Overpayment by Social Security

[Guest TooSoon]

Social Security appears to have made a mistake and overpaid me quite a large sum in 2013.  To be honest, I was in no condition to be on top of paperwork at the time and did not notice it then, but now they are insisting I repay.  Has anyone else gone through this or something similar?  Their explanation for why this happened is so convoluted I can't put it into words but basically, they made a major data entry error.  Any advice?

[Wheelerswife]

My first husband was overpaid Social Security Disability shortly after we were married. He ended up going before an Administrative Law Judge who recognized that he hadn't made the error but "should have recognized it."  The law judge decided that the overpaid amount would be deducted in $60 increments from his monthly checks. I can't recall how much he was getting from SSDI at the time, but for illustrative purposes, if he was supposed to get $500 a month, he only got $440 for the next few years. We didn't end up feeling the pinch that way.

 

Perhaps you can suggest that the amount is deducted from future payments so you don't have to dish all of the money back?  Argue that it was their error, and you were not in a state of mind to attend to the details at the time.

 

Maureen

[Virgo]

I haven't had an issue with SS, but I recently found out after filing my taxes that my daughters were being overpaid by my LH's pension. Like you, it was a data entry error. I had no idea what percentage they were to receive compared to mine. The mistake was made from the very first payment.  All three were supposed to receive a monthly payment until they are 18, 22 if they attend college.  Now my 9 yo will get a reduced amount until she's 14. My 14yo broke even, no payment. My 17yo I could owe them a year of benefits if she doesn't go to college. Ridiculous! I argued as high up as I could go that the error was theirs not mine, so why am I being penalized? I basically got the response...to bad. I talked to a friend of mine that is a lawyer and she said it's not a fight I will win.

[imissdow]

I get notices every year that I've been over or under paid. However with 2--3 of us getting payments it rarely amounts to anything. I know we got reduced payments for awhile.

[Lisa]

ask them to take it out of your check over the long term. go in person. theyll go over your financial situation and deduct accordingly.

good luck.