Tasa de recuperación de sobrepago. SSA uses this wording in the official Spanish title of Form SSA-634-SP.
Definition
An overpayment recovery rate is the amount or percentage SSA collects each month to repay a benefit overpayment. Collection may occur through withholding from a current Social Security or SSI payment or through an agreed payment amount when the person no longer receives benefits.
It is separate from the overpayment amount
The overpayment amount is the total debt SSA says is owed. The recovery rate determines how quickly that amount is collected. Changing the rate does not decide whether the debt is correct and does not erase it.
Current default rates and an individual request
SSA's current public page says it automatically withholds 50% of a Social Security benefit or 10% of an SSI payment each month when an overpayment is not repaid within 30 days. The individual notice identifies the proposed collection. A person who cannot meet necessary living expenses under the current rate may request a smaller amount with Form SSA-634.
Difference from appeal and waiver
- Appeal: challenges the existence or amount of the overpayment.
- Waiver: asks SSA not to collect when the person was not at fault and recovery would cause hardship or be unfair.
- Recovery-rate request: accepts repayment but asks for a different monthly amount.
Practical example
A retirement beneficiary agrees that an overpayment occurred but cannot cover rent, utilities, food, and medicine after the proposed withholding. The person may use Form SSA-634 and recent financial records to ask SSA for a smaller monthly recovery rate.
Related resources
- Request a lower recovery rate
- Current automatic withholding rates
- Social Security overpayment
- Lower-payment checklist