Unexpected Social Security deposits in my account - SSA error or retroactive payment?

Same here! Got a random $1240 deposit yesterday marked SOC SEC. No idea what it's for but I'm not complaining lol

YOU BETTER NOT SPEND IT!!!! My cousin had this happen last year and they took it ALL back 3 months later with NO WARNING. He had already spent it on a new TV and fixing his car and ended up OVERDRAWN by nearly $2000!!! The SSA doesn't make random 'gifts' - it's ALWAYS either a mistake or something you're entitled to but they WILL want documentation.

This could be a few different things: 1. A retroactive payment if you recently started benefits and were owed money from previous months 2. An underpayment correction if they calculated your benefits incorrectly 3. A one-time adjustment related to your earnings record being updated 4. Possibly the new COLA adjustment being applied retroactively The most important thing is to contact SSA directly to verify what the payment is for before spending it. You should be able to see some explanation in your my Social Security account online under the 'Message Center' tab as well.

Had something like this last november... turned out to be back pay for the months they were processing my application. check your my social security account it might have an explanation there

This just happened to my mother in law too! She got an extra payment last Thursday and was totally confused. Turns out it was related to her Medicare Part B premiums being adjusted or something. Definitely call them to find out before you spend anything.

I've been trying to reach SSA about a similar issue for three days but keep getting busy signals or disconnected after waiting on hold forever. I finally tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) yesterday and got connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - saved me hours of frustration. The agent explained that mine was a retroactive payment from an earnings recalculation they did last month.

My own theory is that someone at SSA is finally getting around to processing a backlog of adjustments. I've noticed several people in my retirement group mentioning unexpected deposits in the last week or so. Most turned out to be legitimate payments - either underpayments being corrected or adjustments based on earnings records being updated. But DEFINITELY call to confirm what yours is for.

UPDATE: I FINALLY got through to SS after 2.5 HOURS on hold!!! They said many people are getting deposits because of an ERROR in the COLAs calculated for 2024!!! They under-calculated many people's increases and are now fixing it with back payments to January. CHECK YOUR AMOUNTS carefully!! The agent said if you got more than you should have they WILL take it back eventually!!!

This is really helpful information everyone! I'm in a similar situation - got an unexpected $892 deposit yesterday with "SOC SEC" in the description. Based on what Lauren found out about the COLA calculation errors, that amount actually lines up with what I think I might have been underpaid since January. I'm going to try calling tomorrow morning (hopefully the wait times are better early in the day) to confirm this is legitimate before I even think about touching it. Thanks for all the warnings about not spending it until we know for sure - definitely don't want to end up overdrawn if they take it back!

This thread has been so helpful! I just experienced something similar - got an unexpected $743 deposit two days ago marked "SOC SEC" and have been nervous about what it could be. After reading Lauren's update about the COLA calculation errors, I went back and did some rough math on what my increase should have been since January, and $743 is pretty close to what I think I was underpaid. I also checked my online Social Security account like several people suggested, and there actually WAS a message in my Message Center from last week that I had missed - it mentioned a "benefit adjustment" but wasn't very detailed. I'm still planning to call them tomorrow to get the full explanation, but I feel much more confident now that this is legitimate back pay rather than an error. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and especially for the warnings about not spending it until confirmed!