Social Security payments are about $2,002 on average for retired workers and $1,581 for SSDI recipients in the United States. More than 50 million Americans qualify for retirement benefits and sometimes there are overpayments. A recipient may be overpaid when there is an error in calculating their monthly payment amount or when the information the SSA has is not updated because the beneficiary has not reported the changes.
Approximately 2 million recipients may see their monthly payments reduced in July. This could be a financial blow for those who are affected by overpayments because their benefits will be reduced by half. But how can Social Security recipients know if they will see their payments in July reduced by 50%? Here’s all about it.
How to know if your Social Security will be reduced due to overpayment?
The Social Security Administration has issued notices to recipients who have been overpaid. Thus, they will be informed of when the overpayment collection will start and how much their benefits will be reduced.
Initially, the overpayment default benefit withholding rate was 100% but it was finally changed to just 50%, which is still a great deal of money if you rely on Social Security to get by.
This reduction will continue until the overpayment has been paid back in full. Therefore, there is no fixed date to stop because it will be a different date for each recipient.
If you have just started collecting Social Security benefits, make sure you report any change in income if you start working or if you get over your disability while on SSDI benefits.
What if you are not getting Social Security but SSI?
There could also be overpayments when you are receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits in the United States. As a matter of fact, the withholding rate for SSI overpayments remains 10%.
What is more, the Social Security Administration allows retirement, SSDI or Supplemental Security Income recipients to request a lower rate of recovery if they are in an emergency situation.
So, if you cannot afford to pay this overpayment, you should call the Administration to see what they can do about it, and perhaps, you qualify for a lower rate if you meet the requirements.
The phone number you can call to request a lower overpayment rate is 1-800-772-1213. If you are not happy with the overpayment decision because you think it was not your fault, you will also be able to appeal this decision.
When you appeal, you can request the Social Security Administration to waive the collection of the Supplemental Security Income, retirement, or SSDI overpayment in the United States. Remember to keep your information updated to avoid the unpleasant and costly overpayments.