First and foremost, don’t panic. Yes, it’s possible you were overpaid by Social Security for your disability benefits, depending on the situation. And, if you were overpaid, you have some options for rectifying the situation. Whatever you decide to do, it is important you act quickly.
Topics Covered:
1) What being “Overpaid” means: An overpayment occurs when the Social Security Administration (SSA) pays you more disability benefits than you were eligible to receive. This may be due to changes in income, living situation, or reporting errors.
2) How it happens: Overpayments can result from not reporting income changes, returning to work without notifying SSA, or administrative errors. Even unintentional misreporting can lead to overpayments.
3) Your options for rectifying the situation: If you receive a notice of overpayment, you can repay the amount, request a reconsideration if you believe the overpayment is incorrect, or apply for a waiver if repaying would cause financial hardship.
4) Next steps: Review the overpayment notice carefully. Gather any relevant documentation and respond by the deadline. Contact SSA to discuss repayment plans or submit a waiver/reconsideration form if appropriate.
What Does It Mean If You’ve Been Overpaid?
Being overpaid means you’ve received more money than you were supposed to from your Social Security disability benefits. You will receive a notice in the mail from the Social Security Administration informing you to return the money within 30 days.
How Does Being Overpaid Happen?
The most common circumstances for overpayment occur from the following:
- You have returned to full-time, or part-time work, which has pushed your current income over the SGA (Substantial Gainful Activity) limit for SSDI or this earned income has pushed you over the strict income and resource limit for SSI, which can make you ineligible to receive benefits from either program, yet you have still received your full Social Security Disability benefit payment.
- More applicable to SSI: You failed to report a:
- a) change in living situation,
- b) change in marital status or,
- c) changes in resources/financial situation to the Social Security Administration.
- For SSDI:
- Receiving any earned income that has pushed you over the SGA limit;
- For SSI:
- Receiving any earned or passive income (any amount of money that modifies your current financial situation) that pushes you over the resource limit.
- Unusual, but possible:
- The Social Security Administration miscalculated your Social Security disability benefit payment, resulting in overpayment.
REMEMBER, as an SSDI recipient, it is your responsibility to inform SSA of any changes in earned income. Likewise, as an SSI recipient, it is your responsibility to inform SSA of any changes in living situation, marital status or resources. This notification may prevent an overpayment to begin with.
You’ve Been Overpaid, What Do You Do Now?
If you receive a notice from the SSA stating you’ve been overpaid, it’s critical that you read the notice very carefully and confirm:
- The information provided on the notice is correct
- The amounts listed on the notice are correct
- The date of the notice is correct
It is of paramount importance that you understand if you were indeed overpaid, by how much, and why this overpayment situation occurred. Regardless of whether you were indeed overpaid, or if the notice is incorrect and you were not overpaid, you must act quickly.
Next Steps After Overpayment: You’ve Got Options
While the Social Security Administration states that you have 30 days to repay the amount you were overpaid, you do have options to help make this current situation easier to manage:
Ask For A Reconsideration Of the Overpayment
This operates like an appeal for the notice of overpayment. In certain exceptional circumstances, if you believe that the 1) overpayment did not actually occur and/or 2) the overpayment amount stated on the notice is incorrect, you can appeal the overpayment decision by utilizing form SSA-561 (Request for Reconsideration).
- You must file this request within 60 days of your Notice of Overpayment.
- If you submit this request within 30 days, the SSA will not take the overpayment out of your Social Security disability benefit payments until a decision is made.
Request A Waiver From The SSA
If you weren’t able to report a change in your financial situation to the SSA or you did not know you were supposed to report that change in earned income, passive income, financial situation, living situation or marital status, you can request a waiver from the SSA. If you believe the overpayment was not your fault and you cannot afford to pay it back, the Social Security Administration may waive your responsibility to return the funds. In certain situations, the SSA can and will automatically waive your overpayment if the situation fulfills the following elements:
- The amount you were overpaid by is $1000 or less,
- You did not make a false statement to the SSA resulting in an overpayment
You request a waiver from the SSA
If you believe your situation fulfills these requirements above, you can use form SSA-632-BK, which is the Request For Waiver Of Overpayment Recovery. Just like the reconsideration above, you can request a reconsideration if your waiver request was denied if you:
- File the request within 60 days of your waiver being denied.
- If you submit the request within 30 days, the SSA will not try to recover the overpayment until after your reconsideration is reviewed.
If You’ve Been Denied Your Requests And Appeals It’s Time To Make A Payment Arrangement
Unfortunately, if you’ve exhausted all options to request a reconsideration, waiver, or subsequent appeals of these options and are still informed to pay back the overpayment amount, it is time to implement a payment arrangement with the Social Security Administration. The SSA, in some circumstances, is allowed to withhold your SSD benefit payments to fulfill the overpayment. However, unless there is fraud involved, the SSA will usually let you repay the overpayment in significantly smaller amounts. You will have to pay back at least $10.00 per month towards your overpayment.
Understand Your Social Security Disability Benefit Overpayment Situation
It’s important to know that if you receive a Notice of Overpayment you must act quickly. While you have outlets to fix this situation, it is important you take action to rectify the overpayment as soon as you become informed. Contact the SSA through their website or visit your local SSA office for assistance.