Ask Larry

Can I Still Get My Back Pay?

i won my waiver to dismiss my over payment can i still get my backpay of 8300 im broke and struggling to pay my bills

Hi,

I'd need to have much more information about your case to be able to give you an answer. When an overpayment is waived, it doesn't mean that you weren't actually overpaid. In other words, in most cases when Social Security waives an overpayment, they've decided to allow you to keep benefits that were incorrectly paid to you.

I don't know what you're specifically referring to by "back pay", but if you're referring to incorrect benefits you received that were recovered by repayment or withholding of benefits, then the answer to your question would depend on the amount that was waived by Social Security. If Social Security has recovered part of an overpayment by benefit withholding or by a repayment, the amount recovered could only be returned to the overpaid individual if Social Security waives the entire original overpayment amount. On the other hand, if Social Security only waives the outstanding overpayment balance, then amounts previously recovered would not be returned to the overpaid individual (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202250310).

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Feb 7 2021 - 10:28am
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