Social Security Turmoil As Overpayments Sent to 1 in 4 Recipients

One in four Americans say they have received too much in Social Security payments, according to exclusive polling conducted for Newsweek.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has come under fire for working to claw back billions of dollars in overpayments to recipients.

Earlier this month, the acting commissioner of the agency apologized after understating how many people have been sent overpayment notices. Reports said that more than 2 million Americans are impacted by being paid too much by the SSA each year, more than double the number that Kilolo Kijakazi gave to lawmakers during a congressional hearing in October.

According to a poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek, 25 percent of those who said they received Social Security payments reported they had accidentally been paid more than they were owed. The poll surveyed 1,500 eligible voters in the U.S. on December 19.

The survey also found that a large number—43 percent—believe it is wrong for the SSA to demand money back from recipients who have been overpaid. Around one in three (36 percent) said the agency was right to demand repayments, while 21 percent said they do not know.

Newsweek has contacted the SSA for comment via email.

Social Security benefits are paid to people who have retired, people who are disabled and the survivors of workers who have died.

The payments make up the bulk of many recipients’ income and some have told Newsweek of their fears after being sent letters asking for tens of thousands of dollars to be paid back with little notice. One man said he became homeless after the agency sent him a demand for $67,000.

Rep. Mike Carey, an Ohio Republican on the House Subcommittee on Social Security, told Newsweek in October that “seniors and disabled Americans on a fixed income shouldn’t be penalized for bureaucratic mistakes on the part of the Social Security Administration.

“The Social Security Administration has known about this problem for years, we need answers to why it hasn’t been solved yet.”

In her letter to lawmakers earlier this month, Kijakazi said the SSA had determined its data needed further review after the October hearing.

“As part of its comprehensive review, the team is looking into overpayment data from a variety of sources across the agency to make sure we have the right data to make meaningful for our customers,” she wrote, adding that the data will be shared with the committee “as soon as it is fully vetted.”

Kijakazi directed a review of the agency’s overpayment procedures and policies in October. A news release from the agency at the time said the Social Security program pays $1.4 trillion in benefits to more than 71 million people each year, and that only around 0.5 percent are overpayments.

Around 8 percent of payments for the Supplemental Security Income program are too high, the SSA said. These are higher “due to the complexity in administering statutory income and resource limits and asset evaluations,” the agency said.

A report by the agency’s inspector general said the SSA had regained $4.7 billion of overpayments during the 2022 fiscal year, but a total of $21.6 billion remained outstanding at the end of the year.

The SSA said in October that the agency is not attempting to collect all of the outstanding amount.

“This figure was derived from the total amount of overpayments that have occurred over the history of the programs. Each person’s situation is unique, and the agency handles overpayments on a case-by-case basis,” the agency said in the news release.

“In particular, if a person doesn’t agree that they’ve been overpaid, or believes the amount is incorrect, they can appeal. If they believe they shouldn’t have to pay the money back, they can request that the agency waive collection of the overpayment. There’s no time limit for filing a waiver.”