Some recipients have been inadvertently plunged into a financial crisis due to these payments, putting their Social Security benefits at risk.
The federal government provided many Americans with a lifeline through COVID-19 relief payments as the country struggled to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic.
COVID-19 Relief’s Impact on Social Security Recipients
Recipients have found themselves facing demands to repay substantial amounts, often amounting to thousands of dollars, which they received as part of the Social Security benefits program aimed at supporting low-income and disabled individuals.
With one hand, the government handed them this cash. Jen Burdick, an attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia who has been helping people dispute these repayment demands, said that they shouldn’t be trying to take it back with the other.
One such individual, Jo Vaughn, a 63-year-old disabled woman in New Mexico, received $3,200 in federal COVID-19 relief payments. However, she was shocked to receive a letter from the Social Security Administration dated August 25, 2023, indicating that she owed the government a staggering $14,026. “They are sending me to a very early grave,” Vaughn expressed, reflecting the severe distress these repayment demands have caused.
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Agency Dysfunction Exposed
The COVID-19 relief clawbacks not only highlight the immense distress and hardship that the Social Security Administration can inadvertently inflict on highly vulnerable beneficiaries but also expose the limitations and dysfunction within the agency.
When questioned, the Social Security Administration declined to comment or facilitate an interview with the agency’s acting commissioner, Kilolo Kijakazi.
A recent investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group has spurred House and Senate members to call for action on the issues within the Social Security Administration. The agency itself has announced a review and a House panel is scheduled to hold a hearing on October 18.
Recipients like Vaughn never requested the COVID-19 relief money, as these economic impact or stimulus payments arrived automatically in their mailboxes or bank accounts in three installments in 2020 and 2021. The payments, which were based on recipients’ income, could total as much as $3,200 per person.
Regrettably, these payments inadvertently pushed some beneficiaries’ bank balances above the $2,000 asset limit for individuals on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a program designed for people with minimal income or assets who are blind, disabled, or over the age of 65.
This unadjusted limit, stagnant for decades, has the unintended effect of discouraging people from working or saving more than a meager amount, further exacerbating the financial challenges they face.
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