ssa says they did not know we were married for two years and my husband that has a dem, head and brain trauma and other med problems owe them about 10,000$ because they gave ssi

Hi,

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a needs based program administered by Social Security. If a person is receiving SSI and gets married, their spouse's income and resources can potentially affect their eligibility for SSI or their benefit rate. I can't tell you whether or not Social Security's determination in your husband's case is correct, but if they weren't aware of your marriage it's certainly plausible that he may have been paid too much in benefits.

It sounds like there are a couple of options that your husband could pursue if he thinks Social Security's determination is wrong or if he is unable to repay the overpayment. If he thinks the amount of the overpayment is incorrect or believes that he was not overpaid at all, he can file a request for reconsideration (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10041.pdf. Or, if he agrees that the overpayment amount is correct but is unable to repay the overpayment, he could file for waiver (i.e. forgiveness) of the overpayment (https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-overpay-ussi.htm). In order to qualify for waiver, though, he would need to be without fault in causing the overpayment.

Best, Jerry