SSA says they are making progress on underpayments to tens of thousands of people

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Social Security Administration says they have released millions of dollars to Social Security recipients who were underpaid.

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Last year, while investigating the Social Security Administration’s overpayments, Action News Jax and our sister stations around the country found that people were also underpaid.

Now, the Social Security Administration commissioner said they have made some headway.

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Martin O’Malley said that as of June 2024, they had released $901 million in SSI underpayments, including $209.1 million of underpayments to roughly 81,000 people—the oldest and highest priority cases—who are counting on SSI as a vital lifeline.

But that did not include Ramona Harris. Action News Jax’s sister station WFTV introduced her to viewers back in December. She was waiting to see if she had any recourse for the $18,000 she is owed.

Read: Proposal puts 10-year limit on how far back Social Security overpayments can be recouped

Harris wasn’t overpaid; she was underpaid.

“I’m 75 years old now, you know, and, and I have we have needs that we just can’t take care of right now,” Harris said back in December. “Because we’re living month to month, that 18,000 plus dollars could help an awful lot just for those rainy days. and we work for it.”

“The appeals council has completed its evaluation of claimant Ramona Harris’ case and concluded that there was no basis for granting the request for review,” a letter from SSA said.

The council carefully considered the case before the administrative law judge, the applicable law and regulations, and the claimant’s reasons for requesting review.

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The council has decided that the record does not provide a basis for granting the request for review and has denied the appeal.

Accordingly, the decision dated July 18, 2023, is the commissioner’s final decision.

When the appeals council issued its action, it notified the claimant of the right to file a civil action in federal district court.

Read: Senators press nominee to lead Social Security Administration about overpayments

This decision was made before the new commissioner promised a full review of the agency’s underpayments and overpayments, so she is not giving up.

In 2023, a monthly average of 7.4 million people with disabilities who have little to no income or resources received approximately $61 billion in federal SSI payments.

For fiscal years 2019 through 2023, underpayments represented less than one percent of all SSI payments.

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However, although that number is small, the commissioner acknowledged that underpayments can cause significant hardships for people waiting, so this year, they made underpayments a priority.

“This is not just about numbers, it’s about people,” O’Malley told Americans.

Here is the link from SSA with O’Malley and their new info.

Read: Congress holds hearing on Social Security overpayments following Action News Jax investigation

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