The Social Security Administration is updating its policies related to overpayments. (Disability Scoop)
The Social Security Administration is making major changes amid a backlash to its tough efforts to recover billions in overpayments from beneficiaries, including those with disabilities.
Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said this week that the agency will give people more time to pay back money they received in error and will make it easier to apply for debt relief.
“Despite our best efforts, we sometimes make mistakes and pay beneficiaries more than their fair share, resulting in an overpayment,” O’Malley said. “When that happens, Congress requires that we make every effort to recover those overpaid benefits. But doing so without taking into account the broader purpose of the program can result in serious injustices to people.”
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The changes in Social Security occur after a investigation Television stations KFF Health News and Cox Media Group detailed numerous cases in which the agency required recipients, including those with developmental disabilities, to repay money they should not have received, sometimes in as little as 30 days.
Most overpayments involve the Supplemental Security Income program and may be the result of an error made by the Social Security Administration or due to failures by beneficiaries to comply with the agency’s complex requirements, the agency found. investigation. In some cases, overpayments go undetected for years and reach tens of thousands of dollars before Social Security seeks reimbursement from beneficiaries, many of whom are barely getting by to begin with.
Starting next week, Social Security will end its practice of withholding 100% of a person’s monthly benefits if they do not respond to a demand for reimbursement, and instead will limit such withholding to 10%, O’ said Malley. The agency will also update its guidelines and procedures to shift the burden of proof away from beneficiaries in determining whether they were at fault for the overpayment.
Meanwhile, O’Malley said Social Security recently adjusted its policy to approve payment plans of up to 60 months, two years longer than before. And the agency plans to make it “much easier” for recipients to request a payment waiver in cases where they believe they were not at fault or do not have the ability to pay back the money.
More broadly, O’Malley, who took the reins at Social Security in December, said he is working to prevent overpayments from occurring.
“We have also embarked on a deep dive into the scope of the problem of overpayments in Social Security, the root causes of these administrative errors, and the steps we can take as an agency to address these individual inequities,” O’Malley said.
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