Social Security Apology As Millions Asked To Repay Money

The acting head of the Social Security Administration has apologized for congressional testimony that massively understated how many people the agency has demanded money back from after overpayments.

Kilolo Kijakazi, the acting commissioner of the SSA, sent the letter after it was reported that the agency has demanded money back from more than 2 million people a year. The report was based on an internal document that KFF Heath News and Cox Media Group obtained through a records request under the Freedom of Information Act.

The figure is about twice the number that Kijakazi told lawmakers during a hearing held by the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Social Security in October.

"I want to apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding during the October hearing," Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi wrote in a letter to Rep. Drew Ferguson, the chair of the subcommittee, on December 11.

"In my effort to be responsive to Committee questions on overpayment numbers, I provided a preliminary, unvetted and partial answer. We should have followed up with additional context following the hearing."

At the hearing, Rep. Mike Carey had asked how many people a year were receiving overpayment notices.

Kijakazi gave two numbers: 1,028,389 for the 2022 fiscal year and 986,912 for the 2023 fiscal year, according to KFF Health News and Cox Media Group.

In her letter, Kijakazi said that after the hearing, the agency determined that its data needed further review.

"As part of its comprehensive review, the team is looking into overpayment data from a variety of sources across the agency to make sure we have the right data to make meaningful for our customers," she wrote, adding that the data will be shared with the committee "as soon as it is fully vetted."

Kijakazi added: "My goal—and SSA's goal—is always to provide Congress with the most complete, accurate, and responsive information possible. We did not do that in this case and will use this experience to improve our communications with Congress going forward."

In a statement to the news organizations, SSA spokesperson Nicole Tiggemann described the numbers of people Kijakazi provided in her testimony and those she left out as "unverified."

"We cannot confirm the accuracy of the information, and we have informed the committee," Tiggemann said.

The numbers "were gathered quickly" and Social Security systems "were not designed to easily determine this information," she said.

Newsweek has contacted the SSA for further comment via email.