HELP! I GOT A SCARY LETTER FROM SOCIAL SECURITY SAYING I OWE THEM MONEY!
If you’ve been on Social Security disability benefits and just got a notice that you owe Social Security money, what should you do? Call us for a consult; we may be able to help!
There are many, many reasons why the Social Security Administration (SSA) may suddenly declare that you are in an overpaid status, and this can, and does, suddenly come up after many years of everything apparently seeming “fine.” The SSA is constantly getting new information from other government agencies. Overpayment issues often result from updated IRS data, but can come from other sources, and can even originate from Social Security’s review or correction of its own information.
With Social Security Disability Insurance, the SSA may believe based on updated IRS data that you returned to work earlier than you reported doing so (even if this is not true). You may be in overpayment status because (a) you were involuntarily ceased from benefits as a result of the SSA’s medical redetermination, (b) you chose to keep receiving your monthly benefits while you appealed, but (c) the appeal was unsuccessful. If that happens, you will be in overpayment even if you immediately file a new application for benefits and are approved for that application. The SSA can even declare you to be in overpayment because they believe they made a mistake in calculating your rate. Overpayment could also happen because a former employer incorrectly coded a paid-out benefit that you received after you stopped working as “wages” when reporting that data to the IRS, such as coding a payment for unused vacation time as “wages.” Sometimes, this even happens when your former employer reports something as “wages” that really were wages—but not for work you’ve done recently! These could be commissions, or contingency bonuses, or even if the former employer paid you the wage differential between what you were paid at the time versus what a union contract dispute resolution says you should have made during that time!
While the above can all happen in an SSI case, there are also some potential causes for an alleged overpayment that are specific to Supplemental Security Income benefits. The SSA may believe it has information that indicates you have or had too many assets (resources) for Supplemental Security Income while you were receiving benefits, even if that occurred many years ago. Perhaps they believe, correctly or incorrectly, that you received a personal injury settlement or an inheritance while you were receiving SSI and that put you over the asset limit. Perhaps they believe you relocated to a place where you would no longer be eligible for Supplemental Security Income without telling them, such as moving to a nursing home or moving in with a family member.
In either case, receipt of alleged overpayments is a serious matter, and the time to appeal is short. Social Security can and will garnish your Social Security Retirement benefit, or your SSDI benefits on a new claim, until the overpayment is resolved. How much of your benefit they will garnish has changed twice since the current administration took office, at one point briefly reaching 100% of your current benefit amount (meaning: you would not get ANY retirement or new disability benefits at all). As of this writing, the recovery amount is 50%–still an extremely considerable amount, particularly when you are on a tightly fixed income.
Don’t ignore these notices! You have appeal rights, and we are available to review your specific situation and advise you as to the options available to you. Please note again, that unlike initial applications or denials from an initial application, we may be required to take a retainer on these matters, depending on the circumstances and, as always with this area, subject to Federal law.
We provide representation in overpayment cases, although those sorts of claims may be subject to different fee arrangements than initial claims and appeals (as governed by Federal law). Please contact us for more information if you would like a consult with respect to cessations, overpayments, or other kinds of Social Security Disability benefit issues.
Call for appointment with Attorney Alicia Hutchinson to discuss your Social Security problems ………….. 732-382-6070