The Social Security Administration sent Lanier Schriner a shocking letter. It said the feds paid her too much more than 30 years ago, and now they are coming to collect.
More than three decades ago, Schriner was just heading to college along with small disability payments from her deceased father's Social Security.
"I received it before I went to college and then after I turned 18," she said. "Then you could still collect disability and disability payments if you're going to school."
Just last week, the payments came back to haunt her.
"I got this letter, 30-some years later, just the other day, that said I owed a $167 back payment," Schriner said.
It says she was overpaid at some point, but there are no specifics in the letter.
The amount's not important to her, but the time that's passed.
"I think it's ridiculous," she said. "I can give evidence that I don't owe it, but I'm not sure how to do that when I don't have any paperwork from 30-some years ago," she said.
Jul 20, 2013
Why No Statute Of Limitations?
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6 comments:
It could be that she didn't file an annual report in the last year of student entitlement and then got a job. SSA would not be able to apply the monthly earnings test without her report so they may have incorrectly applied the annual earnings test which counted the wages AFTER her entitlement ended, in the same calendar year. Finish school in June. Get a good paying job in July. Need to tell SSA that those earnings were NOT earned before June. SSA won't know otherwise.
She just needs to request a waiver. The local FO will almost certainly waive collection under the administrative tolerance provisions.
@ 7:08...exactly. FO will most certainly waive. Why is this news? The news should be that she doesn't owe interest...also, will it be news when her debt is waived by the FO.
As an aside, she'll have to report the waived debt as taxes on her 2013 tax form.
SSA waives millions of dollars in overpayments every year, let alone compromise settlements and those declared uncollectable. Never once heard of anyone reporting nor having to report such as income on a tax return. This info is never reported to IRS nor any other agency.
@ 7:29...hopefully you're not an attorney and especially not a tax attorney.
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc431.html
While the specific finding regarding the debt may make a difference (i.e. if the overpayment is cancelled it could be argued that it never existed), most cancelled debt is taxable income.
Demand a hearing in front of an ALJ. That will certainly get you justice, while taking aslot for some poor disabled person waiting in line... Duh, just pay it and be glad they don't ask for interest. What a smuck.
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