Social Security recipients may see a different amount in their monthly payment starting in July.
The Social Security Administration will be taking back overpayments.
The overpayments can happen when a person does not update their income, living situation, marital status, or the SSA makes a calculation mistake, the agency said.
Even if it is the SSA that makes the mistake, the person receiving the benefits is the one responsible for making sure that the government gets its money back.
As Cox Media Group discovered, many are told they have 30 days to send the money back. Sometimes that amount is tens of thousands of dollars.
The SSA’s Office of Inspector General estimated last year that there had been nearly $72 billion in improper payments, most overpayments, from 2015 to 2022 fiscal years.
While that is a large number, it was less than 1% of the nearly $8.6 billion paid overall.
The report showed that the administration had more than $23 billion in uncollected overpayments as of September 2023.
About 74 million Americans get Social Security each month.
Those who have been overpaid will see their benefits cut by 50%. Initially, the plan was to hold the entire benefit until the money was repaid, Cox Media Group discovered.
The SSA had been keeping 10% of payments after a plan to keep more, but news coverage, including an investigation conducted by Cox Media Group and KFF Health News, in 2023 had the agency reconsider the amount. It was reported that people were losing their homes after their payments were lowered to recoup overpayment.
If you overpaid and will have your benefits cut, you should have received a notice on April 25, 2025, stating that 50% of your benefits would be withheld starting in about 90 days, or around July 24. The lower payments would continue until the overpayment is repaid.
Instead of having benefits affected, you can also repay by using a credit card, online bill pay or check. For more information, visit the SSA website.
You can request to pay the money back in smaller amounts. You will need to fill out form SSA-634, which can be found here.
You can also file a waiver not to repay the overpayment if you believe it wasn’t your fault it occurred or you cannot afford to repay it. That form can be found here and is called “Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery. It is form SSA-632-BK.
Finally, you can request a non-medical appeal in the event that you don’t believe that you have overpaid or that the overpayment amount is incorrect. To start that process, click here.
Previous coverage:
Social Security Overpays Billions of Dollars to Americans — Then Asks for the Money Back
Social Security overpayments draw scrutiny and outrage from members of Congress
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