From
KDFW:
... [A]n Arlington [TX] man is being told he owes back money that was paid to his mother — in 1978. ...
The SSA is asking Jimmy Byrd to pay them more than $1,400 that was paid
45 years ago to his mother who died back in 2011. He could not believe
his eyes when he opened a letter from the SSA last month.
"I read the paperwork, and it was from January to June of 1978," he said. "Back in 1978, I was only 17 years old." ...
Byrd filed an appeal.
"Two
weeks ago, I received a second letter stating I'm going to have to pay
it, and I thought that's not right," he said. "I got in my car, went
back down to the social security board."
Bryd told his story again.
‘The gentleman looked at me from behind the counter and said, 'You know, that is just the way it is,’" he said.
Byrd signed an agreement to have $100 a month deducted from his $1,800 social security check for the next 14 months. ...
Why, oh why, is there no statute of limitations on overpayments? These cases happen all the time. Of course, this overpayment would have been wiped out with a waiver request but it's easier to tell someone "that is just the way it is" than it is to help with a waiver request.