Help me get what Social Security owes me.
May 27, 2015 8:41 PM   Subscribe

How do I approach Social Security Administration to be awarded the money they failed to pay me? Should I request the retroactive payment? Here is what happened. I was eligible to receive social security benefits on January 1 of this year. In fact I was eligible before that date but selected it as my starting date.

In making my application I contacted SS by phone back in Nov. (2014) the month I was born in. I had a clear conversation with the phone rep about making an application and starting my benefits. She confirmed that I would be eligible for an increased benefit at the start of the new calendar year. In response to my query on how SS publishes that increased benefits work out to 8% a year and the yearfalls on my birthday she stated that the increase was actually applied per the calendar year. She offered that I could request and receive retroactive benefits for the two months prior to my requested start date. I repeated back to her that I understood her to say that I was eligible to receive an increased benefit based on filing after my eligibility date that would include increased amount due to filing after my eligibility date and that I would receive a retroactive payment for the two months beyond my date of first eligibility.

Sometime after filing (in November for a January 1 start date) I received a letter from Social Security that I would receive xxx dollars for January beginning in the third week of February. This amount did show an increase in the award over what I would have received starting on my first date of eligibility. It said I would then receive my benefit every month after that.

Additionally I had to inquire about my medicare payment. That payment was due on Dec 31 to cover January, February and March. SS told me to pay it and I would be reimbursed. I did

Social Security's letter said nothing about any retroactive award. (personally I think this was bunkum given to me by the phone rep). I wrote to SS asking for clarification on my award. I requested a clear accounting of my award showing the initial award, the effects of windfall adjustment as well as increase amounts for my delayed filing. I asked if my January and February award would be included in the first payment. That was several months ago. I have to date received no reply and do not expect one.

I received my first benefit deposit in that third week of February and it was for only one month. I have received each subsequent month's award. Simple math shows that I have not received a benefit for January despite written confirmation that I would.

Furthermore I received a check from the US treasury Dept that is equal to two months of my medicare cost. Clearly the US govt has not awarded a SS benefit for January as they agreed they would do per my application.

I have attempted to call. I have requested a call back that never came. I do not relish sitting in the SS office attempting to communicate with a clerk through three inches of glass. That feels dehumanizing like I'm a criminal petitioning the warden for treatment I am entitled to. Plus I am confident I will get only answers from a manual that are just policy speak.

I have researched small claims court. There is not a federal small claims court. I have wondered if I can file a claim against SS in a state small claims court. Online I found a form 95 that is a federal generated item for making a claim for damage, injury or death. It has sections that refer to things like accidents or property. I don't know if I should file this form or how I should request compensation for my January 2015 benefit and reimbursement for what I paid for medicare that month.
Please note: I have not cashed the Treasury check for reimbursement of my medicare payments. I fear that they will claim that I accepted it as full and complete compensation for the quarterly period.
posted by Jim_Jam to Law & Government (10 answers total)
 
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posted by Little Dawn at 9:19 PM on May 27, 2015


I received a letter from Social Security that I would receive xxx dollars for January beginning in the third week of February…

I received my first benefit deposit in that third week of February and it was for only one month. I have received each subsequent month's award. Simple math shows that I have not received a benefit for January despite written confirmation that I would.
According to your own text, you received your payment for January exactly when it was due: In the third week of February. It is normal for Social Security retirement benefits for each month to be paid in the following month. So February's payment arrived one month later, in March, and so on.
posted by mbrubeck at 10:01 PM on May 27, 2015 [3 favorites]


Social Security is paid one month behind. The February payment was for January. My father just went through this. He was eligible as of April, he received his first check the third week of May, and it was for one month: April. He too thought he'd be receiving April and May but no, it's paid a month behind.
posted by Danila at 11:53 PM on May 27, 2015


While I agree with other people's assessment of the timeline, in the future you should know that your elected representative (Senator or Rep) likely has a "consitutent services" department that is set up with people whose job it is to help people wrangle with federal organizations. Consider a call to their office if you are having further trouble along these lines.
posted by jessamyn at 7:10 AM on May 28, 2015


As explained above and explained in more detail in Social Security's What You Need To Know When You Get Retirement Or Survivors Benefits [pdf], "We pay Social Security benefits monthly. The benefits are paid in the month following the month for which they are due. For example, you would receive your July benefit in August."

There is a separate issue of whether you requested "retroactive payments." Once you have reached the full retirement age (currently 66), you can request back payments for up to 6 months prior to the time you apply, but only for months after you turn 66.

