The Social Security Administration is trying to reclaim billions of dollars from many of the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable.
Lori Cochran, a beneficiary with multiple sclerosis, said she got tripped up by a life insurance policy she took over from her mother.
But trying to resolve an overpayment involves plunging into a “Kafkaesque minefield,” said Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and health care policy at the Arc, which advocates for people with disabilities. As her struggle unfolded, the government reduced her monthly benefit checks and then stopped them. She and her husband sold their car and their house and moved from Florida to Georgia, where the cost of living was lower.
The agency has cut off his benefits, Hubbard said, but it would have been better if it had stopped them before he owed all that money.Now, the agency is trying to collect the money from his mother, who is unable to manage his benefits since having a stroke, Hubbard said.Letters from the agency don’t provide clear explanations, and, if people on the receiving end of overpayment notices can get through to a human, agency employees give inconsistent answers, beneficiaries said.
Maintaining eligibility for SSI benefits leaves people with little money to fall back on — let alone to repay a large debt to the government.The SSDI and SSI programs include rules meant to encourage people to work.
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