Martin O. Malley, the recently appointed head of Social Security, denounced agency abuses in March that outrage our collective American sense of equity and morality.
According to a KFF Health News and Cox Media Group investigation last year, he pledged to restructure the Social Security Administration and lessen harsh efforts to recover money that millions of recipients, including those who are elderly, disabled, or living in poverty, were allegedly overpaid.
At the moment, O Malley stated that innocent individuals could suffer severe injuries.
With two months remaining in his term, O Malley’s attempt to improve the system has made headway but is still ongoing, some eight months after he addressed Congress and announced a number of policy changes.
Advocates for recipients point to one shift as a significant improvement: the move away from withholding 100% of people’s monthly Social Security income in order to recover alleged overpayments.
According to Kate Lang of Justice in Aging, it is a huge shift that many people find life-altering.
According to the Social Security Administration, the number of people from whom full monthly benefits were being withheld in order to recover money fell dramatically from over 46,000 in January to roughly 7,000 in September.
The SSA press office did not answer a question about whether those and other figures offered for this article included all of the agency’s programs.
Beneficiaries no longer need to demonstrate that an overpayment was not their fault, which is another potentially important reform that has not yet been put into effect. According to the agency, it is addressing that.
In the meanwhile, the agency appears to be looking to Congress to lead the charge on a measure that some analysts believe is essential: restricting the extent to which the government can pursue restitution for an alleged overpayment.
Watkins Glen, New York resident Barbara Hubbell referred to the lack of a statute of limitations as reprehensible. According to Hubbell, an SSA error that occurred 19 years ago resulted in her mother being held accountable for $43,000.
Is that even legal in what universe? “Hubbell said.” She claimed that her mother was almost left impoverished after paying off the outstanding sum.
Social Security spokeswoman Mark Hinkle responded to questions for this article by saying that the best and quickest approach to establish a time limit is through legislation.
Among the policy changes O Malley highlighted in his March congressional speech was the establishment of a statute of limitations. He stated in an interview at the time that he anticipated hearing about it in the upcoming months. He indicated that without a congressional legislation, it could likely be accomplished through regulation.
In general, Hinkle stated that the agency has made significant strides in addressing overpayments, lessening the suffering they cause, and is still actively working to update its regulations.
He said that the organization could use additional workers, is underfunded, and has staffing levels that are close to 50-year lows. Requests for an interview with O Malley were not answered by the SSA.
Following the joint publication and broadcasting of investigative reporting by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group on the harm that overpayments and clawbacks have caused to millions of beneficiaries, O Malley announced the policy adjustments.
In March, O Malley, a former Democratic governor of Maryland, received rare bipartisan acclaim from lawmakers as he outlined his plans to three congressional committees. However, the last few months have demonstrated the difficulty of reforming a large, intricate, highly dysfunctional, and, as it is said, understaffed federal bureaucracy.
O Malley may be nearing the end of his time.
Among the advocacy organizations that have been meeting with O Malley and other Social Security officials is Justice in Aging, whose Lang expressed gratitude for the commissioner’s accomplishments in a brief period of time. However, she went on to say that O Malley has shown no interest in learning about our disappointments.
The burden of proof is one long-standing rule that O Malley sought to alter. The onus is on the recipient to demonstrate they were not at fault when the Social Security Administration claims they were overpaid and requests the money be returned.
A 24 year old recipient from Lithonia, Georgia named Cecilia Malone said that she and her parents devoted hundreds of hours to attempting to have mistakes fixed. Why do we have to demonstrate that we weren’t overpaid? “Malone said.”
Beneficiaries may find it very challenging to appeal a decision. The purported overpayments, which frequently cover years, can amount to tens of thousands of dollars or more. Additionally, folks who are barely making ends meet could find it more difficult to produce financial records from a long time ago.
Furthermore, it is difficult to mount a defense because the government usually does not lay out its case against the beneficiary in letters for restitution.
O Malley pledged to change the burden of proof in his March testimony before Senate and House committees.
