If you’ve ever received overpayments from Social Security — even through no fault of your own — you’re on the hook for them. Now, a pair of U.S. senators are trying to protect seniors from some of the burden of reimbursing overpayment errors made by the government.
On March 14, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced the Social Security Overpayment Relief Act. It seeks to prevent the Social Security Administration (SSA) from clawing back benefit overpayments — due to errors on the agency’s part — that are more than 10 years old.
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“Seniors shouldn’t have to pay for the government’s mistakes, especially not mistakes that happened decades ago,” Gallego said in a news release. He added that the bill would ensure seniors aren’t “blindsided by massive repayment amounts through no fault of their own.”
The bill’s introduction comes at a time when the government is getting tough on clawing back Social Security overpayments. Here’s what is going on.
Clawback tactics
The SSA under President Donald Trump has gotten more aggressive about collecting on overpayments.
As of March 27, the agency has returned to its 100% overpayment withholding policy, meaning the agency can keep your entire monthly benefit until reimbursement is complete. This applies only to new overpayments. Previously, the withholding rate was capped at 10% due to potential hardship of beneficiaries.
The SSA’s Office of the Inspector General reported last year nearly $72 billion in improper Social Security payments were made from fiscal years 2015 through 2022. Most of those were overpayments, accounting for less than 1% of the benefits paid over that seven-year period. By the end of fiscal year 2023, the SSA had an uncollected overpayment balance of $23 billion.
Now, according to the SSA, the switch in policy is expected to increase overpayment recoveries by $7 billion over the next decade.
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Overpayment tips
If you’re looking to avoid any surprises when it comes to paying back the SSA, you should be monitoring your Social Security account closely to track payments made and earnings history. If you receive statements in the mail, make sure you don’t neglect them.
If you’re worried about an overpayment in the past, consider reaching out to a financial advisor to help you sift through these accounts and report any mistakes to the SSA.
An advisor can also help you understand how much you can expect in benefits every month or if there’s any changes to the way you’re paid so that you can prepare in advance. If your advisor can spot any underpayments from the SSA, it’s recommended you report this to the agency as well.
If the agency reaches out to you via mail to alert you about an overpayment, you have 30 days to pay the amount due before collection starts. You can also file an appeal if you don’t think you’ve been overpaid or believe the overpayment amount is incorrect.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
