlier PASS, it is SSI work incentive plan that stands for “Plan to Achieve Self Support.” Under this plan you can set aside income or an excess resources to pay for things you needed to reach a work goal. This program can benefit someone who wants to be self-supporting by working, in a vocational rehab, or ticket to work program, an SSI beneficiary with income other than SSI, one that receives SSDI and could become eligible for SSI with a PASS.
 
The information that I have provided is only the tip of the iceberg. Often times we as people with disabilities do not work because we fear that we will lose our benefits, as I have stated there are ways around that. It’s no secret that living on a fixed is very difficult. If you are interested in learning more about getting back to work you may contact social security via the web at www.socialsecurity.gov  or call toll-free 1-800-772-1213. To learn more about the PASS Program you can speak directly to a PASS agent by calling 1-800-254-9489.