topic Re: Social Security Administration in Among Friends

Social Security Administration

hyacinth003 — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 23:59:51 GMT

My husband retired early in 2015. He has been receving Social Security since then.

He got a letter in July, 2016 stating that he had made too much money in 2015. That meant they sent us a bill for $12,000 and said they would cut his benefits in half. They enclosed a bill and said to contact them if we couldn't pay it all at once!

To say we were stunned is an understatement! They were the ones who calculated benefits, and we didn't question it.

As part of the several pages included with this, it said that certain income was exempt from being counted as income. It said if any of this applied, to contact them. It is the epitome of "guilty until proven not guilty." After a lot of calling and explaining, we obtained his records from his employer that broke down his income from 2015. He only worked 2 weeks, and the rest was bonus and paid vacation time. Turns out, this is income that is exempt from Social Security figures.

He goes down to the Social Security office. He brings all the documents we spent 3 weeks getting. Lady there says this is fine, it is exempt income. Should be no problem to fix. We thought we were DONE. NOPE. We get a letter Friday with all kinds of forms for his FORMER EMPLOYER to now fill out. Even though he presented the documents from them. They returned the documents with more paperwork for WHO KNOWS WHO to fill out. After more than a month, they will probably start withholding money.

This is so frustrating. We didn't even do anything wrong.

Hyacinth

Re: Social Security Administration

DottieBlue — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 00:08:56 GMT

HOW AWFUL and sooooo frustrating!!! I'd be so angry you'd be able to see the steam coming out my ears!

I sure hope you can get this straightened out soon. I guess you just have to hang in there and keep at them until they finally get it right.

Good luck!

Re: Social Security Administration

jannabelle1 — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 00:10:40 GMT

How maddening and frustrating.....another example of our too-big federal government. Did you get anything from the person you dealt with in the SSA office? I might consider going back to that office again to find out why their initial determination wasn't considered correctly. At some point you might also consider contacting your senator or representative. You're right about being considered guilty until you can prove you're not guilty. Good luck to you and your husband.

Re: Social Security Administration

itsmagic — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 00:12:21 GMT

I sympathize with you! I had a situation happen once where the IRS sent me a letter that we owed taxes on a health savings account withdrawal held at an out of town bank. We've never in our life had a health savings account and never banked at the named bank. Yet it was my responsibility to get it all straightened up. So I understand how frustrating it is especially when you didn't do anything wrong.

Re: Social Security Administration

Mom2Dogs — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 00:49:59 GMT

@hyacinth003.....I would be calling my state representative in the morning....they should assist you in clearing this up....it is ridiculous!

Re: Social Security Administration

Wayne-QVC — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 00:59:28 GMT

This post has been removed by QVC because it's political.

Re: Social Security Administration

luv-the-Q — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 01:47:32 GMT

@Wayne-QVC Sorry, Wayne. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help myself. 🙊

Re: Social Security Administration

3suwm5 — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 02:00:08 GMT

Last I checked, SSA is a government entity - enough said.

Re: Social Security Administration

patbz — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 02:12:55 GMT

When I retired 9 years ago the identical thing happened to me (I was paid $25000 for accrued leave). I emailed my Congressman and that expedited the solution.

Re: Social Security Administration

Imadickens — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 02:38:48 GMT

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this! It can be maddening! My advice is to get a Social Security lawyer. It is too much to figure out and I think they make it hard deliberately so we don't argue! When my mother was dieing they put me through the ringer getting her nursing home paid and proving that tho she lived with us she had no ownership in our house! Time making me crazy was taken from time I could have spent with my mom during her last few weeks! If she had been all alone I don't know what she would have done! I wish you luck proceeding through this!

Re: Social Security Administration

Caffeina — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 02:52:21 GMT

File a Request for Reconsideration & a Request for Waiver. That'll stop any benefit withholding until they straighten it out.

Re: Social Security Administration

Kachina624 — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 02:55:27 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
@hyacinth003.....I would be calling my state representative in the morning....they should assist you in clearing this up....it is ridiculous!

