Posted on 03/15/2025 4:23:07 PM PDT by Libloather
In recent days, the Trump administration has announced two high-profile and controversial policy changes it says are meant to combat waste and fraud in Social Security.
First, the agency said it would resume garnishing entire benefit checks from Americans who receive overpayments, undoing a reform that had capped clawbacks at a smaller amount. Social Security officials claim the change will help the government recover an additional $7 billion over 10 years.
Later, the agency announced that enrollees would no longer be allowed to change their direct deposit information over the phone but would instead be required to use an online process with two-factor authentication or visit a Social Security office in person. The measure is meant to prevent some types of fraud.
Both decisions have been met with criticism. Former officials and outside experts worry the new clawback policy will punish poorer beneficiaries who can’t afford to have their full checks taken away, while the additional security measures around bank account information will unnecessarily burden many seniors who lack computer skills.
Here’s what you need to know.
Clawbacks
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
bttt
This didn’t have to be fine this way.
I wonder if a mole in the ss administration set it up to harm the administration?
No Mitch McConnel name sure turtles would not be effected.
There are different choices to log in and it is confusing. I finally made a note of what gets me to where I need to be as you can spend a lot of time trying to get in and not succeed. Only need to do it a couple of times a year...year end statement and benefits when statement doesn’t arrive in the mail for the new year.
In a way I agree. Except everyone knows how much they get every month. Let’s say you are married and get 4,000 a month. Spouse dies but 4,000 keeps coming. You know that you are only entitled to 2 grand now so the extra should be put in a separate account ready for craw back when time comes.
My MIL died on October 31st. We were astonished how fast the SS office went in and removed her October SS payment from her checking account. Even though she had lived that entire month.
It’s interesting how how quickly they can claw back payments when you die.
Not really. Depending on the circumstances, the amount the decedent receives varies.
The problem is that SS and ANY OTHER .gov program is difficult to navigate, even if you are not one of the “poors”. I think its done on purpose.
My parents refuse to use computers or smart phones. It would be a burden on them, but they wouldn’t complain.
Three ways to sign in - with Login.gov or with ID.me or with SS user name. Once you make an account, be sure to keep your log in information like any other site you need to first ID yourself..chances are you’ll only need it a couple of times a year and since we’re talking about being old enough for SS, who knows what we will still remember the next time we need to get into the site...not funny!!!
Clawbacks should only be occurring when the recipient is proven to have committed deliberate fraud. If Social Security (or the recipient) made a mistake, then they should just issue the correct amount going forward.
Some retirees only have the SS check, and clawbacks would make them destitute, IMO.
Social Security payments are in two categories:
- old age (retirement) approx. 86% of total payments
- not old age (welfare, injuries, disabilities, unemployables) approx. 14% of total payments
Old Age (retirement) payments are calculated by the gov’t and due, respecting basic info: age, retirement status, what you put into the system (social security taxes).
Not-OA payments are calculated by the gov’t based upon a variety of info that can be a complex mess accumulated from a variety of inputs.
The latter, Not-OA situation, is where there usually exists room for errors.
The thing is, the October payment should have been for September. They actually pay a month behind.
You can - in person - request that online access to your Social Security Account (SSA), be disabled.
Thereby removing an avenue of online hijacking of your SSA, made by hackers who have acquired your SSA number.
She didn’t live the entire month
“ opened a SS account years ago but couldn’t get into it using my normal login last week to get my 1099.
On a whim, I tried the id.me and to right in.”
****************************************************
Ditto. I like the security involved in getting ID.me and I like the fact that, once gotten, it requires two-factor authentication to finally get in.
And, as someone upstream pointed out, the current process (being replaced) of changing direction deposit via telephone calls is too susceptible to fraudsters and grifters. Non tech savvy seniors can be told they can go into their local office to change their direct deposit information.
To get my 1099, I called, waited four hours, and successfully had it put in the mail to me.
It should be here in “seven to ten days”.
I’m SO happy!
:-/
“To get my 1099, I called, waited four hours, and successfully had it put in the mail to me.”
I got mine in about 30 seconds once I got logged in.
“My MIL died on October 31st. We were astonished how fast the SS office went in and removed her October SS payment from her checking account. Even though she had lived that entire month.”
Are you sure you remember correctly?
Well, since you apparently can’t follow a conversation up the thread, it’s on me that I didn’t more clearly designate the portion I was quoting, for the benefits of folks like you.
Although, at the current time, you are the only one trolling me.
Since my Dad died a few years ago, I've been helping my Mom with her finances. She has zero computer skills. My Dad did all the bills and did everything the old fashioned way. They would spend hours handwriting checks, stamping envelopes, or sitting in line or on hold forever to speak to a live person at a bank, a DMV, or Social Security office, etc.
I setup all the bills for my Mom to be paid automatically online. She still thinks it's black magic when she hands me her paper bills and I tell her they are already paid! Once I deposited a check for her by taking a picture of it on my phone and showing her how her bank balance immediately increased by that amount - on a Sunday afternoon. By the expression on her face, you'd think she just got abducted by a flying saucer.
Anyway, my point is that some older people will never become computer literate. They just have no inclination to learn. So hopefully they have somebody they can trust to navigte this world for them.
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