BERKELEY – The Township Council is urging the federal government to reverse their new policy which would clawback Social Security overpayments at 100%
The Social Security Administration made an announcement March 7, stating that if it accidentally overpays you, it will recoup 100% of the overpaid money. Previously, they would only take 10% of the overpayment back.
“It’s putting people into a situation where they don’t have the money to pay it back,” Councilman Michael Signorile said. With all of its senior communities, Berkeley houses a large number of people on Social Security.
The Council is passing a resolution asking the Social Security administration to change it back to 10%.
Letters notifying Social Security beneficiaries were scheduled to go out to on March 27. Anyone who was overpaid before this date will still have to pay the government back at the old rate of 10%. The new policy only affects future overpayment mistakes.
The Social Security Administration went on to say that anyone who is overpaid after March 27 will automatically be placed in full recovery at a rate of 100 percent of the Social Security payment. If you can’t afford to pay it back at 100%, you can contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or their local office to request a lower rate of recovery. There is also a way to appeal the decision or the amount. The amount
Additionally, people have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the amount. They can ask Social Security to waive collection of the overpayment, if they believe it was not their fault and can’t afford to pay it back. The agency does not pursue recoveries while an initial appeal or waiver is pending.
The Office of the Chief Actuary estimated that this change will result in an increase in overpayment recoveries (i.e., a program savings) of about $7 billion in the next decade.
“We have the significant responsibility to be good stewards of the trust funds for the American people,” said Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “It is our duty to revise the overpayment repayment policy back to full withholding, as it was during the Obama administration and first Trump administration, to properly safeguard taxpayer funds.”
In August of 2024, the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General made dozens of recommendations for the Agency to prevent improper payments before they occur as well as to detect and correct existing improper payments.
From fiscal years 2015 through 2022, SSA estimates it made nearly $72 billion in improper payments, most of which were overpayments. This is less than 1 percent of the total benefits paid during that period. At the end of FY 2023, SSA had an uncollected overpayment balance of $23 billion.
For more information, including details on overpayments and appeal rights, go to ssa.gov.
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