What if social security overpaid me?

Overpayments are rare, but they may occur when Social Security pays beneficiaries more benefits than was due. Social Security overpayments may occur if you did not report changes that could affect your eligibility for benefits, or due to Social Security's own fault. If Social Security determines you were overpaid, you will be required to pay back the money.

If Social Security overpaid you, you will receive a Notice of Overpayment explaining the overpayment, your options, and rights. If you agree with the notice of overpayment, you can request a waiver, set up a payment plan, or negotiate a compromise. However, if you disagree with the notice of overpayment, you can appeal the decision by filing a Request for Reconsideration.

What does Social Security Overpayment mean?

A Social Security overpayment occurs when the monthly benefits payment is more than you should have been paid. The overpayment may occur due to various reasons like marital status, income, resources, or living situation. If SSA was not aware of any changes in your income, resources, or living situation, the benefits paid will be considered to have been overpaid.

What causes overpayment?

Overpayments occur when Social Security pays more benefits than was due. Here are common causes of overpayments:

Your earned income is more than you had estimated

You got married or someone else moved into your home and you did not inform Social Security

You reported a change in your living situation, but Social Security did not act on the information relevant to your benefits.

You appealed the decision to stop your Social Security benefits but kept getting payments, and then you lost the appeal

You had more resources that Social Security allows

You no longer meet SSA’s definition of disability, and you are still collecting disability benefits.

You were incarcerated or in a nursing home for more than a month.

What is a notice of overpayment?

If Social Security determines that you received more Social Security benefits than was due, you will receive a Notice of Overpayment. This notice outlines how much you were overpaid and your repayment options. Once you receive this notice, check the dates and the amounts stated, and confirm if you received the amount that the SSA says you were paid.

If you agree with the SSA that you were overpaid, you have to pay back the money. The notice of overpayment will outline your options and how to pay the money. Once you receive the notice of overpayment, you should act quickly. You can request a debt waiver, or appeal the notice.

If you don’t comply with the notice, your wages and tax refunds may be garnished to pay the overpayment. If you are receiving Social Security benefits, SSA can also withhold some or all of the benefits until the debt is fully paid.

What to do if you were overpaid

Once you receive the notice of overpayment, you should read the notice to figure out what it says. Confirm that the information outlined in the notice is correct and that the amounts and dates are correct.

Here are the options you have with the overpayment:

Reconsideration

If you don't agree with Social Security that you were overpaid or the amount of overpayment is wrong, you should file an appeal. This appeal is known as a "Request for Reconsideration", and you must file this appeal within 65 days from the date of the Notice. You must fill and file Form SSA-561-U2 (PDF), which you get from the local Social Security office or by calling SSA at 1-800-772-1213.

Once you submit the reconsideration, an SSA staff will review your file and make a decision based on the review. You may be allowed to present new documents to support your appeal.

Waiver

If the overpayment was not your fault, and you cannot afford to pay back the money, you can request a waiver of the overpayment. You can request for waiver by filing Form SSA-632. Once you file a waiver, SSA should stop taking money out of your monthly payments while they make a decision.

If the amount of the overpayment was less than $1,000, you can request an automatic waiver at the local Social Security office. If SSA finds that it was not your fault, it may waive the overpayment. If SSA denies your waiver request, you can appeal the decision by filing Form SSA-561-U2, explaining why you disagree with the waiver denial.

Payment plan

If the overpayment was your fault, you can work out a payment plan with Social Security to pay back the money. SSA will arrange a payment plan if you cannot pay the overpayment at once. You can tell SSA you want to pay back the overpayment in small amounts each month till you repay the amount owed. Visit your local Social SSA office and request a payment plan to repay the overpayment.

Compromise

SSA may sometimes agree to compromise on the overpayment amount if you pay the agreed-upon amount in full. For example, a $5,000 overpayment may be reduced by up to 20% if you pay the amount in full. You can call Social Security to request a compromise on the overpayment.

How to prevent an overpayment

If you receive the regular Social Security benefits or SSI payments, there are certain things you can do to avoid an overpayment:

Tell Social Security about your earnings

If you receive Social Security benefits like disability benefits, you should tell Social Security about the incomes you receive each period. Earning more than the SSA earnings limit can make you ineligible to collect Social Security benefits. You can report earnings by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

Track resources

You should keep track of your resources, and know how much money you have in your bank account every month. If you have too many resources beyond the SSA limit, SSA will stop your monthly payments.

Inform Social Security about changes to your living situation

Let Social Security know about any changes in your living situation that could affect your benefits. This may include changes to your address, household income, receiving money from an inheritance, and financial assistance from other government programs.