Reps. Sykes, Carey Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Limit Social Security Overpayment Claw Backs, Protect Seniors
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Representatives Emilia Sykes (OH-13) and Mike Carey (OH-15) introduced the Protecting Americans from Social Security Claw Back Act, bipartisan legislation that would prevent the Social Security Administration (SSA) from collecting a mistaken overpayment if the payment occurred more than three years before the SSA notified the beneficiary.
“Older and disabled Americans who have done everything correctly when filing for Social Security benefits but received overpayments through no fault of their own should not be penalized for mistakes made by the Social Security Administration,” said Rep. Sykes. “Our seniors rely on these payments to pay their bills and put food on the table — they can’t afford for the SSA to make life-altering errors. This bipartisan legislation seeks to hold the SSA accountable and ensure all seniors receive the correct payments they have earned.”
The Social Security Administration contacts over one million Americans annually to recoup funds disbursed in error to beneficiaries. Although these overpayments can take months or years to be recognized by SSA, once an overpayment is noticed, the adverse impact to Social Security beneficiaries is nearly instantaneous: elderly and disabled Americans who rely on Social Security and are living on fixed incomes have had their benefits frozen or cut because of overpayment mistakes. Additionally, SSA has failed to provide adequate figures to Congress about the total number of people being impacted by this issue.
In December 2023, Reps. Sykes and Carey led several members of the Ohio congressional delegation in a letter demanding answers from the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration over improper payments made to beneficiaries.