Social Security Overpayments Can Now Take Half of Your Benefit Check
5 min read
If you've been overpaid by Social Security, you could soon see half of your monthly benefits disappear — unless you take action.
As of April 25, 2025, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has changed its default withholding policy for Title II overpayments. Instead of withholding 10% of your monthly check, the agency will now withhold 50% to recover what it says you owe.
This change affects millions of Americans receiving retirement, survivors, or disability benefits through Social Security. And it’s left many people asking: How did this happen? And what can I do about it?
At BenefitKarma, we break down complicated changes like this and help people understand their options; sign up today for free.
First, what is a Social Security overpayment?
A Social Security overpayment happens when SSA pays you more than you were legally entitled to receive. This can occur for many reasons, including:
A delay in reporting income changes (such as returning to work while on SSDI)
Changes in your family status that affect eligibility
Incorrect calculations or administrative errors by the SSA
Continuing payments after a beneficiary has died
IMPORTANT: Sometimes the overpayment is not your fault—but you’ll still get a notice saying you need to pay it back.
What’s changing and when?
It’s already changed. Before April 25, 2025, SSA used a 10% withholding rule. That policy, introduced in 2011, gave beneficiaries some financial cushion. If you didn’t repay the overpayment immediately or request a different plan, SSA would automatically withhold just 10% of your monthly Title II benefit until the overpayment was paid off.
Since April 25, that automatic withholding rate has jumped to 50%. That means if you're getting $1,400 per month in benefits, SSA may start withholding $700 per month unless you act.
This new rate applies to:
All new Title II overpayment determinations issued after April 25, 2025
Existing overpayments if you receive a new overpayment on top of it
The old 10% rule still applies to overpayment actions that were finalized before April 2025, but new notices will follow the 50% rule.
What are my rights if I’m overpaid?
If you get an overpayment notice, you have 90 days to respond before automatic withholding kicks in. During that time, you have several options:
Request a waiver: If the overpayment wasn’t your fault and repaying it would cause financial hardship, you can ask SSA to waive the repayment entirely. You don’t need to pay anything while the waiver is under review. Note: Processing delays in 2025 will make it difficult to get rapid service.
Ask for reconsideration: If you believe the overpayment amount is wrong, or that you were never overpaid at all, you can appeal the determination by filing a Request for Reconsideration. This pauses collection until SSA makes a decision.
Negotiate a lower withholding rate: You can ask for a more manageable repayment amount using Form SSA-634. If approved, SSA can reduce the withholding to something less than 50%, based on your ability to pay.
The key is to act quickly. If you don’t respond within 90 days, SSA will begin withholding 50% of your benefit automatically.
Who is affected?
This policy applies to anyone receiving Title II benefits, which include:
Survivors benefits
This does not apply to SSI (Supplemental Security Income), which still follows the 10% withholding rule for overpayments.
If you are receiving both SSI and SSDI (or another Title II benefit), your repayment situation may involve cross-program recovery, which has its own set of rules.
What if fraud is involved?
If SSA believes the overpayment occurred due to fraud or similar fault—like knowingly providing false information—they may skip the 90-day window and pursue full repayment more aggressively. These cases are flagged for special review and can include:
Full withholding of benefits
Civil monetary penalties
Court-ordered restitution
If you disagree with a fraud determination, you still have a right to appeal, but the process is more complex and may involve legal representation.
What can you do now?
If you receive an overpayment notice, don’t ignore it. SSA will allow you to challenge the notice, request a waiver, or propose a payment plan — but only if you respond in time.
Here’s what to do:
Read the notice carefully and mark the deadline
Consider whether the overpayment is accurate or if you want to appeal
If you need a waiver or lower withholding, fill out the correct SSA forms as soon as possible
Keep copies of all communications with SSA