What should you do if you receive a notice that your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits have been overpaid and you are being required to pay them back?

It is important that you follow the instructions included with the notice. If you disagree with the decision that you must repay the SSI benefits, contact the Social Security Administration within 30 days and request that monthly payments continue until a decision is made regarding the overpayment.

Request a copy of Form SSA-632 "Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery or Change in Repayment Rate." The form requires general information about the circumstances surrounding the overpayment and detailed financial data about assets, monthly household income and expenses, financial expectations, and availability of funds.

Regulations regarding the recovery of SSI overpayments state that there shall be no repayment required if it:

• is not your fault - You are at fault if payment resulted from an incorrect statement which you knew to be false, you failed to furnish information which you should have known was material, or you accepted a payment you should have known was incorrect, - and -
• it "would defeat the purpose of Title II" (i.e., repayment would deprive a person of income required for ordinary and necessary living expenses) - or -
• it is "against equity and good conscience" (i.e., repayment would cause a person to relinquish a valuable right or change the person's position for the worse as in the situation of a person having quit their job or having made a financial commitment based on receiving the SSI benefits).

If you are required to pay back the amount of the over-payment, you are not required to pay more than $51.20 in any one monthly payment.

For more information about overpayment of SSI benefits, contact the SSA at 800/772-1213 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. seven days a week. Information and publications are also available on the Social Security Administration's website at www.ssa.gov

last modified: January 2000