He claimed the agency should be responsible for that.
According to Hinkle, the government anticipates completing guidelines on the topic in the upcoming months.
The organization cites shorter wait times and other enhancements to a phone system that frequently puts people on hold. According to Hinkle, we answered calls to our national 800 number in an average of 11 minutes in September, which is a significant improvement from the 42 minutes it took a year earlier.
However, in a nonrepresentative study on overpayments conducted by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group, about half of those who reported calling the agency since April gave it a low rating, while only a small percentage gave it a good or excellent rating.
About 600 persons who had gotten in touch with KFF Health News since September 2023 to share their overpayment tales were received the survey. In September and October of this year, about 200 people responded to the survey.
The majority of people who said that they had been in contact with the agency via letter since April gave their experience a low rating.
As stated in a phone call in May, Jennifer Campbell, 60, a recipient from Nelsonville, Ohio, stated in late October that she was still awaiting a follow-up from someone at the agency.
HORRIBLE customer service! Campbell wrote.
Kathryn Duff of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who has been assisting a family member with a disability, noted that it is nearly impossible to reach someone.
Duff is baffled by letters from the SSA. One was dated more than two years prior, yet it was postmarked July 9, 2024. Another, dated August 18, 2024, claimed that her family member had received $31,635.80 in overpayments from the Supplemental Security Income program, which pays benefits to individuals who are blind, crippled, or at least 65 and have little to no income or other resources. However, according to Duff, her relative never got SSI benefits.
Furthermore, the payments mentioned in the letter supporting the agency’s calculations for the relevant periods only amounted to almost a fourth of $31,635.80.
Regarding the 100% clawbacks, O Malley stated in March that it is unacceptable for someone to be homeless or unable to pay their bills as a result of Social Security withholding their whole payment in order to recover an overpayment.
He stated that the agency will default to withholding 10% as of March 25 if a recipient did not reply to a fresh overpayment notice. The agency issued a brief transition time warning.
According to Hinkle, the adjustment wasn’t automated until June 25.
According to data released by the administration, the number of individuals newly placed in full withholding fell from 6,771 in February to 51 in September.
According to SSA, if it was already taking back more than 10% of a recipient’s monthly checks, it would let them know they may ask for less withholding.
However, scores of recipients or their relatives informed Cox Media Group and KFF Health News that they were unaware that they could ask for less withholding. About half of those who did ask reported that their requests were granted.
According to the SSA, there has been almost a 20% decline in the number of people facing clawbacks of more than 10% but less than 100% of their monthly checks from 141,316 as of March 8 to 114,950 as of Oct. 25, agency spokesperson Nicole Tiggemann said.
Meanwhile, the number of people from whom the agency was withholding exactly 10% soared more than fortyfold from just over 5,000 to well over 200,000. And the number of beneficiaries having any partial benefits withheld to recover an overpayment increased from almost 600,000 to almost 785,000, according to data Tiggemann provided.
Lorraine Anne Davis, 72, of Houston, said she hasn t received her monthly Social Security payment since June due to an alleged overpayment. Her Medicare premium was being deducted from her monthly benefit, so she s been left to pay that out-of-pocket.
Davis said she s going to need a kidney transplant and had been trying to save money for when she d be unable to work.
A letter from the SSA dated April 8, 2024, two weeks after the new 10% withholding policy was slated to take effect, said it had overpaid her $13,538 and demanded she pay it back within 30 days.
Apparently, the SSA hadn t accounted for a pension Davis receives from overseas; Davis said she disclosed it when she filed for benefits.
In a letter to her dated June 29, the agency said that, under its new policy, it would change the withholding to only 10% if she asked.
Davis said she asked by phone repeatedly, and to no avail.
Nobody seems to know what s going on and no one seems to be able to help you, Davis said. You re just held captive.
In October, the agency said she d receive a payment in March 2025.
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Marley Presiado, a research assistant on the Public Opinion and Survey Research team at KFF, contributed to this report.
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(KFF Health Newsis a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs ofKFFthe independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.)
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