Posted on 07/01/2025 1:00:00 PM PDT by Red Badger
The Social Security Administration is clawing back more in overpayments than it has in the past thanks to a new rule.
Up to two million Americans could see their Social Security payments reduced by 50% in late July. The reduced payments are being implemented so that the Social Security Administration (SSA) can claw back billions in funds that it overpaid to some Americans over the past several years.
Here’s what to know about the reduced Social Security payments and who could be affected.
What’s happened?
In April, the Social Security Administration announced that it would begin recouping approximately $72 billion in improper payments made to Social Security claimants between 2015 and 2022.
These payments were either made to individuals in error or because individuals failed to notify the SSA about changes to their income, which could affect the amount of Social Security benefits they receive each month.
While the Trump administration is implementing some sweeping changes to the Social Security system in America, this overpayment recoupment was actually decided during the Biden administration. As Newsweek notes, in 2023, the SSA announced that those who received an overpayment in benefits would see 10% of future payments withheld until the total sum of the overpayments was recovered.
However, in March, the agency—now under Trump—announced that it would begin withholding 100% of an individual’s Social Security check until all overpaid monies were paid back. This 100% withholding sent shivers down the spines of many people who rely on their Social Security checks to pay for basic necessities, such as food and housing.
After backlash, the SSA said it will reduce the withholding to 50%. However, this is still a significant sum for many retirees and more than it’s been in the past.
Who will have 50% of their SS checks withheld?
The withholding of 50% of Social Security payments will affect approximately 2 million individuals.
If you are one of the individuals impacted, you should have already received notification from the Social Security Administration, which began sending letters about the upcoming withholdings in April.
How long will the 50% SS check withholding last? That depends upon how much an individual was overpaid in Social Security benefits in the past.
Their Social Security check will now have 50% withheld until the total sum of their overpayments is recouped by the agency.
The withholding is expected to begin with Social Security payments made around July 24, 2025.
Are individuals at fault?
Not necessarily.
While Social Security claimants need to inform the Social Security Administration of changes to their income so their payments can be adjusted, if necessary, not everyone who was overpaid was so because of action (or inaction) on their part.
It is possible that the Social Security Administration incorrectly calculated some people’s benefits, leading to the overpayment.
What if I rely on my entire Social Security check?
If you rely on your full Social Security check payment, and a 50% reduction would cause you challenges, there are a few options available.
First, you can manually repay Social Security check overpayments. Details on how to manually replay your overpayments can be found here.
A second option is to ask for an overpayment recovery waiver. You should apply for this waiver if you believe that your previous overpayments were not your fault or if you cannot afford the overpayment recovery cost.
You can find the Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery here.
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This is a bull crap article. It’s made to sound like ALL social security payments will be cut. All this really amounts to is a review of people receiving payments to make sure they are eligible. This guy should be banned from writing.
>> SS checks could be smaller
reclaiming overpayments...
IRS would do the same thing
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And freeze your assets if they wanted too.
So basically the same number of people living in Nashville.
About 98% of the idiots who call themselves journalists should be banned.
I haven’t received any overpayments. I would see it right away, since my social security payment is the same amount to the penny for every fiscal year.
The affected individuals are a small % of all soc sec recipients.
...........................Tot....../ soc sec / SSI / ssi only
All beneficiaries 74,090 / 66,681 / 4,871 / 2,538
Aged 65 or older 57,164 / 54,682 / 1,073 / 1,409
Disabled < age 65 11,251 / 6,324 / 3,798 / 1,129
Other................... 5,676 / 5,676 . . . . . .
I am 100% in favor of this. But I do note that nobody is clawing back USAID, Ukraine cash, massive fraud across the covid scam, illegal alien scams, Catholic Social Services, Lutheran charities, disability scams, Pfizer etc.
But they will swing into action like Iron Man if it’s against Social Security recipients.
But the money is not lost forever. That money is recalculated to increase your future benefit when you decide to quit working (as long as it's before age 70, after which your benefit calculation is frozen for life).
I hate SS about as much as I hate arguing with my ex-mother-in-law. It's a giant Ponzi scheme that I and my various employers were forced to "invest" in with a bunch of govt rules on when and how much money I get back from it (not yet in my 50's). If I had been allowed to keep all that money I would have invested much of it (like my wife and I did with the money the govt graciously let us keep from our paychecks), then instead of being quasi-retired I'd be fully retired.
Okay, so here’s a legit question:
Say you are retired and getting SS and a pension. 5 years after you retire, your employer calls you in to fix a problem that only you know how to fix, and offers you $15,000 to do so. You do so and fix the problem in less than a week.
Are you then obligated to tell the SSA?
“”because individuals failed to notify the SSA about changes to their income””
NO such requirement FOR receiving NORMAL retirement benefits - only for SSI which has requirements to become eligible.
I thought after full retirement age (say 67) it doesn’t matter how much you make on the job - you can claim SS with no income penalty...
Yeah, claw back what you’ve taxed me on twice.
Thank you for identifying the main point in brackets.
exactly
A lot of it has to do with with Medicare.
Medicare is means tested.
Ones adjusted gross income is key to part b and part g Medicare premiums.
Adjusted gross income which doesn’t match paid Medicare premiums is either taken back or refunded depending on which way it goes.
I would hope you get a W-2 with federal, state and SS deductions listed.
As far as I know, a change in income only affects Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - which is like a federal welfare cash subsidy.
Your annual income has no impact on your regular Social Security payment, as far as I know.
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