Hi Larry, writing on behalf of my 82 year old mom, who's PRE-DEDUCTION benefit was suspended without notice. She's been receiving about $400/month for many years. They sent her a letter informing her of an increase in her medicare/medicaid and -- oh by the way -- in that same letter we noticed her pre-deduction benefit was now $0. When we called all they could tell us was the pre-deduction benefit had been suspended but not why. My understanding has been that, short of criminal activity, they can't just suspend your pre-deduct benefit, and that they've essentially broken the law by failing to notify her of such. She's now in a situation where next month she'll not only be getting nothing but they've informed her she'll have to send them $$ to pay for her medicare. Thank you & HELP!!

Hi. Social Security can suspend a person's benefit for many reasons other than criminal activity, but the notice that they sent to your mother should have explained the reason for the suspension. My best guess would be that the reason your mother's benefit suspension is due to an overpayment, but I can't be sure of that.

I would advise calling Social Security to have them explain the reason for her benefit suspension. If it's due to an overpayment, your mother has a few options. If you think that the overpayment is wrong then she can file an appeal. Or, if you don't disagree that the overpayment is correct but if it wasn't your mother's fault and if she can't afford to repay the overpayment, she can file for waiver (i.e. forgiveness) of the overpayment.

If your mother was in fact overpaid and if she doesn't qualify for waiver, she can request that the overpayment be withheld from her benefits in installments. Social Security generally accepts such offers without proof of hardship as long as the overpayment can be recovered within 36 months.

That said, since there's no way for me to know for sure why your mother's benefits were suspended so your first step should be to call Social Security for an explanation.

Best, Jerry