Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Dealing With SSA Overpayment Claims

One of the worst experiences that a claimant for social security disability can have is receiving a notice of overpayment. Usually claimants have the tendency to ignore them without realizing that such notice may eventually lead to the blocking of their checks.

SSA overpayment claims takes place when there is an error in the computation of benefits. The claimant may already be receiving disability compensation but then pursues a job to compensate their income.

If you think that the overpayment is not entirely your fault, contesting the notice is possible by asking for reconsideration. The necessary form for filing such request is available at an SSA office near your locality.

Another way of contesting the overpayment is by completing another form called “Request for Waiver of Overpayment.” With this document, you can explain why such overpayment is your responsibility and why repaying it is unfair and will cause difficulty on your part.

If your request for waiver has been denied by the Social Security Administration, you can appeal your case. At this point, assistance of a competent lawyer would be needed. During the appeal, there might be a need to attend hearings and testify in front of an Administrative Law Judge.

If your appeal does not work out and the overpayment issue has not been resolved, the SSA would work out payment schemes with you. They would involve minimal amounts of money.

In all of these, getting legal representation can lead to a successful claim. They have the training to handle these cases and they know what to do.