Ask Larry

Can Social Security Seize My Liquid Assets If They Say That They Overpaid Me?

Can Social Security seize my liquid assets in my bank when they say that they have overpaid me? Who in my geographic area (western colorado) has your professional license and would advise me?

Hi,

No, Social Security can't seize funds that you have in a bank account, but they can reclaim benefit payments that were directly deposited if it turns out that the payments weren't due.

I'm not sure what professional license you're referring to, but in any case I'm not able to recommend anyone for you to consult for advice. If you've been notified of a Social Security overpayment, you could consider filing an appeal (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10041.pdf) or a request for waiver (forgiveness) of the overpayment. In order to qualify for a waiver, you must be without fault in causing the overpayment and you must either be financially unable to repay the overpayment or recovery of the overpayment would be unfair for a reason specified in the Social Security regulations (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202250150).

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Sep 16 2019 - 5:19pm
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