Acting Social Security Commissioner, Leland Dudek has voiced the agency’s full support for President Trumps memorandum “Preventing Illegal Aliens from Receiving Social Security Act Benefits”. The President’s memo directs SSA to take several steps to stop illegal aliens and other ineligible people from drawing benefits. Among those are investigating whether people over 100 years of…
As of March 31, 2025 persons wishing to change their address with the Social Security Administration will have to do so through the secure “my Social Security” website or visit a SS office, in person. It will no longer be possible to make changes by calling Social Security. This is to combat fraudulent address and…
Summer 2021 Newsletter STILL STANDING…AND PRACTICING I published the first issue of Social Security & You in Spring of 1993. Some years I’ve published more issues than others. The most recent issue was dated Spring 2019: over 2 years ago. The world was a much different place then. Especially for me. Read the full newsletter…
Spring 2019 Newsletter An Opioid Story I’ve changed his name. Let’s call him Gerald. He was a laborer. And by that I don’t mean that he just did physical work. He was a card-carrying member the Labor’s Union local. And that meant a lot to him. I represented him for Social Security disability and Michigan…
As an attorney practicing Social Security law for 34 years I regularly hear from persons who wish to appeal overpayments. These are difficult cases and rarely won. The person with the overpayment must demonstrate they were without fault in generating the overpayment plus and inability to repay. Since Social Security will often accept payments as low as $25 per month this second requirement is particularly difficult to meet.
Especially frustrating are overpayments generated by a parent or guardian when the recipient was a child. Tax refunds for these individuals have been seized in a program begun in 2008. Previously only debts less than 10 years old could be recovered. Since 2008 $55 million has been collected on these old debts. Social Security estimates it is owed $714 million by about 400,000 people.
Now Acting Social Security Commissioner, Carolyn W. Colvin, has announced a suspension of the collection program, pending an internal review. Colvin encouraging persons who believe they have been incorrectly assessed an overpayment to ask for a review.