We’re pleased to announce that we’ve expanded the options for you to repay overpayments online. If you have an overpayment debt, you may be eligible to make a full or partial payment using Pay.gov or your bank’s online bill pay option. Pay.gov is a secure online service provided by the Department of the Treasury. Only people who are not currently receiving Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments may use this service.
Using Pay.gov to Make Your Payment
Our billing notices now include the Pay.gov website information as well as a new Remittance ID. The Remittance ID is a 10-digit alphanumeric number used instead of your Social Security number for online payments. To make a payment, follow these steps:
- Use the link in your billing notice or visit Pay.gov.
- Enter ‘Social Security’ in the search box.
- Click on “Continue” under the Repay Your Social Security Overpayment Online section.
- Follow the instructions on the following page and click “Continue to the Form.”
- Enter the Remittance ID number found on your billing notice and repayment amount.
- Enter your name, address, and phone number in required fields.
- Follow the remaining prompts to complete your payment.
You will receive an email receipt confirming your payment.
Using Your Bank’s Online Bill Pay Option to Make Your Payment
A second option is to use your bank’s online bill pay feature to repay overpayment debt and have it applied to your overpayment balance the next day. Only people who are not currently receiving Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments may use this service. This way your payment will not be delayed.
Follow these steps:
- Using your bank or financial institution’s online bill pay option, search for “Social Security Administration” as the Payee.
- Enter the Remittance ID found on your billing notice as your “Account Number” as well as your provided Social Security mailing address.
- Enter the desired repayment amount and indicate whether you would like it to be a recurring payment.
- If you do not want a recurring payment, enter the desired repayment amount each time we send you a notice until the overpayment has been paid in full.
- Follow the remaining prompts to complete your payment.
These new payment offerings provide secure and convenient online options to meet your needs. Please share this information with your friends and family—and post it on social media.
Overpayment FAQ's
An overpayment is when you receive more money for a month than the amount you should have been paid. The amount of your overpayment is the difference between the amount you received and the amount due.
- Your income is more than you estimated.
- Your living situation changes.
- Your marital status changes.
- You have more resources than the allowable limit.
- You are no longer disabled and continue to receive benefits.
- You do not report a change to us (on time or at all) as required.
- We incorrectly figure your benefits because of incorrect or incomplete information.
We will send you a notice explaining the overpayment and asking for a full refund within 30 days. If you are currently getting payments and you do not make a full refund, the notice will:
- propose to withhold the overpayment at the rate of the lesser of 10 percent or the entire monthly payment;
- state the month the proposed withholding will start;
- fully explain your appeal rights;
- explain how you can ask us to review and waive the overpayment, so you may not have to pay it back; and
- explain how you can appeal our decision.
If you were a minor child receiving Foster Care benefits, and the State was your representative payee at the time you were overpaid, let us know.
If you believe you were not overpaid or the amount of the overpayment is incorrect, you may request a reconsideration.
If you ask for an appeal within 10 days from the date you receive the notice, any payment we are currently making will continue until we make a determination.
NOTE:For information on requesting a reconsideration, see Appeals Process.
If you believe that you may have been overpaid, but feel that it was not your fault and you cannot afford to pay us back:
- ask for a waiver of the overpayment; and
- ask for and complete form SSA 632 (Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery).
If necessary, we will help you.
You can ask for a waiver at any time.
If we grant you a waiver, you will not have to repay all or part of the overpayment. Generally, for us to grant you a waiver, you must show that:
- It was not your fault that you were overpaid; and
- You cannot pay back the overpayment because you need the money to meet your ordinary living expenses. You may have to submit proof of your income, as well as bills to show that all of your income is used for your monthly expenses and that it would be a hardship for you to repay.
You may ask to see your file to see the information we used in figuring the overpayment. You may have us explain the reason for the overpayment while you are examining your file.
You can request a reconsideration of Social Security’s denial of your request for waiver. If we continue to deny your waiver request upon reconsideration, you may appeal the determination by requesting a hearing (see Appeals Process). If the agency ultimately denies your waiver request, it is likely that you will have to pay back the overpayment or have it withheld from your monthly benefits.
You can submit form SSA-634 Request for Change in Repayment Rate to ask us to withhold less than the proposed amount each month, or you can arrange to make monthly payments if you no longer receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
If you no longer receive SSI, we may withhold your overpayment from a Federal Income Tax refund and/or from any future Social Security benefits you may receive. If you become eligible for SSI in the future, we will withhold your overpayment from future SSI payments.
FAQ – Statutory Benefit Continuation (SBC) Overpayment Recovery
If your disability case has an appeal pending or you are still within the appeal period, we can stop any overpayment collection related to your receipt of benefit continuation payments and send you a refund. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or contact your local Social Security office.