Social Security overpayment notice on widow's benefits doesn't match recent COLA increase letter - need to understand $2750 deduction

Those overpayment notices can be incredibly frustrating! I had almost the exact same situation last year with my survivor benefits. The most likely explanation is that they did an earnings review and found income they think you didn't report. Did you work at all in 2023 or 2024? Even part-time work can reduce widow's benefits if you're under full retirement age. Before calling, gather: 1. Both letters you received (the overpayment and the COLA increase) 2. Your tax returns from 2023 and 2024 3. Any W2s or 1099s 4. Bank statements showing the deposits 5. Any income reporting forms you submitted to SSA Last time I needed to speak with someone at SSA, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) after spending days trying to get through the normal way. They got me connected to a live agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in their video here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me hours of frustration and the agent I spoke with was able to fix my overpayment issue once I explained.

omg those letters are THE WORST! i got 2 different amounts on letters last year too and almost had a panic attack. turns out they had my husbands death date wrong by 1 month which somehow meant they paid me for a month i wasnt supposed to get??? makes no sense how they run things!!! call them asap but prepare to be on hold FOREVER

This is a very common issue with survivor benefits. The most likely explanation is that there's a discrepancy in how they calculated your benefit amount initially. For widow's benefits, SSA calculates 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit if you're at full retirement age, or a reduced amount if you're younger. If they initially calculated based on incorrect information about either your age or your husband's earnings record, that could explain the overpayment notice. The COLA letter is automated and sent separately from overpayment notices, which is why you received conflicting information. The COLA increase will still apply, but to the corrected (lower) amount. When you call SSA, specifically ask for an itemized explanation of: 1. The original benefit calculation 2. What information changed to cause the overpayment 3. How they arrived at the specific overpayment amount You have the right to appeal this decision within 60 days of receiving the notice if you believe it's incorrect.

THEY'RE DOING IT AGAIN!!! The SSA is randomly sending out these overpayment notices to THOUSANDS of people right now and half of them are WRONG!!! My sister, my neighbor AND me all got these notices within the last 2 months. I called SEVEN TIMES before getting through and guess what? They admitted it was THEIR MISTAKE not mine!!! DON'T let them reduce your benefits without fighting this! They're hoping people just accept it because fighting is too hard. DEMAND a formal conference with a claims specialist and tell them you need a detailed written explanation of the alleged overpayment. They are REQUIRED BY LAW to provide this!!!!

I'm dealing with something similar right now with my widower benefits. One thing to check: did your husband have a pension from a job that didn't pay into Social Security? If so, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) or Government Pension Offset (GPO) might be kicking in, which can reduce benefits. SSA sometimes catches these issues during reviews and applies them retroactively. Also, I'd recommend requesting a "detailed explanation of the overpayment" in writing. They're required to provide this, and it helps tremendously in understanding exactly what they think happened. Don't forget you can request a waiver if repayment would cause financial hardship, even if the overpayment is correct. Form SSA-632 is what you need for that.

i had this happen and it turned out they had applied my husbands delayed retirement credits wrong. he waited til 68 to file and they missed some of his extra credits at first then when they fixed it it actually went up but they still said there was an overpayment for some months???? the whole thing gave me such a headache lol good luck!!!

Let me explain what's likely happening here. The overpayment notice and the COLA increase are two separate processes in the SSA system: 1. The COLA increase is an automatic adjustment applied to your current benefit amount based on inflation (3.2% for 2025). 2. The overpayment determination likely came from a separate review of your eligibility or benefit calculation. If the $927 amount was incorrect due to a calculation error, they'll now reduce it to the correct amount ($855) AND still apply the COLA to that new amount. So in January, you'll likely receive approximately $882 (the $855 corrected amount plus the 3.2% COLA). What you should do immediately: 1. File a Request for Reconsideration (Form SSA-561) within 60 days of receiving the notice 2. Request a waiver of overpayment recovery (Form SSA-632) if repayment would cause hardship 3. Ask for payments to continue at the current level while the reconsideration is pending Calm and professional persistence is key when dealing with these issues.

Just wanted to update - I used Claimyr this morning after seeing this thread and was connected to an SSA agent in about 15 minutes. For anyone who hasn't tried it, you just go to claimyr.com, enter your phone number, and they call you back when they've secured your place with an agent. Saved me hours of frustration. The agent was really helpful and was able to check on some issues with my disability application.

my sister had a similar thing happen with her survivors benefits last year turned out they had calculated based on the wrong year of her husbands earnings or something like that. dont stress too much about it they usually let you pay it back gradually thru reduced payments they dont expect it all at once at least they didnt with my sis

Wait, I'm confused... are widow's benefits different than survivor benefits? My husband died 3 years ago and I get something called "survivor benefits" but is that the same thing? Now I'm worried they might send me one of these notices too!

Update: I finally got through to someone at SSA today after trying for three days. The agent explained that they had initially calculated my benefit based on my husband's estimated earnings for his last year of work, but when the actual earnings were processed, it was lower than estimated. They're giving me options to either have reduced payments for 10 months or pay a lump sum (which I can't afford). I'm still going to file for reconsideration because I don't think I should be penalized for their estimation error. Thank you all for your helpful advice and support during this stressful time. The forms and information you suggested really helped me understand what was happening and what my options are.