OMG don't even get me started on my mom's claim when my stepdad died. He had worked for the federal government and had a pension through them, but had also elected to pay SS as well (and had paid SS while working outside the government), and he fell within a specific window that allowed him to collect both. He died very suddenly, she filed for SS, and they started sending her checks. Several months later, she received a notice that she had been overpaid, and they were withholding her payments until she was back to even -- so starting with the next check, she was going to receive ZERO SS. And no indication why.
She called, she set up in-person appointments, and absolutely no one could explain to her what was going on -- even the inference that it related to his pension was just our guess, because they didn't even say that. When she went in person (multiple times), the guys would tell her that yep, everything she had produced made total sense, but the account was blocked because something was under review in Philly; when she called Philly, I think that's when they finally said it had to do with the pension, but the people she talked with there said everything looked fine. She filed an appeal and submitted her paperwork and kept calling, and eventually they conceded that she was right.
We were lucky that she didn't actually need the SS payments, and that I'm a lawyer and could at least follow the process and make sure she dotted her i's and crossed her t's. But imagine if that's what you were counting on to cover your bills! There is an emergency process where you can go in and stay the withholding until you get through the appeal, but how many poor seniors are going to understand that and have the resources and executive function to make it through that kind of a process? I'm still angry about the complete lack of any due process -- just arbitrarily tell someone that you're fucking with their benefits, starting immediately, without any obvious recourse or explanation?
If I were in charge, I'd be putting a LOT of resources into making sure SS works appropriately and fairly -- including plain-English explanation of issues, notification of problems that are discovered, and a hearing process before the Agency just arbitrarily yanks your benefits. That's bullshit -- and it's bullshit directed at many of our most vulnerable citizens.
The one good thing I will say is that each individual employee my mom talked to or met with was very nice, very considerate, very empathetic, and very professional. They wanted to help her -- they just couldn't, because The System.
