WASHINGTON — The federal government announced Friday that it would seek to recover all the money overpaid to Social Security recipients going forward, overturning a 2024 policy that left more money in the hands of taxpayers.
In a blog post, the Social Security Administration said it would increase the default overpayment withholding rate to 100% of a person’s monthly benefit.
By clawing back up to 100% of a beneficiary’s payments, the agency hopes to recover about $7 billion over the next ten years.
Last year, the SSA faced backlash over Americans receiving Social Security benefits getting hit with significant bills as part of the federal government’s repayment policy. The agency is required by law to attempt to take back any money overpaid to recipients.
But because of the backlash, the Biden administration slashed the amount that the SSA was going after. Instead of 100%, the agency instead began billing for 10% of the person’s monthly benefit.
The SSA said it would be going back to the old policy starting on March 27, meaning the agency will again claim up to 100% of a person’s Social Security check to pay back overpayments made in previous months.
“We have the significant responsibility to be good stewards of the trust funds for the American people,” said Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, in a statement. “It is our duty to revise the overpayment repayment policy back to full withholding, as it was during the Obama administration and first Trump administration, to properly safeguard taxpayer funds.”
According to reporting by 60 Minutes, the policy first faced public outcry after several high-profile cases where beneficiaries were hit with bills for thousands of dollars that needed to be repaid within 30 days. Those unable to pay in time could have their entire Social Security payment docked until the debt was repaid, leaving them financially destitute.
Anybody affected by the new policy is able to call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to request a lower rate of recovery or to appeal the repayment.