Social Security Demands $70,000 Back After Overpayment: What You Should Know

Social Security Overpayment: In Sheffield Lake, Ohio, Ruth Podmanik, 65 years old, is dealing with a shocking problem from the Social Security Administration (SSA). After she applied to get the Social Security benefits of her late husband, she found out that the government says she owes nearly $70,000. This money is from overpayments made to her husband more than ten years ago.

Her husband, Ed, passed away in 2012 after fighting leukemia. During his sickness, he got Social Security benefits because he was not working. Ruth said that Ed called the SSA to ask why he was still getting money after he went back to work. But the SSA told him it was okay because of his health problems.

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Now, after all these years, the government wants the money back. Ruth shared her fear with News 5 Cleveland saying, “I feel scared. Am I going to have to sell my house?” This is happening at a time when the SSA is being pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to fix mistakes with money, including wrong payments.

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Even though the SSA says it makes less than 1 percent mistakes, the total wrong payments still add up to a lot. From 2015 to 2022, the SSA gave out about $72 billion in payments that should not have been made, according to their own Office of the Inspector General.

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Ruth’s story shows a big problem in the system. When the SSA makes a mistake, it is often the older or grieving people who have to deal with it. Ruth said she never got a warning that she might have to pay back money. She told News 5, “Not once did they say anything to me about, ‘Hey, you know you still got an overpayment here?'”

What makes it worse is that Ruth tried to talk to the SSA to fix things, but she did not get any help. She is not the only one facing this kind of problem, as many others say they also have trouble getting answers from the SSA.