AVRAM Sacks was working as a government attorney defending the Social Security Administration’s push to claw back billions of dollars in overpayments when he realized the whole system was “really messed up”.
Almost 40 years ago Sacks was preparing to stand up in court and argue the case that the Social Security Administration was right to pursue a person over an overpayment.
Social security expert Avram Sacks hits out at the government over billions in overpayments[/caption]
Government figures reveal there were $72 billion in improper payments between 2015-2022[/caption]
Sacks had reservations about how the overpayment had been calculated and contacted an agency clerk to understand the methodology.
Overpayments occur for a range of reasons including agency error, beneficiary fraud as well as agency failure to properly record earned income by beneficiaries which can lead to retroactively stopping benefits years later.
After initially dismissing Sacks’ concerns, the clerk revealed the agency had actually underpaid the recipient more than double the amount of the claimed overpayment.
Reflecting on the moment almost four decades later, the attorney said overpayments by the Social Security Administration are now the worst they’ve ever been, warning the errors are having damaging consequences on Americans and their families.
“I took the time to share this with you because it is important to realize what the situation was like in 1987 and it has only gotten worse since then,” Sacks said.
Sacks is a nationally acclaimed expert on Social Security who now defends people who have been unknowingly overpaid money.
It was at that point that I realized the system was really messed up, and as a government attorney I needed to make sure that what I was advocating in federal court was correct
Avram Sacks
According to an SSA report released in August by the Inspector General, the agency made nearly $72 billion in improper payments between 2015 and 2022, or about $9 billion each year.
Social Security Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi in October last year told a congressional hearing that the agency sends about one million people overpayment notices annually.
Sacks said many of these people who are impacted by these payment “clawbacks” cannot afford to pay them back with many having limited savings.
It is even harder for those with a disability.
The Social Security expert hit out at systemic cultural issues within the agency.
Sacks said the agency treats beneficiaries like they are “trying to get away with something” even when the payment issue not their fault.
“Agency culture has, for years, treated overpaid beneficiaries like criminals, even though many of the overpayments are due to agency error,” Sacks said.
Just this week, Sacks helped the widow of a former client who had received benefits for six months after her spouse passed away in January this year.
Fortunately, Sack’s client’s widow knew not to spend the money.
“No benefit should have been paid for the period Jan 2024 – Aug 2024, since benefits end upon death,” Sack’s said.
“My client’s widow knew not to spend that money only because I became aware of the payment and understood that the back benefit was a lot larger than it should have been but the average lay person would not have known that.”
SCRUTINY GROWS
The Social Security Administration has defended itself against growing public scrutiny of overpayments, releasing data showing about 1% of all payments are overpayments.
The Biden administration last December appointed former Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley as the new Social Security Commissioner tasked with tackling major issues including overpayments, blow outs in disability processing times and improving customer service.
In March, Commissioner O’Malley announced a major shake-up of the agency in a bid to “not unduly harm anyone”.
The changes included modifying the way the agency recovers overpayments from 100% of monthly Social Security benefits to a “more reasonable” 10%.
“It’s unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment,” Commissioner O’Malley said earlier this year.
Sacks praised Commissioner O’Malley’s changes, saying the new leadership had done more to reform the system than anyone in history.
HOW TO AVOID OVERPAYMENT
Experts say the best way to ensure a recipient of Social Security benefits is not wrongly paid is to calculate how much you should be getting.
Recipients are also advised to let the Social Security Administration know about any changes to your income, work or living arrangements and report your wages regularly.
Recipients should also monitor their payments regularly to notice any irregularities.
CHALLENGING A NOTICE
Sacks said recipients should also be aware that they can challenge notices of overpayments through an appeals process.
First, recipients must figure out if they were at fault willingly or unwillingly, and then can proceed to lodge an appeal.
If the appeal is denied, recipients have the right to request a hearing to challenge the accuracy of the overpayment.
Public concern has also been mounting over a lack of transparency in how payments are calculated by the SSA.
Sacks urged the agency to be more upfront about how it calculates an overpayment and what threshold it uses before sending an appeals notice.
“More transparency is needed in terms of the rules used by the agency to determine if an individual is entitled to waiver on the basis that recovery would defeat the purposes of the Social Security Act,” he said.
The U.S. Sun approached the Social Security Administration for comment.
Social security expert Avran Sacks has criticized systemic cultural issues within the Social Security Administration[/caption]
