What to do if Social Security benefits are overpaid
Overpaid beneficiaries have 90 days to submit exemptions or repayment plans or cut benefits.
Social Security payments in September will follow the normal schedule. However, beneficiaries who were previously overpaid by the Social Security Administration may need to take action to avoid smaller benefits checks.
In April, the Social Security Agency (SSA) announced that it would withhold 50% of recipients’ monthly checks to compensate for past overpayments issued. The agency began issuing overpayment notices on April 25, 2025, and began withholding 50% of recipient benefits after about 90 days (or about July 24, or about July 24) until the overpayment is repaid.
Anyone who has been notified of overpayment for these 90 days can ask the SSA to reconsider, waive, or change the repayment rate.
Social Security Overpayment: How many issues are there?
If the SSA miscalculates a person’s benefit or if the beneficiary fails to update the change in income, an overpayment may occur.
According to a report from the Social Security Office’s Inspector’s Office issued in August 2024, Social Security paid nearly $72 billion in inappropriate payments between 2015 and 2022, which consisted of overpayments.
Inappropriate payments accounted for less than 1% of the nearly $8.6 trillion benefits paid over those eight years. As of September 2023, the agency had $23 billion of unrecovered overpayments, according to the report.
Social Security Payment Schedule for September
Social Security benefits are paid primarily to older or retired recipients, but are usually paid on Wednesdays. According to the Social Security Agency calendar, people whose birthdays fall on the second Wednesday of the month (this month, September 10th) between the first and tenth day of the month of birth.
According to the SSA calendar, subsequent payments will occur the following Tuesday. Social Security recipients who began receiving benefits by May 1997 will be paid on September 3rd.
The Social Security Administration annual benefits schedule for 2025 and 2026 are available online. Therefore, you can check the calendar for budgeting purposes.
Regular Social Security retirement benefits for September will be sent on the regular SSA schedule.
- Wednesday, September 10th: Your date of birth is between the first and ten days of the month.
- Wednesday, September 17th: Your date of birth is from the 11th to the 20th of the month.
- Wednesday, September 24th: Your date of birth is from the 21st to the 31st of the month.
SSI Payment Schedule for the remaining September of 2025 and 2026
The winners of the Supplemental Security Income Check are usually paid on the first business day of the month. However, since September 1 is Labor Day, these payments will be issued on August 29th. According to the SSA calendar, SSI checks will be sent from 2025 to early 2026 on the following dates.
- Friday, August 29th, 2025 (checks for September 2025)
- Wednesday, October 1st, 2025 (checks for October 2025)
- Friday, October 31st, 2025 (checks for November 2025)
- Monday, December 1st, 2025 (Checked December 2025)
- Wednesday, December 31st, 2025 (Checked January 2026)
- Friday, January 30th, 2026 (check February 2026)
- Friday, February 27th, 2026 (checks for March 2026)
What is SSI?
Supplementary Security Income (SSI) is a benefits program for those with limited income or resources, those over the age of 65, or those with blind or qualified disabilities. According to the SSA website, eligible children with disabilities are also eligible. Adults who qualify for SSI typically do not have wages above $2,019 per month.
If you believe you are eligible for an SSI, please call online, directly at the local Social Security Agency, or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) local time from 8am to 7pm local time.
Mike Snyder is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can follow him in the thread, send BlueSky, X with X and send him an email Bliss & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider &msnider@usatoday.com
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