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When my sister died years ago, I waited two hours on the phone with the Social Security Administration to report her death. I was told that the funeral home had already reported the death. Her benefit payments had been stopped and I need not do anything.
Imagine your wait time now, with 7,000 staff cuts planned. Or having to drive to Harrisburg if the Shamokin Dam office closes. Or hoping your disability hearing is not further delayed. (As of March 10, the SSA website states the average processing time for a disability case is 233 days.)
Imagine, if a calculation error created an overpayment of your monthly benefit, 100 percent of your monthly benefit halted until the overpayment is corrected. This plan was announced in a press release on March 7. The SSA website states "please pay us back within 30 days." You can request a waiver or appeal, or create a repayment plan. Previously, under the Biden Administration, the agency policy was to recover overpayments at 10% of monthly benefits or $10, whichever was greater.
How do these changes lead to efficiency? Or better service for the more than 70 million retired or disabled Americans? The president has made promises that "we're not touching Social Security," but apparently the DOGE team hasn't updated him yet.
Read more at https://ssa.gov. If you don't like these changes, contact Senator Fetterman at 202-224-4254, Senator McCormick at 202-224-6324, and Representative Thompson at 202-225-5121.
CAROLYN COLDREN
Lewisburg
Submitted by email