Q & A
Ask Rusty – I Got an Overpayment Notice from Social Security; What Should I Do? - AMAC Foundation
Dear Rusty: I received a letter from Social Security saying they overpaid me $12,703 in SS benefits. The letter said "We reduce Social Security benefits if you receive a government pension. We reduce benefits by two-thirds of the amount of your pension. Your benefit is less than two-thirds of the pension. For this reason, we cannot pay you.”
FYI, I do receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security taxes. My problem is that I don't fully understand this. This could be correct, but it doesn't seem right to come back wanting money I didn't ask for. I appreciate your time in getting back and letting me know if there is anything else I could be doing, or if they are entitled to go ahead and get the SS payments back. Thanks. Signed: Confused about Owing Social Security
Dear Confused: From what you have shared, it appears that Social Security has determined that you were subject to a rule called the “Government Pension Offset” (GPO). FYI, the GPO was a provision which reduced Social Security spousal and/or survivor benefits for anyone who had a “non-covered” government pension (that is, a pension earned without contributing to Social Security). It’s likely that SS paid you full benefits, but that the GPO should have reduced (or eliminated) the benefits they paid, had they known about your “uncovered” government pension. And that is likely the source of the $12,300 overpayment notice you received. However, the GPO rule was repealed in January 2025 and no longer applies. In other words, those who have a “non-covered” government pension (a pension earned without contributing to SS) are now no longer subjected to reduced benefits under the GPO. The repeal legislation also provided for retroactivity back to January 2024, so the notice you received from Social Security was probably referring to SS benefits you received prior to 2024. If that is the case, then the notice you received is likely accurate and would need to be repaid. However, if the notice is referring to spousal or survivor benefits you received after December 2023, then it would be in error.
The best way to find out would be for you to file an appeal to Social Security, e.g., a “Request for Reconsideration” (form SSA-561), which will cause an independent review within Social Security to see if you are, indeed, required to repay those SS benefits, or whether you should pay something less (or nothing at all). Just remember that when you actually received the SS benefits in question is the key factor – if you had a non-covered government pension while receiving SS spouse or survivor benefits before
2024, then the overpayment notice you received is likely valid. If not, an appeal as I described above should resolve the issue for you.
This posting is presented for informational purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. Any opinions or interpretations presented are either those of the original author or, in the case of articles authored by the AMAC Foundation, are the opinions of AMAC Foundation staff, originally trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA) and certified via the AMAC Foundation. Any links included in the article are valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the links’ validity. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (https://amacfoundation.org/services/) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org. Because we are a non-profit organization, there is no charge for these services.