I am having a personal conference regarding a denial of a waiver for an overpayment.Do you have some advice as to how to talk to this person.The overpayment was in2017.I have had numerous documents sent to me plus phone calls,during the pandemic and visits to my lFramingham SS office..Do. Yo u have any tips on how to make this a productive conversation?

Hi. In order for a Social Security overpayment to be waived (i.e. forgiven), you must a) be without fault in causing the overpayment, and b) you must either be financially unable to repay the overpayment, or recovery of the overpayment would have to be considered unfair to you for a reason specified in the Social Security regulations (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202250150).

I don't have enough details about your case to be able to give you any specific advice, but there are some general things that may be helpful. First, your overpayment disallowance notice should have explained why your waiver request was denied. If your request was disallowed because Social Security considers you at fault for causing the overpayment, then you'll want to point out to the Social Security representative any and all of the actions that you took to avoid the overpayment. Or, if your waiver request was disallowed because Social Security believes that you have the means to repay the overpayment, you'll need to prove to them that you actually can't afford to repay the overpayment. That would mean showing them such items as bank statements, proof of your monthly income and expenses, etc.

Above all, remember that the Social Security representative that you'll be meeting with is the person who will decide your case. I would suggest that you avoid being adversarial, and simply try to present all of the facts that you believe would explain why the initial determination on your waiver request was incorrect.

Best, Jerry