I am on unemployment in NY dues to covid as of march 23 2020... I was working and collecting
my Social security at the same time.... Now they tell me I made too much money ..I am 66
The additiional money earned was supposed tpo help us live now they want $9000.00 Back as over payment !
What was the point of working and how can I ever payh back 9000 $$ ??
Everything I read on the SS web site seems it was my fault and I don't want more problems... I can't see them (SS) their office are all closed ( phone and internet only) so I can't sit and talk to a person.... What should I do to make them accept a minimal pay back plan ??

Hi,

Just to clarify, any unemployment benefits you've collected had no effect on your Social Security benefits. If you were overpaid, it's apparently because you earned wages that were more than the Social Security earnings test exempt amount and didn't inform Social Security as required (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html). Had you told Social Security how much you'd be earning, they would have withheld any required benefits while you were working so that you didn't get overpaid.

To answer your question, though, Social Security will accept partial benefit withholding offers to recover an overpayment without requiring proof of financial hardship as long as the overpayment amount can be recovered within 36 months. If you can't afford to have that much withheld from your benefits and would be unable to meet your necessary living expenses, you'd need to prove financial hardship in order for Social Security to accept a lower withholding rate. That would require completion of a form and the submission of your financial records.

In order to request a lower rate of withholding while Social Security offices are closed to the public, you'll either need to call or write to them. If you submit a written request for a lower overpayment withholding rate, you should preferably send it to your servicing Social Security office. You can find their address using Social Security's office locater: https://secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp.

Best, Jerry