Social Security Overpayment Claims Are Taking Years to Resolve

A Social Security recipient revealed details to Newsweek about her ongoing battle with the Social Security Administration (SSA) as it demands the return of tens of thousands of dollars in overpayments.

Rebecca, 39, whose name has been changed because she has active proceedings in place with the SSA, said she has been informed that she owes about $62,000 after the SSA claimed it overpaid her benefits. But as if the enormous amount wasn't enough, over several years, she also received letters claiming she owes different amounts, as well as incorrect information the agency has about her.

The SSA sparked outrage after a recent investigations found it had demanded billions of dollars back from beneficiaries, including some of the most vulnerable people in the America, such as those on low incomes, retirees, widows and disabled people. Overpayments result from the government making a mistake or from beneficiaries failing to comply with requirements, intentionally or otherwise.

The SSA allows recipients to contest any amounts deemed to be overpaid and to apply for waivers, but the process can be lengthy and does not always succeed. Kilolo Kijakazi, the SSA's acting commissioner, said the agency recently simplified the form beneficiaries must complete to ask that an overpayment demand be waived.

Rebecca, who is from New Hampshire, has received numerous letters and messages from the agency over the years. She said she was first notified of overpayment in 2011. She has had tens of thousands of dollars in debt looming over her head ever since.

Rebecca received various communications from the SSA with different amounts on them but still doesn't know the correct she supposedly owes. In one letter, she was told she owes $61,589 under her father's Social Security number, with the rest under her own. She was signed up for payments as a child.

"My mother was told to sign me up to help with medical costs," she said. "My father died when I was 11 and I lost one of my teenage years spent in hospitals, therapy and psychiatric care. So I got what they called money for a disabled child of a deceased parent."

She stopped receiving benefits in 2011 when she lived in Virginia, the same year she was first informed of an overpayment to her account. While the amount allegedly owed in that letter has not yet been seen by Newsweek, more recent letters from 2022 say she owes about $62,000.

"I have tried numerous times over the years to explain to them the overpayment is wrong," she said. "They shut me down at every turn. I feel manipulated and lied to. I don't know who to trust. No matter how they explain it to me, I never understand. These repayments don't make sense to me. The government seems to say one thing and the next day say another."

In one letter, the SSA detailed to her a list of jobs and incomes she had never had.

In another instance, the Social Security app notified her she owed $35,299, and that the entire amount is due on November 28, 2023. She still doesn't know if this is in addition to the $62,000 she possibly owes, or is a part of that amount.

"I have no clue," she said. "I don't think they [SSA] know, either."

Kilolo Kijakazi, the SSA's acting commissioner, said that about a million people a year are notified they have received an overpayment of benefits due to miscalculations by the agency. She clarified that in the fiscal year 2022, 1,028,389 received an overpayment notice. In the 2023 fiscal year, that number came in at 986,912.

Testifying before the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, she said employees "work assiduously to pay the right person the right amount at the right time."

But this doesn't seem to be the case for Rebecca.

"I have repeatedly over the course of this year tried to contact the operations supervisor whom I had a meeting with in January," she said. "I leave messages asking her to please contact me. She has never gotten back to me."

In a previous statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for the SSA said: "Social Security is required by law to adjust benefits or recover debts when we establish that someone received payments to which they are not entitled and an overpayment occurs. We must maintain our responsibilities to taxpayers to be good stewards of the trust funds.

"Each person's situation is unique, and we handle overpayments on a case-by-case basis. Overpayments can occur for many reasons, such as when a beneficiary does not timely report work or other changes that can affect their benefits."

Rebecca said her experience was difficult to share and her situation is embarrassing and frightening.

"I don't have the money for this repayment. Not even close," she said. "I don't have the mental capacity or strength to deal with this. I have to admit I am at the point where I am quite scared. I don't know who to turn to and what to do. No one, and especially [those] battling mental illnesses and demons, should have to live with this threat of overpayment and repayment over their heads."

She is not alone in her plight with the SSA. Newsweek previously spoke with others who have received bills for thousands of dollars in incorrect payments. Many of them have, like Rebecca, been left frightened with few options.

In October, the agency announced it was undertaking a broad review of overpayments.

"Despite our high accuracy rates, I am putting together a team to review our overpayment policies and procedures to further improve how we serve our customers," Kijakazi said.

Newsweek has reached out to the Social Security Administration via email for comment.

Do you work for the Social Security Administration or used to? Email a.higham@newsweek.com.