A MAN who was unable to work after being at death’s door was told he had just 30 days to repay over $51,000 in Social Security.
Steven Sword from Chicago, had a pancreatic disease that almost killed him in 2016.
The now 62-year-old was in the hospital for 105 days and had to learn how to eat and walk again.
As a result, he applied for Social Security Disability benefits while he was unable to work.
Three years after his application, he got a letter from the Social Security Administration saying that he and his wife Becky owed $51,887.
Not only that, but they had just 30 days to make the payment.
read more on overpayments
“That letter changed our life,” the couple told CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
“He was scared we’re gonna lose our house,” Becky said, nodding towards her husband.
“What are we gonna do you know? We were very scared.”
At the time of their interview, Sword was working as an overnight security guard for $16 an hour and Becky was working full-time as an occupational therapy assistant.
Sword started receiving disability checks in 2017 as he started the long road to recovery and back into work.
During this time, Becky faxed her husband’s pay stubs to the SSA so the agency could monitor his earnings and eligibility for the checks.
She even kept the fax receipts “so I knew they were getting it,” she told the news outlet.
The couple then received letters from the administration informing them that it would “give him credit for his 2019 earnings.”
This meant that they were under the impression that the administration was monitoring the pay stubs as they were updating the payments and therefore checking his eligibility.
“Yeah [they’re paying attention] because they are increasing it,” Becky said.
However, a letter in July 2022 informed the couple that this credit had been incorrect and they had been overpaid for the past three years.
They take no blame at all. They say it’s our fault.”
Becky Sword
“We have decided that Mr Sword is no longer entitled to Social Security payments for April 2019 through April 2020 and beginning September 2020 because of substantial work,” the letter shown to 60 Minutes host Anderson Cooper stated.
“Because we did not stop his checks until July 2022, he was paid $51,887 too much in benefits.
“You should refund this overpayment…within 30 days.”
“They take no blame at all,” Sword said as his wife added, “They say it’s our fault.”
Steve noted that this “is strange because you’re sending in all your pay stubs, someone has to file that.”
The couple was baffled as to how they were supposed to know they were being paid too much when the SSA failed to know.
“When we asked them [about the pay stubs] they said, ‘Well, they’re not looking at that every month’ and then she said ‘Well they don’t even look at it every year,” Becky said.
“I would think yearly at least they would review it.
“I can see them making a mistake after a few months but not three years of mistakes?
“Then they blamed it on Covid, they blamed it on being understaffed, and so to me right there it’s saying it’s their fault.”
The SSA refused to talk to the outlet about specific cases due to privacy concerns but said in a statement, “Our payment accuracy rates are high, yet even small error rates add up to substantial improper payment amounts, given the magnitude of the benefits we pay each year.
“Social Security is required by law to adjust benefits or recover debts when we establish that someone received payments to which they are not entitled and an overpayment occurs.”
A report by the Office of Inspector General found in fiscal year 2022 that the agency recovered $4.7 billion in overpayments and still had $21.6 billion uncollected.
“The SSA must be a responsible steward of the funds entrusted to its care by minimizing the risk of making improper payments and recovering overpayments when they occur,” the OIG said in an audit.
Late last year, an official request was made by lawmakers to the acting commissioner of the administration.
The request stated that the agency should “take additional action to reduce overpayments and prevent undue harm on the most vulnerable Social Security recipients.”
Fellow recipients of Social Security checks expressed their frustrations on Facebook after reading about the Sword’s experience.
“They got me too with these overpayments,” one user wrote.
“This unfortunately happens all the time. They make the mistake then you have to pay for it,” another said.
“How the heck they expect him to pay that in 30 days?! Unreal,” a third added.
The U.S. Sun has previously reached out to the SSA for comment on similar stories and has been informed that the administration does not comment on specific cases due to privacy concerns.
However, it has sent the following statement in response to our previous inquiries:
“Getting an overpayment notice can be unsettling and we work with people to navigate the process.
“We inform people about the fact and amount of the overpayment, their right to appeal, and the options to repay or, in some cases, have the debt waived.
“People have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the amount.
“They can also ask Social Security to waive collection of the overpayment if they believe it was not their fault and can’t afford to pay it back.”
“We do not pursue recoveries while an initial appeal or waiver is pending,” The SSA continued.
“We examine each waiver request to determine, among other factors, if the person caused the debt and their ability to repay.
“Even if they do not want to appeal or request a waiver, the notice says to contact us if the planned withholding would cause hardship.
“We have flexible repayment options—including repayment of as low as $10 per month.
“Each person’s situation is unique, and we handle overpayments on a case-by-case basis.
“To address this problem more systematically, in October 2023, SSA launched a comprehensive review of our overpayment policies and procedures.
“For example, as we announced last month, we are working to reduce wage-related improper payments by using our legal authority to establish information exchanges with payroll data providers that we expect will significantly reduce the number of improper payments once implemented.”
The U.S. Sun has contacted the SSA to see if there is any further comment.