Social Security Makes $24,000 Mistake

A Buffalo woman has an interesting story about a mistake with her Social Security disability monthly benefits. According to WIVB.com:

Cheryl Smeal's monthly disability benefit is about $400. So when Social Security sent a letter saying her next month's benefit would be more than $24,000... it got her attention. So did another letter she received the same day, saying it was a mistake.

"I'm like, 'Oh my God! I've got some moolah coming to me and things will be a little bit better.' But I opened the next letter and it said that, 'we overpaid you $24,760,'" Smeal recalled.

And the correspondence says Smeal would have to pay the money back. But the money is electronically transferred to her government debit card and Social Security won't take it back.

It's important to always pay attention to how much Social Security has sent you and compare that to what you are supposed to be receiving. In this instance it was obvious with the huge amount of money involved that it was a mistake. However, there are times when the mistakes are much smaller amounts of money but over a period of months the money can add up. If Social Security notices the error, which they likely will, they will be asking to be reimbursed for the overpayment.

Trust me, it's better to let Social Security know as soon as you are aware that there's a mistake. If they pay you $100 per month more than you are supposed to get and they don't notice for three years, you're going to owe them $3,600.  That's a headache you'll want to avoid if at all possible.