How come my kids survivor benefits when from 954 each a month to zero for 5 months and then I got a letter stating they took it for over payment but they never got over payment then got a letter that some time in December they will get 625 each a month when I have a letter another letter I got in January stating they would be getting 956 for the year of 2021 now there saying there regular monthly benefit is only 625 a month but haven't even received them since May and they won't tell me why other then saying there is another beneficiary on the account as of may 25th and that person was over paid so we re all paying it back so if that's the case home all of us we're not over paid and why do we have to pay it back when we didn't receive the over payment and ware is the letter stating all this how could they give them 950 a month for 10 years and then just take it away completely with no warning for 5 months now
Hi. That's a lot of questions, and I can't provide any definite answers since I don't have access to Social Security's computer system. Here's what I can tell you. Benefit rates for surviving children can be as high as 75% of the deceased worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), but the actual payment amount can be lower than that if payment of the full benefit amount would exceed the family maximum benefit (FMB). The FMB that can be paid on an individual's account is based on the worker's earnings history.
If at least 3 surviving children are eligible for benefits on the same account then their benefit rate would almost always be less than 75% of the worker's PIA due to the FMB. Therefore, the amount that your children could be paid depends on the earnings history of the deceased parent on whose record they're being paid, and the number of survivors who are drawing benefits on that account.
If someone other than your child(ren) was overpaid benefits on the deceased worker's account, then your children could still be held contingently liable for repayment of the overpayment (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202205005). However, if Social Security proposes to recover someone else's overpayment by withholding the benefits of a contingently liable beneficiary the contingently liable person can potentially qualify for waiver of the overpayment. I'm not sure from your description what exactly occurred in your children's case, but if they're being asked to repay someone else's overpayment then you may want to call Social Security and ask to file for waiver of the overpayment on behalf of your child(ren).
Best, Jerry
