Redeterminations and overpayments

SSI is not a one-time decision. SSA reviews your case regularly — a redetermination — to check that your income, resources, living arrangements, and (for disability cases) medical condition still qualify you. You also have a duty to report changes yourself, promptly. Most payment problems in SSI come from one of these two processes, so this guide covers both, plus what to do if SSA says you were overpaid.

Report changes — and redeterminations

Report any change in income, resources, living arrangements, marital status, address, or household composition as soon as it happens — wages are reported monthly, and SSA offers phone, app, and online reporting options. SSA also schedules redeterminations, usually once a year or less often depending on how likely your situation is to change, and will send you a form or call you in for a review. At 18, child recipients face the age-18 redetermination under the adult disability rules, which is a full re-decision, not a paperwork check.

For disability recipients, SSA also conducts medical continuing disability reviews to check whether the condition still meets the test. If you are working under Ticket to Work and making progress, those reviews are generally paused — see working while on SSI.

Overpayments: how they happen and what SSA does

An overpayment is any amount you received above what you should have been paid for a month. Common causes: income higher than estimated, a change in living situation or marital status, resources above the limit, or a change in disability status — and, often, a change that was not reported on time or at all. SSA will send a notice explaining the overpayment and asking for a full refund within 30 days. If you are still receiving payments and do not refund in full, the notice will propose withholding at the lesser of 10% of your income or your entire monthly payment, and will state when withholding would start.

Your three options — and the deadlines

1. Reconsideration (form SSA-561): challenge whether you were overpaid or whether the amount is right. 2. Waiver (form SSA-632): ask SSA not to collect, on the grounds that the overpayment was not your fault and repayment would be a hardship or unfair. 3. Lower repayment rate (form SSA-634): ask to repay at less than the proposed rate. You can pursue more than one at the same time.

Deadlines matter more than anything else here. You have 60 days from receiving the notice to appeal, and SSA assumes you received it five days after the date printed on it. Asking for reconsideration within 10 days of receiving the notice keeps your current payment continuing while SSA decides; asking for a waiver or appeal within 30 days means SSA will not collect until it decides. Miss those windows and withholding can start while your case is still being reviewed. Keep copies of everything you file, and file in person or by certified mail so you can prove the date.

Sources to check: SSA, Overpayments (ssa.gov/ssi/text-overpay-ussi.htm); SSA, appeals process (ssa.gov/appeals/); SSA, reporting responsibilities (ssa.gov/ssi/text-report-ussi.htm).