It seems that you requested to begin payment two months after you turned 66: "I repeated back to her that I understood her to say that I was eligible to receive an increased benefit based on filing after my eligibility date that would include increased amount due to filing after my eligibility date..." That is correct; you would then get an increased benefit.

The increase for claim after age 66 is called the delayed retirement credit (DRC). Basically, in return for forgoing some payments, you get higher payments after you start. But you can't do both: If got payment starting at age 66, then you would not get a DRC. So your understanding that "...and that I would receive a retroactive payment for the two months beyond my date of first eligibility." is incorrect. It is possible that you were misinformed; it is also possible that the SSA employee was trying to say that you would get additional payments because of the two month delay (that is, the DRC) but was not clear.

If you want to verify any of the above, you would be better off writing, either by email or paper mail, to reduce the odds of miscommunication.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 7:14 AM on May 28, 2015 [3 favorites]


Seconding what jessamyn said: your Senators or Representative employ a bunch of people whose job is to help constituents navigate federal bureaucracy. And since Congress sets the budget, these agencies try to avoid pissing off any elected officials.
posted by JackBurden at 10:46 AM on May 28, 2015


Response by poster: "...and that I would receive a retroactive payment for the two months beyond my date of first eligibility." is incorrect. It is possible that you were misinformed; it is also possible that the SSA employee was trying to say that you would get additional payments because of the two month delay (that is, the DRC) but was not clear.

Oops it looks like I misspoke. By date of first eligibility I meant the date I elected to start receiving benefits. In point of fact it was two years beyond the date of first eligibility. The conversation with her was clear. She claimed that I could request retroactive to Nov and receive those two months but without the DRC increase. My recollection is that she entered my application in that phone conversation. I could be mistaken and may have had to file it online. In that case there may have been no option to enact what she confirmed. The conversation with her included her stating that I could file my application with up to a six month retroactive time frame.

My reading comprehension was off. I missed the payment in following month notice. This is not good. Nor is it fair. Social Security is meant to help people with living expenses in old age. I haven't confirmed yet but I understand that my pension is paid on the last day of the month before the month that it covers as in Dec. for January. Certainly medicare handles it's payment in this way. Before I accrued a SS benefit I paid quarterly due on the last day of the month before the start of the quarter. Medicare makes it clear that you may encounter severe penalties for late payment.

The government wants it both ways. If I was delayed in payment for January by design it was still January payment so they needed to reimburse me for what I had paid for Medicare otherwise they are claiming that I did not receive a SS payment for January. This is simple common sense. As is the fact that being paid for SS in the month after you die is of zero use to you in the face of the mission of SS. An argument that the medicare reimbursement will come in the month after death is specious. No one needs Medicare after they are dead.

I appreciate all the responses. I will follow up on contacting my representatives.
posted by Jim_Jam at 12:11 PM on May 28, 2015


While you are at it are you going to complain about your employer who pays you one or two weeks after the end of your pay period? What if you died on the last day of work -- you wouldn't get your last check until two weeks after you died! /sarcasm

Social Security works the same way as your employer. Since you said your checks are sent in the third week of the month, I assume that your birthday is in the third week of the month. Even though you applied for January 1, your benefit doesn't actually begin until the third week of January because your birthday is the third week of a month. So starting the third week of January, you then begin to accumulate one month of benefits/"earnings" which are paid in the third week of February. This is just like starting a job and you begin to accumulate earnings which are paid the next month. You don't get paid a month in advance. You get paid after working a month. Same for Social Security.

Nobody is getting cheated. If you wanted or needed your SS check a month earlier, you could have simply applied for it a month earlier.
posted by JackFlash at 2:14 PM on May 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Consulting with a lawyer could be helpful because you are asking a legal question about how the laws apply to your specific situation - while there is some helpful general information in this thread, only a lawyer can give you legal advice about how to get the legal results that you want.

The Disability Rights Bar Association offers an online directory of attorneys that can be searched by state, and the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) offers a lawyer referral service at 1-800-431-2804 and information about how to find a Social Security lawyer. My hope is that you can get legal advice that helps answer your questions, and have your case screened to determine if you are entitled to additional Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well as free legal assistance for your case.
posted by Little Dawn at 7:41 AM on May 29, 2015


Well, if you want to waste your money on a lawyer, go ahead, but from what you have told us here, there is nothing special about your case. Social security is providing the benefits you requested at the time you requested. It is all a misunderstanding on the OP's part.
posted by JackFlash at 9:56 AM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


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