I’m 25 and just found out I owe $13,000 to Social Security for an overpayment I never received – what do I do?

When we think about Social Security, we tend to imagine retirees as the ones collecting those benefits. But Social Security doesn’t just send benefits to seniors.

Social Security also pays benefits to people with disabilities, as well as those with low incomes. It also pays survivor benefits to eligible recipients.

But sometimes, Social Security makes a mistake and sends recipients more money than they’re entitled to. In situations like that, Social Security will inevitably try to claw back that money.

This Reddit poster is dealing with that very situation, and they’re understandably worried. But they should dig into the matter before assuming that they owe the money.

Don’t just hand over money

In the post referenced above, we have a 25-year-old who’s received a notice that they owe $13,000 to Social Security. And they have no idea how this could be.

At first, this sort of thing reads like a scam. But the poster did their legwork. They logged into their account on the Social Security Administration’s website, which shows that they do, indeed, owe that sum of money. But they still have no idea why. They have no recollection of getting any money from Social Security.

Some commenters had theories. One said it could be that the poster’s parents received SSI payments for them as a child. But in that case, it seems like the parents would be the ones to go after for the money if the poster was a minor at the time.

Another said that if the poster’s parents passed away and the poster received survivor benefits, that could be the issue. But the poster doesn’t recall that happening. However, if it happened when they were very young, they may not be any the wiser.

What the poster should do is contact the Social Security Administration and find answers. They may want to make an appointment to speak to someone at their local Social Security office, since that could be a more efficient way to go about things.

Another thing the poster may want to do is check their credit report. Though not so likely, it could be that they’ve fallen victim to identity fraud, where they were entitled to payments from Social Security but never got them because they were stolen.

Finding an answer

The poster here is in a tough spot, but it’s important for them to find answers. From there, if it turns out that they do owe the money, they can work with Social Security to repay it in a reasonable fashion.

The reality is that Social Security needs all of the money it can get, since the program is facing a major financial shortfall that could result in benefit cuts down the line. So Social Security may be more aggressive in going after overpayments.

Plus, the agency is under scrutiny now that DOGE is involved in its business. So it may be ramping up efforts to get back money it paid out mistakenly. But it’s still important to understand what’s going on before making plans to send Social Security any money.