Dealing With an Overpayment of SSDI Notice In California

It is possible to receive a notice in the mail that you have received an overpayment of SSDI. What this means is more of your disability benefits was paid to you than your allotted payment. Some instances of an overpayment of your SSDI is in regards to you having a job. If you obtain a job and start receiving wages that is above the substantial gainful work activity, you also run the risk of having this job stop your payments for disability benefits.

If You Receive A Notice

If you do receive a notice of overpayment, and the SSDI office in your city in California is requesting the money be paid back, you might be able to request reconsideration. This is one of two things you can do. A reconsideration can be filed to have the amount of overpayment reconsidered.  A second thing you can do is file for a waiver if overpayment amount remains the same after reconsideration.  A waiver for clearing the overpayment can be done by showing the Social Security department that you were not at fault for the overpayment occurring.

Another way that might successfully cause a waiver is requesting to the Social Security Administration that paying the overpayment will result in undue hardship. However, a waiver cannot not completely result in you not having to settle the overpayment, as in some cases even if the person is found not to be at fault for receiving an overpayment, they can still be made to pay back the money based on how much wages he or she is receiving.

One option that is available to someone with a notice of overpayment is a request for a file hearing. A file hearing will allow you and your attorney to plead your case before an administrative law judge.

Filing For Reinstatement 

Usually when a notice of overpayment is received, the disability payments are usually stopped. It is possible to have your benefits started again by filing an expedited reinstatement. This will give you a further six months while your circumstances are being investigated. However, while waiting for the court hearing, the Social Security Administration may take your payments from your disability benefits to pay back the overpayment amount.

An appeal to an administrative judge to appeal the overpayment may be successful if the overpayment was not your fault. It is not always likely for Social Security to waive a notice of overpayment as a result of receiving wages from a job.

Getting Help First

The above information is only a guideline for handling an SSDI overpayment notice. It is important to seek the advice of an attorney before the situation worsens.