Social Security changing overpayment recovery to 10% instead of full benefits - is this active yet?

Yes, in February 2025 the SSA announced changes to their overpayment collection policies. They're supposed to be limiting recovery to 10% of monthly benefits in most cases, instead of the old default which was 100% withholding. The policy is technically in effect now, but implementation has been spotty across field offices. You need to specifically request the 10% withholding rate by filing form SSA-632 (Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery) AND specifying you want the new 10% policy applied while your waiver is being processed.

my cousins goin thru the same thing rn. they took his whole check in march and april but when he went to the office in person last week they changed it to only takin like $230 instead of his full $2300. he had to be super specific about asking for the 10% thing tho or they pretend not to know what ur talking about

I work as a benefits counselor, and this has been frustrating for everyone. The SSA announced the 10% policy change, but they've been incredibly slow rolling it out to field offices. Some representatives still don't have the proper guidance. Here's what you need to do: 1. Complete form SSA-632 (Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery) 2. In Section 6, explicitly state you are requesting the 10% withholding limit announced in February 2025 3. Bring documentation of your essential expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc.) 4. Request a receipt confirming they received your waiver request 5. Specifically ask that they implement the 10% withholding WHILE your waiver is being processed The form is available at: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-632.pdf

I had this exact problem last month. SSA took my whole check for March and claimed they knew nothing about the 10% policy when I called. I was getting absolutely nowhere on the phone - disconnected four times after waiting over 2 hours each time. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. The agent knew about the policy and adjusted my withholding to 10% immediately. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU After that, I got a letter confirming the change about a week later, and my April payment came with only 10% withheld instead of the whole amount. Such a relief!

OMG THIS MAKES ME SO ANGRY!!! I've been fighting with them since DECEMBER about an overpayment that WASN'T EVEN MY FAULT!!! They're taking my entire check too and when I mentioned the 10% thing the lady LAUGHED at me and said that's not a real policy!! I can't believe they're lying to people like this. I've had to borrow money from my family for three months now because they're taking EVERY PENNY of my SSDI. How is this even legal???

my brother had this problem. he called for weeks but nobody would help. finally he wrote to his congressman and suddenly SSA fixed everything in like 3 days lol. maybe try that?

I think they're changing their policy again. My nephew works at Social Security and he says they're getting new guidance every week about this. Some offices have the updated system and others don't yet. Maybe try a different office?

Quick update for everyone following this thread - the official policy change is outlined in SSA Emergency Message EM-23056, which officially limits recovery of most overpayments to 10% of monthly benefits. However, there are exceptions for fraud cases. The implementation date was March 15, 2025, but as others have noted, the actual rollout has been inconsistent across field offices. If you're getting resistance, specifically mention EM-23056 and request to speak with a Technical Expert or the Office Manager who should be familiar with this directive.