The Social Security Administration (SSA) is in the spotlight for reportedly overpaying benefits to millions of Americans and subsequently demanding repayment, causing concern among lawmakers and affected citizens.
This issue is particularly distressing for the elderly and disabled who rely on these benefits.
Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, a leading voice in addressing this issue, pointed out the unfairness faced by beneficiaries.
“Seniors and disabled Americans living on fixed incomes are not criminals, and they don’t deserve to be treated like criminals by the federal government over a mistake — and I can’t stress this enough — that is not their fault, but rather the result of a bureaucratic mistake on the part of the federal government,” Carey told Fox News Digital.
Carey’s words make clear the injustice of penalizing individuals for the administration’s errors.
An example shared by Carey involved an Ohio resident who initially received increased benefits due to a miscalculation by the SSA, only to be later told they owed over $7,500.
“That constituent not only started receiving more money monthly, but the Social Security Administration sent them a check to cover what was retroactively owed through 2017,” said Carey.
“Then in August of this year, that constituent received a letter from the Social Security Administration saying that the initial miscalculation of their benefits was wrong,” he continued.
“This constituent was told they now owed the Social Security Administration more than $7,500 in overpaid benefits, and they had only 30 days to pay it off,” Carey said.
The extent of the problem is much larger than previously understood. SSA Acting Commissioner Dr. Kilolo Kijakazi reported in a congressional testimony that about 986,912 Americans are contacted annually regarding overpayments.
However, a CBS “60 Minutes” report, based on a Freedom of Information Act request, revealed that the actual number is over 2 million each year, significantly higher than Kijakazi’s figure.
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A bipartisan letter was sent to the SSA seeking to hold the agency accountable and ensure correct payments.
Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio, lead Democrat on the letter, expressed her concerns about the impact on older and disabled Americans who received these overpayments through no fault of their own.
“Older and disabled Americans who have done everything correctly when filing for Social Security benefits but received overpayments through no fault of their own should not be penalized for erroneous mistakes made by the Social Security Administration,” Sykes said.
“Our seniors rely on these payments to pay their bills and put food on the table — they can’t afford for the SSA to be making life-altering errors. This letter seeks to hold the SSA accountable and ensure all seniors receive the correct payments they deserve,” she continued.
Nicole Tiggemann, a spokesperson for the SSA, responded to the concerns by acknowledging the complexity of the issue. “Our overpayment systems were not designed to easily determine this information. As part of the review directed by the Acting Commissioner, we are looking at how best to inform the Agency, the public, and Congress about this workload,” she stated.
Tiggemann further explained the SSA’s procedure when overpayments are detected, saying, “We inform people about the fact and amount of the overpayment, their right to appeal, and the options to repay or, in some cases, receive waivers of the debt.”
She also noted the SSA’s discretion in offering flexible repayment options and the possibility of waiving recovery if it’s “against equity and good conscience.”
The congressional letter points out that while SSA may issue a waiver, interestingly enough those interviewed in the “60 Minute” had either requested a waiver, were continuing to appeal or were paying the debt right up until the segment was shown on television.
“However, after the 60 Minutes segment aired, all the debts for each of the recipients were waived. The system for who does and does not receive a waiver should not be based on national media coverage of their claims,” the letter states.
The SSA has launched a comprehensive review of its overpayment process. Tiggemann told FOX Business, “We will examine our policies and procedures — including our regulations — to determine where administrative updates to the overpayment recovery and waiver process may reduce the complexity and burden for the people we serve.”
It is reprehensible that bureaucratic errors are causing significant hardship for those reliant on Social Security benefits and it would seem the SSA systems are a mess.
Certainly the administration has a responsibility towards its beneficiaries and the need for more empathetic and efficient handling of such cases.
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