GREENVILLE, Mich. — Dan Calkins said these are supposed to be his "golden years."
He thought he had the rest of his life planned out for himself, along with his wife, Phyllis, and their daughter. However, that feeling changed after they received a call from Social Security in 2022.
"They want to take $37,000 from me because of their mistake, but they won't give me any information," Dan said.
The couple received a call and a letter from Social Security, stating that Dan was overpaid $37,556 between June of 2018 and June 2022.
In the letter, it said Dan was initially expected to pay back the money within 30 days.
Phyllis said they were told the issue arose because Dan's social security number got "mixed" with another.
"She says, 'Does this mean anything to you?' And we said, 'No, we don't have any idea about it.' She said, 'Well, your number got mixed in with this number, and it resulted in this overpayment since 2018, and they're going to be asking for this money back,'" Phyllis said.
Phyllis then went on to explain that they were told by the agent to appeal and that they also filled out a waiver given to them by the SSA office.
A letter sent to them stated that since they did not file for reconsideration within 60 days, their reconsideration was dismissed. Phyllis was then told she also owed $2,000 herself.
Dan said he felt frustrated, saying this is happening to people at the "most fragile time of their life."
"This is happening mostly to retired people that depend on that, like I did," Dan said.
He said on top of this, his benefits were cut by $1,000.
Dan had also taken out a mortgage, with his income from social security included, so that his daughter who is physically unable to live on her own would have a place to live.
He said their situation would be much worse, if it was not for money he also receives from the VA as a disabled veteran.
"We weren't part of the error. We were ignorant of the whole thing. We're willing to do we know what's necessary to do, but paying back all this money is very difficult," Phyllis said.
After being interviewed by 13 ON YOUR SIDE, Dan and Phyllis were able to meet with a SSA agent who then told them their overpayment will be waived, and they will not have to pay back any money.
After the meeting, Phyllis told 13 ON YOUR SIDE that it was explained to them the overpayment would be dismissed due to "equity and good conscience," and also due to their mortgage being partially determined by the income given to them by SSA.
The Social Security Administration said in a statement issued in October that:
"Each person’s situation is unique, and the agency handles overpayments on a case-by-case basis. In particular, if a person doesn’t agree that they’ve been overpaid, or believes the amount is incorrect, they can appeal. If they believe they shouldn’t have to pay the money back, they can request that the agency waive collection of the overpayment. There’s no time limit for filing a waiver."
Kilolo Kijakazi, acting commissioner of Social Security, said her agency is evaluating its overpayment policies.
“Despite our high accuracy rates, I am putting together a team to review our overpayment policies and procedures to further improve how we serve our customers," Kijakazi said.
71 million Americans receive Social Security payments every year, with $1.4 trillion being paid annually.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and on your phone.