Social Security demanding $8,000 overpayment from student who received benefits while father's disability status changed

Unfortunately, this happens more often than you might think with auxiliary benefits when a parent's disability status changes. To answer your questions: 1) Yes, the notices are addressed to your son because he was the beneficiary of the payments, and since he's now over 18, they communicate directly with him regardless of when the overpayment occurred. 2) SSA does have the right to collect overpayments even when the error was on their side. However, there are two main options you should pursue: - Request a Reconsideration (Form SSA-561) if you believe the determination is wrong - Request a Waiver (which you've already done with Form SSA-632) if you agree there was an overpayment but believe he shouldn't have to pay it back For the waiver to be approved, you need to prove that: a) The overpayment wasn't his fault, AND b) Repayment would cause financial hardship OR would be unfair for some other reason A full-time student with only part-time income has a good case for financial hardship. Make sure you've provided detailed financial information on the waiver form.

This happened to my daughter too!! They came after her for $12k when she was 19 for pretty much the same reason - her dad's disability status changed but they kept paying her. We got a letter almost a YEAR later saying she owed all this money back. Its ridiculous they expect kids to somehow know about their parents medical status changes when THEY are the ones who determined the parent wasnt disabled anymore!!! The whole system is broken.

I helped my nephew through a similar situation last year. Here's what you need to know: 1. They CAN garnish wages, tax refunds, and even future Social Security benefits if the overpayment isn't resolved. However, they typically send multiple notices before taking these actions. 2. The waiver process takes 2-4 months in my experience, sometimes longer if they're backlogged. While it's pending, you can request that they pause any collection efforts. 3. Even if the waiver is denied, you can request a payment plan. For a student, they might accept as little as $10-20 per month. 4. If the amount is over $1,000 (which yours is), you have the right to a personal conference to explain your case in person or by phone. Don't give up! The overpayment waiver success rate is actually pretty good when there's genuine financial hardship and the beneficiary wasn't at fault. Make sure to follow up with your local SSA office about the status of your waiver request.

they always go after the little guy!!! my grandson got hit with something like this and hes just starting community college. i think its DISGUSTING they expect teenagers to know all this complicated benefit stuff. they should go after the parents disability not the kids who had nothing to do with it!!!!

If your son was a minor when some of these payments were made, I think that strengthens your case for a waiver. The SSA-632 form you submitted asks if the person was without fault - which clearly applies here since a minor child wouldn't be expected to know their parent's disability status changed. Make sure you've emphasized this point. I'd suggest calling SSA directly to check on the status of your waiver request. Their phone lines are frustrating though - I spent 3+ hours on hold last month trying to resolve an issue with my retirement benefits.

One more important point I forgot to mention - if your son's waiver request is denied, he has the right to appeal that decision. The appeals process has multiple levels: 1. Reconsideration 2. Hearing by an Administrative Law Judge 3. Appeals Council Review 4. Federal Court Review Most overpayment cases that get resolved favorably happen at the reconsideration or ALJ hearing level. The key is persistence and proper documentation. Also, verify whether your son received any notices about his mother's medical improvement BEFORE the overpayment notice. Sometimes these get sent but go to old addresses or aren't recognized as important by young recipients. If he can prove he never received proper notification of the change in circumstances, that strengthens the "without fault" argument.

Something else to consider - there's a concept called "administrative finality" in Social Security regulations. Generally, SSA decisions become final 12 months after they're made unless there was fraud or similar fault involved. If they determined your ex-wife's medical improvement in April 2023 but didn't notify your son until months later (past the 12-month mark), you might have grounds to challenge the overpayment based on administrative finality rules. You'd need to check exactly when they made the determination about your ex-wife's medical improvement. This is a more technical argument, but worth exploring if other approaches don't work.

A critical factor here is whether your son continued to be eligible for benefits as a student after turning 18. Based on your timeline, it sounds like he did qualify under the "full-time student" provisions that allow benefits to continue until graduation or age 19 (whichever comes first). If the sole reason for the overpayment is his mother's medical improvement, and not any issue with his student status, then your waiver argument should focus heavily on the fact that he had no way of knowing about his mother's changed medical status - especially given that she hasn't been involved in his life. The technical term for what you want to emphasize is that he was "without fault" in causing the overpayment. The SSA's own policy states that individuals are without fault when: "The overpaid individual relied on information from SSA that turned out to be incorrect." Since SSA continued sending the payments, this should apply to your son's situation.