Social Security Will No Longer Withhold 100 Percent of Monthly Benefits to Recover Overpayments

Lawmakers have criticized the 100 percent withholding policy as being a burden to vulnerable Americans dependent on their benefits.

The logo of the U.S. Social Security Administration seen outside a Social Security building in Burbank, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2020. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a new measure on Friday, slashing the amount that social security beneficiaries must pay to the agency from their monthly benefits to repay overpayments.

“When a person has been overpaid, the law requires the agency to seek repayment, which can create financial difficulties for beneficiaries,” the SSA said in a March 29 blog post. Earlier, if the agency overpaid a beneficiary, it would withhold 100 percent of their monthly benefits until the overpaid amount was recovered. But beginning March 25, “the agency will collect ten percent (or $10, whichever is greater) of the total monthly Social Security benefit to recover an overpayment, rather than collecting 100 percent as was previous procedure. There will be limited exceptions to this change, such as when an overpayment resulted from fraud.”