Some people who get Social Security benefits might have to pay them back this year. If you are now eligible for the retirement, survivor, and disability insurance (RSDI) program, read about the four main reasons you might have to pay back your monthly payments.
Some Social Security recipients may have to return over payments in certain situations, according to reports from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The main reasons for this are wrong calculations of benefits or incomplete or out-of-date information about beneficiaries.
Which beneficiaries could be forced to repay their Social Security benefits?
The SSA says that if you get a letter in the mail saying that you got more money than you were supposed to, please pay us back within 30 days. When we can not figure out exactly how much your benefit is because of wrong or incomplete information, you are overpaid. Changes in your life, like your income, marital status, housing situation, or ability to find work, may happen if you do not let us know about them.
Please keep in mind that Social Security will not start to collect the over payment until at least 30 days have passed since the date of the over payment notice, plus 5 mail days.
If you send in your request for a waiver or reconsideration before the 30-day deadline, we will not start collecting the over payment until you hear back from us. Over payments in Social Security can be caused by a number of things, such as:
- Unreported changes in marital status.
- Changes in the beneficiary’s income.
- Changes in living situation.
- Changes in work capacity.
Even though mistakes are not always the beneficiary’s fault, they still have to pay back the money. The SSA says that delays in updating the data needed to figure out benefits can lead to over payments in some cases.
Even though mistakes are not always the beneficiary’s fault, they still need to be reimbursed. The Social Security Administration (SSA) says that delays in updating the data used to figure out benefits can lead to over payments.
This is the deadline you must take into account to repay Social Security benefits
The person who got the over payment from Social Security has 30 days to pay it back after being told by the agency. When the note is mailed, it includes both the amount that needs to be reimbursed and the reason for the request. This is the most important information you should think about:
- The repayment deadline is 30 days from the date of the letter, plus an extra 5 days for mailing.
- If the beneficiary does not make a payment within this time frame, the SSA may begin withholding the amount owed from subsequent payments.
- Before the deadline, the beneficiary can request a reconsideration or waiver, allowing the SSA to assess the beneficiary’s case.
How should Social Security beneficiaries repay the money?
The SSA letter tells you how to make an online payment. That being said, if the recipient can not pay back all at once, there are a few options:
- Online payment: The procedure outlined in the notification letter can be followed.
- Monthly payments: The SSA can be contacted to set up an installment payment plan.
- Beneficiaries can get personalized help by calling the Social Security Administration or visiting an office.
For added convenience, you can repay the extra money you got online. You can also pay back your over payment online at pay.gov if your letter has a remittance ID and instructions on how to do so.
Another important thing to remember is that there are other ways to repay your Social Security benefits if you can not pay the full amount. People who get Social Security benefits must first fill out Form SSA-634, Request for Change in Overpayment Recovery Rate, and send it to their local office by mail or fax if they want their benefits to be paid back in fewer monthly installments.
You can also ask for a payback waiver if you can not pay us back, think the mistake was not your fault, or think it is unfair for any other reason. Last but not least, you can ask for a second look if you do not agree that you were overpaid or if you think the amount was wrong. In the words of the Social Security Administration, this is called an appeal.