Getting a Social Security overpayment notice can feel like the floor just moved. For many people, the first reaction is confusion: Was this SSA’s mistake? Is the amount correct? Will my check be reduced? Is there anything I can do?
Those questions matter even more right now because the Social Security Administration’s recovery policies have changed repeatedly in recent years, and overpayment collection can have a serious effect on monthly income. In March 2025, SSA announced that for certain new Social Security overpayments, the default withholding rate would return to 100% of a person’s monthly benefit, while SSI overpayments generally remain at 10%. SSA also states that if a person files an initial appeal or waiver request within the relevant window, collection generally does not begin while that request is pending. SSA’s overpayment page and SSA’s March 7, 2025 press release provide the current framework.
A waiver can sometimes keep a difficult situation from getting worse. But a lot of waiver requests run into trouble because of a few avoidable mistakes. If you are still getting oriented, it may help to start with this overview of when repayment may be excused and how fault and fairness fit into the analysis.
In this post, you’ll learn six waiver mistakes that often create bigger problems than necessary, why they matter, and what an attorney may help you sort out when the notice, timeline, or paperwork is unclear.
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SSA overpayments are not rare. According to the SSA Office of the Inspector General, SSA estimated it made nearly $72 billion in improper payments from fiscal years 2015 through 2022, most of them overpayments, and the agency had an uncollected overpayment balance of $23 billion at the end of FY 2023. The OIG has also reported that untimely beneficiary self-reporting is one of the biggest documented causes of overpayments. See the OIG’s summaries here and here.
That backdrop helps explain why details matter. A waiver case can involve multiple issues at once:
SSA’s own materials separate these paths. If a person thinks the overpayment decision or amount is wrong, SSA directs them toward reconsideration, often using Form SSA-561. If a person agrees there is an overpayment but believes they were not at fault and repayment would be unfair or unaffordable, SSA points to a waiver, generally through Form SSA-632-BK. If the issue is affordability of monthly withholding, SSA also provides Form SSA-634 for a change in recovery rate.
That separation is where many problems begin.
One of the most common mistakes is assuming that a waiver automatically challenges the overpayment itself.
In general terms, a waiver and a reconsideration do different jobs. SSA says a waiver is for situations where the person believes they were not at fault and either cannot afford repayment or believes repayment would be unfair for another reason. By contrast, if the person thinks SSA was wrong about whether an overpayment happened or how much is owed, SSA directs them to seek reconsideration instead. That distinction appears on SSA’s waiver page and on the current SSA-632-BK form instructions.