Social Security withholding my check for stock sale from 2013 - appeal ignored for 3 months

same thing happened to me last yr but with rental property income. took 5 months to get resolved!! keep calling!! dont give up

This type of situation is unfortunately common with stock sales and Social Security. The SSA often incorrectly classifies capital gains as current earned income, which can trigger both the earnings test for those under FRA and incorrect overpayment notices for anyone. You need to gather these documents immediately: 1. Your 2013 W2 or pay statements showing when the stock options were actually earned 2. Documentation of when the stocks were granted to you 3. Your 2022 tax return showing how the income was properly classified 4. Any correspondence with SSA about the appeal Call your local SSA office (not the main 800 number) and request an in-person appointment with a Technical Expert. Explain that this is time-sensitive due to both the garnishment and potential IRMAA implications. The local office can sometimes expedite appeals that are stuck in processing. You're right to be concerned about IRMAA - you should also contact 1-800-MEDICARE to place a note on your file about the pending SSA appeal, which could help prevent automatic IRMAA increases.

If you're having trouble getting through to someone at SSA who can actually help, you might want to try Claimyr. I was in a similar situation with an incorrect overpayment notice and couldn't get through on the phone for weeks. Claimyr got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and their website is claimyr.com. Saved me a ton of frustration when I was dealing with my overpayment appeal.

The SYSTEM is DESIGNED to be confusing!!! SSA has been doing this to people for YEARS!!! They KNOW the difference between earned income and capital gains but they DELIBERATELY misclassify it so they can take your money!!! I've been fighting them for 14 MONTHS over similar issues with stock I sold from my retirement account. Even with PROOF they keep delaying and saying "we're reviewing your case" - meanwhile they KEEP TAKING MY MONEY!!!

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned filing for a "waiver of overpayment recovery" yet. Even while your appeal is pending, you can file Form SSA-632 to request they stop collecting until a decision is made. I did this when I had an incorrect overpayment notice, and they stopped the garnishment within 2 weeks while my appeal was still being processed. Worth trying!

my sister had this happen too. the ssa people got confused because the stock was from her old employer and they thought it was current work. took forever to fix but eventually they gave her all the money back. good luck!!

One more thing to consider - request a copy of your earnings record from SSA and check that they haven't incorrectly recorded the stock sale as earned income for 2022. If they have, you'll need to file for a correction of your earnings record in addition to the overpayment appeal. This is especially important for the IRMAA issue, as SSA reports income information to Medicare for premium determinations.

When my mother had a similar issue with SSA misclassifying some income, we ended up contacting our Congressional representative's office. They have caseworkers who deal with federal agencies, and they contacted SSA on her behalf. The issue was resolved within 3 weeks after struggling for months on our own. Might be worth considering if your local office visit doesn't help.

And watch out for the tax implications too!! If they eventually rule in your favor and pay back all the money they took, they might count THAT as income for the year they repay you!!! The whole system is a NIGHTMARE of circular problems!!!