How do you pay back social security if you make too much money

Common Questions about Social Security Overpayments

Authored By: Alaska Legal Services

FAQ

If Social Security sends you a notice saying they have overpaid you benefits, and you think you haven't been overpaid, you should appeal SSA's decision by asking for reconsideration. For an excellent step-by-step guide, to reconsideration and waiver, see Washingtonlawhelp's Fighting an SSI or SSDI Overpayment notice.

An overpayment is money that you received from the Social Security Administration to which you were not entitled. Several common reasons why Social Security may claim you were overpaid: an error of some kind was made; Social Security did not know about something that should have reduced your benefits; or you received benefits while appealing a decision and you lost. There are many other reasons why an overpayment might have occurred. But no matter why the overpayment was made, Social Security, with only some exceptions (discussed below), can make you repay the overpaid money.

If you are currently receiving benefits and you take no action, Social Security will "recoup" (or make up its loss) simply by taking money out of your benefits check until the money is repaid. If you were not on SSI and do not expect to receive benefits in the near future, Social Security will first ask you to repay the money. If you refuse, Social Security will try to make you pay the overpayment.

For an excellent step-by-step guide, to reconsideration and waiver, see Washingtonlawhelp's Fighting an SSI or SSDI Overpayment notice.

Social Security is required by law to inform you in writing if it believes that you have an overpayment. Social Security cannot start to take any money from your check until you have been sent a notice of the overpayment in writing.

NO! The law gives you certain rights when Social Security claims that you have received an overpayment. These rights include:

1.) The right to be told in writing how much money you owe and why, even if you have already agreed to repay the overpayment;

2.) The right to be told what action Social Security will take; and

3.) The right to challenge the overpayment and be told the amount of time you have to request a waiver or an appeal.

For an excellent step-by-step guide, to reconsideration and waiver, see Washingtonlawhelp's Fighting an SSI or SSDI Overpayment notice.

YES! There are four actions you can take:

1.) You can ask for a "Waiver" of the overpayment. This means you are asking Social Security permission not to pay back any of the money. Social Security will only waive and overpayment in certain situations which are discussed below. You can ask for a waiver even if you agree with Social Security that you were overpaid.

2.) You can request "Reconsideration" of the overpayment. When you ask for Reconsideration, you are saying that you don't agree that you were overpaid and want someone else to see if Social Security might have made some kind of mistake.

3.) You can ask for a "Reduced Rate of Repayment". A reduced rate of repayment allows you to repay the overpayment by having Social Security take as little money out of your check as possible.

4.) You can ask to "Compromise" your overpayment. If you feel that you cannot pay back the entire overpayment, you can ask Social Security to allow you to pay back some part of it instead.

For an excellent step-by-step guide, to reconsideration and waiver, see Washingtonlawhelp's Fighting an SSI or SSDI Overpayment notice.

If you want to take all of them, you can. In most cases you can and should take all four actions. In some cases, especially if you agree that Social Security overpaid you, you may want to ask for a Reconsideration. Still, plan to ask for a Waiver and a Reduced Rate of Repayment. Whether you want to request a Compromise will depend on your financial situation.

For an excellent step-by-step guide, to reconsideration and waiver, see Washingtonlawhelp's Fighting an SSI or SSDI Overpayment notice.

A Waiver means that Social Security will not collect the overpayment because it would be a financial hardship for you to repay and that you were without fault in receiving the money in the first place. You may request a waiver at anytime, but Social Security does not grant waiver very often.

On the other hand, when you request Reconsideration, you are "appealing your case" - saying that you don't agree with the reasons Social Security thinks you were overpaid. Reconsideration is the only way to show that Social Security was wrong about the amount of the overpayment, or whether there ever was an overpayment. Your request for reconsideration must be made within 60 days of the date you received notice of overpayment.

For an excellent step-by-step guide, to reconsideration and waiver, see Washingtonlawhelp's Fighting an SSI or SSDI Overpayment notice.

If an overpayment has been made, by law Social Security can deduct 10% of your benefit check until it collects its loss. A request for a Reduced Rate of Repayment asks Social Security to collect less than the 10% because that is as much as you can afford to pay every month. If you do nothing else, request a Reduced Rate of Repayment!

Last Review and Update: Jul 07, 2021

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