Delfina Prysock’s heart “dropped to the floor” when she received an overpayment notice from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The North Texas retiree was shocked to learn she had overpaid her Social Security survivor benefits by an eye-watering $41,514 over nearly three years.
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FOX 4 News reports from Texas that SSA employees admitted they “made a mistake” regarding the benefits, but Prysock was still ordered to pay back the full amount.
“I can’t sleep. It’s affecting me in so many ways,” Prysock told FOX 4 reporter Lori Brown, fighting back tears. “I just don’t understand how they can do this to people.”
She appealed the repayment order but was denied three times. And, sadly, her story is not unique. Here’s why Americans receive overpayment notices from the SSA:
Expensive “human error”
Prysock said her life changed forever when she received a letter from SSA in May 2023. She shared the document with Fox 4, which read:
“We will reduce the social security benefits paid to widows and widowers if they also receive a state pension based on their work. We will reduce the amount of their pension benefits by two-thirds. The benefit amount is less than two-thirds of the pension benefit amount. For this reason, we are unable to pay you… We have paid you $87,250.80 from June 2020 to April 2023. We owed $45,736.80 from June 2020 to April 2023, so we paid $41,514 more than we should have.”
Essentially, Prysock was not eligible to claim survivor benefits from her late husband because she also received a pension through the Texas Teachers’ Retirement System.
She spoke to the SSA about her state pension and claims that when she first received the overpayment notice, a representative called her and admitted: I’m human… It was during Corona. ”
“I’m a human being too. I didn’t make a mistake,” Ms. Prysock said as a reasonable argument for why she didn’t have to shell out $41,000 to make up for the agency’s mistake.
Prysock’s letter from the SSA says she will receive a monthly retirement check of $1,128.20 until the agency begins collecting the overpayment, at which point her benefits will be reduced until the debt is paid off. or may be suspended.
“I rely on Social Security to support me in retirement…to help with my house payment, car payment, and daily living expenses,” she said, distressed.
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SSA recovers billions of dollars
In recent years, SSA has recovered billions of dollars from overpayments to elderly and disabled Americans.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG), which is responsible for SSA’s Management Advisory Report for fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023), has determined that SSA has recovered more than $4.9 billion in overpayments. revealed that he had done so.
However, the year ended with SSA still unable to recover the $23 billion in overpayments. intention You’ll receive these scary notifications via email.
The OIG audit concluded that “SSA must be a responsible steward of the funds entrusted to its management by minimizing the risk of making improper payments and recovering overpayments when they occur.” No,” he said.
If you receive an overpayment notice from the SSA, you usually have at least 30 days to repay the amount in full. or Submit a formal appeal for waiver or reconsideration.
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