@hyacinth003. Not state representative, no one in state government can help. You need to call your rep in congress, either a representative or a senator. These are the people who get action when federal agencies screw things up.

Re: Social Security Administration

hyacinth003 — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 04:27:18 GMT

He is going to call his former employer tomorrow and see who to send this to to fill out.

He had copies FROM THEM of what he was paid and what it was for. I just don't understand why THEY have to fill out forms when we already provided the documents to them. When he went to the office (far away and in a bad neighborhood), he wasn't told there was MORE he had to do. He was told it was taken care of. If they needed MORE, why not tell him when he was at the office. We had NO IDEA.

Here's what they actually do. They get figures from the IRS (from LAST YEAR), without knowing what it was for. They presume YOU guilty of something, give you a sentence for your presumed crime, then tell you that YOU must PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE.

It's one thing to send you an outrageous bill, it's another to take money from you even if you turn out to be "not guilty." Saying they will withhold HALF of your money could be really harmful to some people.

I find this unbelievable!

Hyacinth

Re: Social Security Administration

151949 — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 04:31:02 GMT

OMG - I think I would consult a SS attorney - this is too important to fuss with yourself.

Re: Social Security Administration

qualitygal — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 13:15:15 GMT

It takes awhile for them to straighten things out on their end. One hand does not talk to the other there. It is frustrating.

Re: Social Security Administration

Hayfield — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 11:03:15 GMT

I am sorry you're having this trouble but the wheels of the government get clogged and they move very slowly. It seems that honest people are always having to deal with this that I don't understand how fraud even happens.

Re: Social Security Administration

Caffeina — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 13:51:21 GMT

@Caffeina wrote:
File a Request for Reconsideration & a Request for Waiver. That'll stop any benefit withholding until they straighten it out.

@hyacinth003, your husband can also call SSA and tell them he wants to appeal. They should be able to do an input to their system that will stop the withholding until the appeal is resolved, even before he receives the appeal forms.

I'm a retired SSA claims examiner, and I'm surprised this wasn't resolved sooner without the employer having to fill out forms. Tell them 2015 is his first year of retirement, and it should be a grace year. Try speaking to a manager. I don't think your husband needs representation. JMHO. I'm basing my opinion only on what you've posted.

"Some people who retire in mid-year have already earned more than their yearly earnings limit. That is why we have a special rule that applies to earnings for one year, usually the first year of retirement.

The special rule lets us pay a full Social Security check for any whole month we consider you retired, regardless of your yearly earnings."

www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/rule.html

Re: Social Security Administration

hckynut — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 14:12:28 GMT

Re: Social Security Administration

millieshops — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 14:25:20 GMT

I understand why the SSA wanted money returned because all of us on SS know there are limits as to how much we can earn until we're 70. That's made clear to begin with.

What I didn't remember, being so far along I could earn a billion and still collect, was that some income was exempt. Nor do I know how we had to prove it was exempt. It's undoubtedly there on the website although maybe it's so hard to find, OP and her DH didn't see it..

Should the SSA administration automatically take the documents OP provided. Employers lie, too. Somehow there needs to be serious checking. I'm not implying there was cheating - it sounds frustratingly legitimate to me, just that there can be. We all know there are millions and millions of our money going to liars and cheaters. What would you do to limit it in this kind of potential theft?

Re: Social Security Administration

hyacinth003 — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 20:01:42 GMT

@151949 wrote:
OMG - I think I would consult a SS attorney - this is too important to fuss with yourself.

I will stay as far away from lawyers as I possibly can.

A few years ago, my husband's family got into an inheritance issue. Getting lawyers cost the Estate $88,000, which came OUT of their inheritance. And let me say, NOT ONE of the lawyers nor the arbitrator was WORTH any of it. They just take your money at $350/hour.

Getting an attorney is SUPER EXPENSIVE and should only be done as a last resort. Also, know that YOU WILL PAY DEARLY. I now understand lawyer jokes, and have little respect for the legal system to do the right thing. It's all about being nice to each other and no one cares about how much money they cost you. After $88,000, still the responsible party was not held accountable and ALL had to pay.

So, no offense to you. I'd rather swallow nails at this point.

Hyacinth