The first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term have brought a flurry of Social Security changes that may have left you feeling anxious and a little confused. So far, most of the changes he’s made are procedural, affecting things like how you verify your identity when you call the Social Security Administration. They’re things that probably won’t affect you very much unless you need to apply for benefits or make changes to your account.
However, the Trump administration has made one change with potentially devastating consequences for affected seniors. Fortunately, it partly walked this change back recently, which may give some beneficiaries a little more breathing room.
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The Social Security Administration is getting more aggressive about collecting overpayments
In March, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reinstated the 100% overpayment recovery rate that had been in place prior to 2024. This change meant that Social Security beneficiaries who received an overpayment through no fault of their own could have future checks withheld until the government had recouped the overpayment.
It may not be a problem if you recognize the error before you spend the extra money. But if the cash is already gone and you depend heavily on your checks, losing months of benefits could put you in a serious financial bind.
Under the March rule change, the SSA only planned to apply the 100% overpayment recovery rate to overpayments occurring after March 27, 2025. Those that happened prior to this would still have the 10% overpayment recovery cap that existed in 2024.
However, as of April 25, 2025, the SSA has changed course again. Now all overpayments, past and future, will have a 50% overpayment recovery rate. This is good news for those who would’ve fallen under the 100% rate, though losing half their checks could still be problematic.
You have options if you can’t afford to lose half your checks
Overpayments happen infrequently, so there’s a good chance you’ll never run into this issue. But if you do, you should know that you have options besides just giving up half of your future Social Security checks.
The easiest option is just to directly repay the SSA if you realize that you received more money than you should have. You can do this over the phone or possibly online.
If you do not have the money needed to pay back the overpayment, you can do one of two things. First, you can request that the SSA waive the collection of the overpayment. It may agree to let you keep the extra money if you can prove that you did nothing to cause the overpayment and that you cannot afford to pay the money back. Once you submit this request form, the SSA will hold off on collecting any overpayment until it’s made a decision about the waiver.
If that doesn’t work, you can ask for a lower repayment rate if the 50% recovery rate would be hard on your budget. Fill out a Request for Change in Overpayment Recovery Rate form and fax or mail it to your local Social Security office. This can reduce the overpayment recovery rate to a dollar amount that feels manageable to you. However, if you do this, it’ll take longer to pay back the full amount you owe.
If you have any questions about your overpayment, contact the SSA directly. It may send you a notice in the mail as well, outlining next steps and detailing when it will begin to withhold money from your checks.
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