Social Security Overpayment: Waiver, Appeal and Repayment

1Read the notice before you react

A genuine overpayment notice arrives by mail. It states the amount, the months it covers, why the agency believes it happened and what your options are. The date printed on it matters more than the date it reached you, because the deadlines run from it.

Most overpayments come from a short list of causes: work income that went over the earnings limit for someone who claimed before full retirement age, a change that was not reported in time, such as a marriage, a move or a new household member, a benefit paid for a month after a death, or income or savings that pushed an SSI recipient over a limit. Sometimes the agency simply made a mistake. The cause shapes which response is strongest, so check whether the amount and the months look right before you decide anything.

Before you respond, ask for the detail behind the number. You can call and ask how the agency calculated the amount, which months it counted and which earnings or income it relied on, and you can ask to see the documents in your file. An error in the months or the income changes the amount, so the calculation is worth checking even when the cause looks right.

Payment demands that arrive by phone, text or email, or that ask for gift cards or a wire transfer, are scams. The agency does not collect a debt that way. Our guide to benefit scams lists the signs.

2Three ways to respond

Swipe sideways to see the whole table.

You can use more than one. Disputing the amount does not cost you the right to ask for a waiver, and asking for a lower rate does not waive either. If the overpayment is $2,000 or less, you can request a waiver by phone at 1-800-772-1213 or at a local office, without the form.

Asking promptly matters because of what the agency does when you do not. If you ask for a waiver or an appeal within 30 days of the date on the notice, collection stops until the decision is made. If you do not respond, withholding begins on the schedule in your notice.

3How a waiver is decided

A waiver is not an apology and not a negotiation. The agency can waive recovery only when two things are true. You were without fault in causing the overpayment, and either repaying would defeat the purpose of the program, because you need the money for ordinary living expenses, or repaying would be against equity and good conscience, for example because you gave up something or changed your position in reliance on the payments.

Fault turns on what you knew and what you did. Giving accurate information and reporting changes on time points toward no fault. Knowingly accepting payments you were not due, or leaving out something the agency asked about, points the other way. The agency also weighs your age, education, health and any difficulty you had understanding what to report.

The first test, defeating the purpose of the program, is about need. The agency compares your income and resources with your necessary expenses: food, housing, utilities, insurance, medical care and taxes. When your income barely covers them, repayment is more likely to count as a hardship the program was never meant to cause. The second test, equity and good conscience, is about fairness, and it is the one that covers a person who spent the money in good faith on something they could not undo.

Form SSA-632-BK asks about your income, expenses, savings and debts, so gather recent statements first. Specific facts persuade: a rent figure, a medical bill, the date you reported a change. A general claim that the money is tight does not.

4If you owe, how repayment works

While you receive benefits, the usual method is withholding from the monthly payment. As of the agency's current instructions, the default is 50 percent of a Social Security benefit and 10 percent of an SSI payment. You can ask to pay a smaller amount, and in hardship cases the repayment can be as low as $10 a month.

You can also pay in full or in installments directly, which ends the withholding. If you are no longer receiving benefits, the agency can use other collection tools, including referring the debt to the Treasury to be taken from a federal tax refund. Responding early keeps these choices open.

5If the answer is no

A denied waiver is not the end. You can ask for reconsideration of the denial. If that fails too, you can ask for a hearing before an administrative law judge. Each step has its own 60-day deadline, counted from when you receive the decision, so write the dates on a calendar.

Keep copies of everything you send and note the date and name of anyone you speak with. Proof that you reported a change, such as the date, the method and a copy of what you sent, is also what shows you were not at fault if the agency says it was never told. For a missed deadline, the agency can accept a late request if you show good cause, such as an illness, so do not assume a late appeal is useless.

6Preventing the next one

Most repeat overpayments trace to a change that was reported late or not at all. Tell the agency about work income, a marriage or divorce, a move, a new household member and any change in living arrangements, within the deadline for your benefit. SSI recipients have the shortest clock: most changes are due by the 10th day of the month after they happen. Our guide to reporting changes lists the deadlines, and working while collecting Social Security explains the earnings limit that causes many retirement overpayments.

8What decides your case

The agency's rates, forms and deadlines have changed in recent years and its notice for your case controls. This is general information and not legal advice. A legal aid office or an attorney who handles Social Security matters can review a large or disputed overpayment.