From a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):
SSA [Social Security Administration] attempts to fully and immediately recover an overpayment. If a full refund is not possible, SSA may withhold part or all of the individual’s monthly benefit, or create an installment plan when the individual is no longer receiving benefits. Under an installment plan, the individual agrees to refund the overpayment through monthly payments. SSA negotiates the repayment agreement and establishes the payment’s due date.
We identified 12,269 individuals where the Recovery of Overpayments, Accounting and Reporting system indicated SSA was attempting to recover the overpayment through an installment agreement. However, for all these overpayments, the most recent installment- related action was before June 2016. At the time of our audit, these individuals owed SSA almost $88.3 million in overpaid benefits. ...
For the 12,269 debtors we reviewed, the overpayment record showed the last installment- related action occurred 11 months to 32 years before June 2016. ...A couple of points:
- Is it appropriate for Social Security to be trying to collect 32 year old debts? How many of these debts are similarly ancient? Why is there no statute of limitations?
- OIG seems unconcerned with the costs of collection. Is it cost effective to use expensive debt collection methods for small debts, especially at a time of staffing shortages? Reading OIG reports you might think Social Security is mainly a debt collection agency.
4 comments:
First, it is 32-year old debt where the debtor agreed to repayment through installments. Your credit card company isn't just going to wipe out your balance after making payments for 7 years, why should SSA? The whole point of the report if you had read it wasn't that SSA screwed up establishing a repayment. It is that SSA established a repayment agreement and the beneficiary wasn't holding up their end. SSA needs to terminate the installment agreement and proceed through other collection activities. It has been a while, but I'm fairly certain these activities are all handled by low level clerks in regional program offices.
Second, just because the overpayments are old does not meant they are invalid. And no, you cannot demand a debt be removed just because SSA does not have the paper check anymore. Treasury does not keep them for long anyway..
Third, the bar is only for when the beneficiary becomes re-entitled after 10 years from the last attempt to collect (GN 02210.003, 45 CFR 30.12) and a few years ago under Obama, there was pressure to do away with that regulation.
@12:02
I think Charles' point was more to the purpose of statutes of limitation, not whether there is one or not. How many of these debts in the end will turn out to be unrecoverable? Individuals who are charged with an overpayment are (or were) disabled or retired. The average disabled worker in 2015 was 53.9. Assuming 3 years (which is generous) is all it would take SSA to charge an overpayment, that means the recipient is 56.9 on average. Add 32 years, and that means they are seeking repayment from an 89 year old individual with either limited resources to repay, or they are already dead.
As to your debtor example, it is a little different as normally social security benefits are protected from creditors and although Social Security can seek repayment, the whole point of the Social Security Act is to provide a financial safety net. Overpayments are pretty common for current recipients and can occur through miscalculation of benefits, periods of ineligibility, reinstatement of benefits, etc.
Should 32 year old underpayments not be made for the same reason? Aren't most mortgages 30 years? Should we just wipe those out because the debt is so old? A debt is a debt. Pay it off!
Let's say you heal up and could/should go back to work. But you opt to fight the CDR, knowing you will owe the payments made after the warning. Let's say you lose and you are younger. Many years later you apply for retirement and lo and behold there is an overpayment in your record and Social Security wants to keep 10% of your check - that will take about a year to recover each month you fought the losing battle. So if you dragged it out thru an alj hearing it could be a 20 year penalty!
Surely you would want the agency to recoup. If not maybe we should recoup from some other source? Any suggestions? From your attorneys fees withheld for you?
what solutions do you advocate.
B/t/w we write off millions of dollars of uncollected debt monthly as people die with overpayments owed.
What will you tell you clients when we have 78% of what they are owed using every penny of current withholdings? That you should have advocated better debt collection?
Sorry for bitter rant! Sometimes Charles just criticizes everything the gummit boys do.
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