‘I’m completely consumed’, cries Social Security user who is asked to pay US$33,000 – and had no idea about the debt

A Social Security beneficiary was devastated after discovering he owed the government $33,000.

They said notification of the overpayment issue from the Social Security Administration (SSA) came 10 years after their retirement.

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That left California resident Vicki Estrada, 75, in an impossible position, she told ABC affiliate KXTV earlier this year.

“I’ve been completely consumed by this since March,” Vicki said.

The former accountant was shocked to discover last year that she allegedly owed the SSA about $33,000 that was overpaid on her Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

Vicki said she initially didn’t even believe the letter she received from SSA about the error was real.

“I thought it was a mistake. I really didn’t like this letter very much,” she explained.

The letter noted that Vicki had received excessive payments on her benefits over the past 10 years and demanded that they be repaid.

Although she initially doubted the validity of the document, Vicki realized that her previous SSI distribution contained a considerably smaller amount than normal and contacted attorney Joe Fraulob.

Fraublob criticized the SSA letters for being “bad with calculations” and “difficult to decipher”.

He claimed that the error was ultimately the SSA’s fault, based on its findings in Vicki’s case, due to a miscalculation.

The error resulted in Vicki sending at least $300 extra in checks every month for a decade.

Fraublob responded and presented several exemptions and requests, in addition to contacting legislators in California.

One of those exemptions was likely the SSA-632, a specific form for Social Security beneficiaries to appeal overpayments.

They can be completed online and filed at a local Social Security office.

In Vicki’s case, all the lawyer’s work seemed to pay off, as the SSA confirmed that the $33,000 had been waived when contacted by KXTV.

NOT SO LUCKY

Others were not so lucky in the appeals process and saw letter overpayments worth significantly larger amounts.

An American claimed he was told to repay $100,000 by the SSA, but was never previously notified of any discrepancies.

Another said he was in “pure panic” after being notified about about $84,000 in overpayments.

Submitting a Waiver to the SSA

Those who are unable to repay the overpayment amounts indicated by the SSA or who feel they should not be able to do so can fill out a specific form.

• O form is identified as SSA-632 in the SSA website and can be completed and submitted at a local office.
• “If you agree that you received an overpayment, but you feel that you should not have to return it because you did not cause the overpayment and you are unable to repay it, you should complete Form SSA-632,” notes the SSA on your website.
• It also lists several refund options.
• Recipients with additional questions should call 1-800-772-1213.

Still, they won’t have to pay everything right away.

In late March, SSA director Martin O’Malley confirmed that only 10% would be taken from recipients’ checks, with overpayments progressing until the outstanding amount was cleared, by a Press release.

For more related content, check out The US Sun’s coverage of a Social Security user who claimed he was told to pay back about $121,000 within 30 days.

The US Sun also tells the story of a beneficiary who will have to pay back $15,000 and says he will do so until he dies.