From a press release:
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore.[Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Social Security], Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio [Chairman of the Finance Committee's Social Security Subcommittee], and Bob Casey, D-Pa., urged the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide additional information on the scope and magnitude of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries who had their benefits suspended and were assessed an overpayment due to receiving Economic Impact Payments (EIPs)[a pandemic program]. ...
Between April 2020 and July 2021, these payments were disregarded as countable resources for 12 months for purposes of SSI eligibility. In August 2021, SSA announced that EIPs would not be counted toward eligibility and payment amount for SSI purposes indefinitely. However, SSA suspended benefits and assessed overpayments to individuals receiving SSI benefits because of the stimulus payments.
Senator Wyden previously raised this concern with SSA in two separate hearings in 2021, and the agency responded stating they had updated its policy guidance for SSA staff. However, recent reporting has shown that SSI beneficiaries continue to receive overpayment notices because of the EIPs.
To understand the scope and magnitude of beneficiaries affected, and the actions SSA has taken to resolve such suspensions and overpayments, the senators asked the SSA Acting Commissioner to provide the following information:
1. The number of individuals who had their benefits reduced or suspended because of the EIPs during the following periods:
a. March 2020 to July 2021;
b. August 2021 to December 2022; and
c. January 2023 to September 2023.
2. Of those individuals identified in Question 1:
a. The number of individuals whose benefits were reinstated without an appeals hearing.
b. The number of individuals whose benefits were reinstated due to an appeals hearing.
c. The number of individuals whose appeals are pending.
d. The number of individuals who appeals were denied.
3. A list of the agency’s past and ongoing actions to address people who received overpayment notices resulting from EIPs?
4. The number of claimants who were denied SSI benefits because of the EIPs.
5. Whether SSA has required each beneficiary impacted to file an appeal.
4 comments:
I have had several cases where the SSI recipient was OK'd on redetermination and then SSA did a bank match without considering the exclusion and imposed an overpayment. Massive work for us and for the SSA rep when we had to **prove** that SSA policy had changed. Had to cite their own emergency memo and they still didn't believe me.
In my experience so far, the bigger issue is the person receiving SSI fails to disclose they ever received the money. On a bank match, we would have no idea where the money came from. However, we are supposed to reconnect the claimant to ask about it if it affects payments.
It’s a problem that’s not going away.
It’s truly amazing that congress created this Byzantine system. Then they don’t make updates to assist the agency in efficient administration. Then they wonder why this occurs. The single biggest and easiest thing they can do is raise the long overdue resource limit. And increase the ssi earned income limit to a reasonable number ($500 sounds like a good start). And get rid of all the complex T2 PE work rules and just use the AET. And make a rule of a claimant exceeds the AET repeatedly we have to do a medical CDR on them. Abolish work terminations. Is this that difficult?
SSA changes their policies so often on so many topics, it's near impossible to keep track of them all. The only group who's worse is Congress itself & they have the benefit of people who keep track of all this. Our changes come by email & memos which auto archive after 12 months. There's a reason why no one has responded when asked before. They don't know the answer or how to find it.
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