3 hours ago
2
Social Security concerns
The Social Security Administration is retreating from a caller argumentation alteration connected the bureau recovering overpayments that sparked concerns it could origin financial hardship for tens of thousands of beneficiaries.
In an April 25 "emergency message" to Social Security employees, the bureau said it is reducing its overpayment clawback complaint to 50% from 100%. The alteration comes aft SSA connected March 27 started recovering erroneous overpayments to Social Security recipients by taking 100% of a a beneficiary's monthly cheque until the wealth is repaid, up shaply from the anterior complaint of 10%.
The bureau didn't explicate its crushed for the change, nor instantly respond to a petition for comment.
The 100% clawback argumentation was directed by SSA Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek, who has worked with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, oregon DOGE, to cut costs at the agency. Dudek said successful a March 7 property merchandise that the alteration was needed to "properly safeguard payer funds."
The agency's determination to retrieve overpayments has agelong been a symptom constituent for thousands of beneficiaries who are overpaid each year, with galore radical unaware they had received a bigger payment than they were entitled to until receiving notices from the Social Security Administration.
The agency's inspector wide found that 73,000 overpayments successful 2022 were owed to problems with Social Security's ain calculations, alternatively than the responsibility of the beneficiary.
"SSA's automated systems could not compute payment payments owed successful definite situations, and the Agency did not supply employees with a broad instrumentality to usage erstwhile they had to manually cipher them. Without capable automation tools, employees tin marque errors," the inspector wide said successful a report.
Severe clawbacks origin hardship
Last year, the Biden administration capped the clawback rate at 10% aft reports that immoderate seniors and disabled beneficiaries had been forced into fiscal hardship, including homelessness, owed to the anterior 100% clawback rate. But that 10% complaint was lone effectual for astir a year, with the the bureau returning it to a 100% complaint successful March.
Those astir astatine hazard from the government's stepped-up effort to retrieve overpayments are the astir one-third of Social Security recipients who trust connected their monthly payment cheque for astatine slightest 75% of their income. Some seniors person told CBS News they were left too financially strapped to spend rent, nutrient and different basics.
Many of the overpayments impact disabled workers who person payments done the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, whose recipients person an mean of $1,538 per month, said Dan Adcock, manager of authorities relations and argumentation astatine the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
One SSA report recovered that SSDI has a higher complaint of overpayments than the wide Social Security programme due to the fact that disabled recipients sometimes neglect to study enactment income, which tin hap if they're not alert they request to disclose other net to the agency. Social Security reduces benefits for disabled recipients who gain much than $1,620 a month.
"While walking backmost the clawback of overpayments from 100% to 50% is simply a measurement successful the close direction, taking fractional of the monthly payment volition inactive beryllium a load to galore workers with disabilities who person SSDI," Adcock told CBS MoneyWatch.
He added, "A 5th of each SSDI beneficiaries trust connected their benefits for astir each of their income. That means immoderate SSDI recipients are inactive going to person occupation paying for rent, food, utilities and prescriptions" with the 50% clawback rate.
The Social Security Administration docked the the benefits of astir 670,000 recipients by 10% for overpayment past year, according to KFF.
Under the caller rule, the 50% clawback for overpayments started April 25, according to the SSA's statement.
Aimee Picchi is the subordinate managing exertion for CBS MoneyWatch, wherever she covers concern and idiosyncratic finance. She antecedently worked astatine Bloomberg News and has written for nationalist quality outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
English (US) ·