The Social Security Administration has had a problem with overpayments for years. Considering they serve more than 70 million Americans every month, it is no wonder some recipients fall through the cracks and get issued more money than they should have or that deceased individuals take a bit of time to process, and the families then have to deal with the fallout.
Of course, in an ideal world this would not happen, and the controls would be a lot more stringent, but considering the Administration has been underfunded and understaffed for years, the percentage of errors is actually quite small.
The Social Security Administration has always made it clear that it is up to the beneficiaries to ensure that their payments are correct, whether they are too large or short. Whenever it is the Administration that discovers the discrepancy, beneficiaries are made to pay back the difference between the payment that they had received and the payment that they should have received. Before the way to do this was to suspend payments until the amount was recouped or force the beneficiary to return the money, but nowadays beneficiaries only have a portion of their benefits withheld (10%) until the debt is repaid, making it more humane for those who do not have a lot of money to spare.
Now, this repayment policy is changing once again to put it in line with the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) mandate to reduce unnecessary spending within the government.
The new DOGE repayment rule and its impact on Social Security beneficiaries
The prior Administration policy understood that, while it is the obligation of beneficiaries to ensure that their payments are correct, the overpayments were not on them, and so the policy was updated to reflect the fact that Social Security benefits are distributed to some of the most vulnerable members of society. This does not seem to matter anymore. DOGE, headed Tesla CEO Elon Musk is showing no understanding in their quest to “save” on $2 trillion worth of federal spending.
The impact of the quest is showing quite heavily in the Social Security Administration, as they have had to close multiple field offices and lose a lot of their already scarce personnel. According to Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, this has made it more difficult for beneficiaries to contact the Administration and report issues such as overpayments.
But DOGE has decided to move forward and re implement the policy regarding the 100% clawback on overpayments, which means they will once again be taking 100% of beneficiaries’ monthly payments until the overpayment has been paid back in its entirety. While this is most certainly the best way to get the money back quickly, advocates have repeatedly warned that many beneficiaries rely on their monthly payments solely to cover their living expenses.
Adcock continues with his plea “If an overpayment is being made, that means the Social Security Administration is withholding 100% of their payment for however long it takes to repay the agency — and they are without money to pay for food.”
Since in most cases, overpayments stem from errors made by the Social Security Administration, not the recipients, many individuals may not realize they’re receiving more than they should. A report published in 2022 revealed that 73,000 overpayment incidents that year were linked to weaknesses in the agency’s procedures for accurately calculating benefits.
“We urge beneficiaries to keep a close eye on their benefits going forward,” said Shannon Benton, executive director of The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group for older Americans. “If they notice any unscheduled changes to their benefits, they should contact Social Security immediately.”