Texas Senior’s $65,000 Social Security Debt Is Forgiven: ‘Never Give Up’

A Texas senior has had $65,000 of her Social Security debt wiped after the Social Security Administration (SSA) overpaid her for years.

For many seniors, the arrival of a letter from the SSA saying you owe them money can be very worrying.

Winnie Marshall, a Houston grandmother, received a letter last year saying she owed $65,000.

“Nobody could ever give us any answers when we called,” Marshall’s daughter Linda Stone told KHOU 11.

Marshall had been receiving her deceased husband’s Social Security payments and retired with the Teacher’s Retirement System. Initially, she was told by her local Social Security office that she could receive both.

Then came the bill in the mail.

After several agonizing months of waiting to see if she could appeal to get it waived, Marshall no longer has the $65,000 debt on her shoulders.

“Never give up,” Stone told KHOU 11. “You have to protect yourself and especially your parents.”

In addition to the waived debt, Marshall earned a refund due to the Social Security Administration garnishing her checks.

While Marshall was able to get her debt waived, many seniors find themselves in an impossible situation when asked for money owed back to the SSA. On fixed incomes, many cannot afford to pay back the money already spent on necessities like food, healthcare and housing.

According to Kevin Thompson, a financial planner and founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, the Social Security Administration often has oversights leading to overpayments or incorrect continued payments for a dead spouse.

“The system is currently understaffed and processing times have been impacted,” Thompson told Newsweek.

Thompson said Social Security can sometimes withhold the overpayments from future received payments, thereby reducing the benefits until the amount is repaid. However, sometimes a bill arrives, which was the case for Marshall.

There are ways you can prevent yourself getting such a hefty bill on your hands.

“To make sure this does not happen to you, it is imperative to inform the Social Security Administration when someone passes and also have them reconcile any received overpayment,” Marshall said.

Those who already have debt do still have options, however. They will have to complete a waiver of overpayment recovery using form SSA-632.

“This means you agree that you were overpaid,” Kevin Chancellor, a financial advisor and the CEO and founder of Black Lab Financial, told Newsweek. “However, you cannot afford to pay it back, and you also feel that the overpayment was not your fault.”

You can also ask for a reconsideration of your case by filing form SSA-561, which is essentially an appeal to your case.

“This is you asking the Social Security Administration to look at your case again based on why you feel the overpayment reason you were given by the SSA is wrong,” Chancellor said.

Those who are unable to get the debt canceled can arrange for a payment plan via SSA-634, and typically the repayment amount is based on your specific income and needs.