LAFAYETTE, La. — In 2023 Janet Decuir received a notice from the Social Security Administration notifying her that she owed $40,571 in overpayments and had 30 days to pay the amount back. Immediately after the notice, Janet says her social security dissability benefits were abruptly suspended.
“I’ve had no income for 11 months and I can't find work. I tried work from home jobs and nurse jobs. I just can't do it anymore."
Janet reached out to the Social Security Administration and received a payment adjustment giving here three years to pay back the overpayments. She says even with the adjustment, she has been facing dire financial straits.
“This is my most recent SSDI saying I'm not going to get it until 2025 and I wrote nope because I'm going to fight it."
According to a 2023 report from The Social Security Administration on overpayments. SSA pays 1.7 trillion dollars in benefits to more than 71 million people each year. SSA admits overpayments do happen but only “0.5 percent of Social Security payments are overpayments.” The report notes that, "While payment accuracy rates are high, overpayments do happen given the number of people the agency serves, the number of changes in their circumstances, and the complexity of the programs."
The Administration does provide a remedy. If you believe the amount owed is incorrect or believe you don’t owe, you can file a request to waive the collection of overpayment. SSA says there is no time limit to file a waiver.
SSA’s Dallas Regional Public Affairs representative Sarah Schultz-Lackey responded to KATC’s request for a comment on the matter. Social Security Administration could not comment on Janet’s specific case because of privacy reasons but due to our questions- SSA “reached out to assist her”.
“We know receiving an overpayment notice can be upsetting and may raise questions. We work with people to navigate this process. Because each person’s situation is unique, we handle overpayments on a case-by-case basis.”
Lackey says citizens have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the overpayment amount.
She further commented, “ The law requires us to determine who is at fault for and the person’s ability to repay the overpayment. We will stop collection of the overpayment while we consider the waiver request.”
If you are over the age of 60-years-old and you receive one of these letters and you're unsure of who to call, the Cajun Area Council on Aging can help. The agency is a helpful resource for the elderly. Director, Shannon Broussard, said if they don't have the answer, her team can help guide you to who you should call.
"We try to get as much information as possible from them and then we would work with SHIPP. We do have some individuals at the state office that we can give them that information and they can research it better than us because they have different avenues that they can work with social security and that kind of thing where we would make the referral," said Broussard.
She said they will always try their best to help in any way that they can. You can call the the Cajun Area Council on Aging at 337-572-8940 or you can visit their website.
