C.F.R. » Title 20 » CHAPTER III—SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION › PART 404—FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) › Subpart F—Overpayments, Underpayments, Waiver of Adjustment or Recovery of Overpayments, and Liability of a Certifying Officer

20 C.F.R. § 404.502

Overpayments

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Upon determination that an overpayment has been made, adjustments will be made against monthly benefits and lump sums as follows:

(a) Individual overpaid is living. (1) If the individual to whom an overpayment was made is at the time of a determination of such overpayment entitled to a monthly benefit or a lump sum under title II of the Act, or at any time thereafter becomes so entitled, no benefit for any month and no lump sum is payable to such individual, except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, until an amount equal to the amount of the overpayment has been withheld or refunded. Such adjustments will be made against any monthly benefit or lump sum under title II of the Act to which such individual is entitled whether payable on the basis of such individual's earnings or the earnings of another individual.

(2) If any other individual is entitled to benefits for any month on the basis of the same earnings as the overpaid individual, except as adjustment is to be effected pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section by withholding a part of the monthly benefit of either the overpaid individual or any other individual entitled to benefits on the basis of the same earnings, no benefit for any month will be paid on such earnings to such other individual until an amount equal to the amount of the overpayment has been withheld or refunded.

(3) If a representative payee receives a payment on behalf of a beneficiary after that beneficiary dies, the representative payee or his estate is solely liable for repaying the overpayment. If the representative payee is entitled to a monthly benefit or a lump sum under title II of the Act at the time we determine that an overpayment exists or at any time thereafter, except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, we will not pay the monthly benefits or the lump sum to the representative payee until the amount of the overpayment has been repaid. We will make such adjustments against any monthly benefit or lump sum under title II of the Act to which the representative payee is entitled whether payable on the basis of such representative payee's earnings or the earnings of another individual.

(b) Individual overpaid dies before adjustment. If an overpaid individual dies before adjustment is completed under the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, no lump sum and no subsequent monthly benefit will be paid on the basis of earnings which were the basis of the overpayment to such deceased individual until full recovery of the overpayment has been effected, except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section or under § 404.515. Such recovery may be effected through:

(1) Payment by the estate of the deceased overpaid individual,

(2) Withholding of amounts due the estate of such individual under title II of the Act,

(3) Withholding a lump sum or monthly benefits due any other individual on the basis of the same earnings which were the basis of the overpayment to the deceased overpaid individual, or

(4) Any combination of the amount above.

(5) The methods in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section for overpayments owed by a representative payee for payments made after the beneficiary's death. We will not recover such overpayments from any person other than the individual who was representative payee or his estate, but we may recover these overpayments from such other person under § 404.503(b).

(c) Adjustment by withholding part of a monthly benefit. (1) Where it is determined that withholding the full amount each month would defeat the purpose of title II, i.e., deprive the person of income required for ordinary and necessary living expenses (see § 404.508), adjustment under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section may be effected by withholding an amount of not less than $10 of the monthly benefit payable to an individual.

(2) Adjustment as provided by this paragraph will not be available if the overpayment was caused by the individual's intentional false statement or representation, or willful concealment of, or deliberate failure to furnish, material information. In such cases, recovery of the overpayment will be accomplished as provided in paragraph (a) of this section.

(d) Individual overpaid enrolled under supplementary insurance plan. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, if the individual liable for the overpayment is an enrollee under part B of title XVIII of the Act and the overpayment was not caused by such individual's intentional false statement or representation, or willful concealment of, or deliberate failure to furnish, material information, an amount of such individual's monthly benefit which is equal to his obligation for supplementary medical insurance premiums will be applied toward payment of such premiums, and the balance of the monthly benefit will be applied toward recovery of the overpayment. Further adjustment with respect to such balance may be made if the enrollee so requests and meets the conditions of paragraph (c) of this section.

[35 FR 5943, Apr. 10, 1970, as amended at 44 FR 20653, Apr. 6, 1979; 73 FR 65542, Nov. 4, 2008]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 40 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1970–2025 · leading case: Eugene Lyon v. Otis R. Bowen, M.D., Secretary of Health and Human Services
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Eugene Lyon v. Otis R. Bowen, M.D., Secretary of Health and Human Services (1986) ca5 · cites it 4× “2 In addition to the relief provided *796 in section 404(b), the Secretary has set forth in 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (c) (1986) a means by which individuals not entitled to waiver may reduce withholding to as little as ten dollars per month.”
Albert Stratton v. Otis R. Bowen, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services o (1987) ca11 · cites it 2× “Compare 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (a) (1968) with 20 C.”
Robinson v. Bowen (1987) nysd · cites it 2× “” 23 In the event of an overpayment of social security benefits, 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (c) provides that the amount of benefit withholdings can be reduced to an amount of not less than $10 of the monthly benefit payable to the individual where this is necessary in order for the…”
United States v. Johnson (In re Johnson) (2018) illinoised “…index="25" url="https://cite.case.law/citations/?q=20%20C.F.R.%20%C2%A7%20404.502"> 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 . The government cites as support decisions by the First, Ninth, and D.C. Circuits, all of which concluded that withholdings of overpayments required by the Medicare…”
Cooper v. Social Security Administration (2025) ca9 “See 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (c)(1) (permitting significant need-based reductions in amount of monthly reduction of benefits).”
Binder & Binder, P.C. v. Astrue (2012) nyed · cites it 2× “See also 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 . Specifically, that statute provides, in relevant part: “Whenever the Commissioner of Social Security finds that more * * * than the correct amount of payment has been made to any person under this subchapter, proper adjustment or recovery shall be…”
Szlosek v. Secretary of Health & Human Services (1987) mad “The effects of the regulation are softened though by the provisions of 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (c) which provide that at the Secretary’s discretion the amount of overpayments recouped can be reduced even if the recipient is not without fault.”
Posnack v. Secretary of Health & Human Services (1986) nyed · cites it 2× “She also suggests that 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (c) (1985), 1 which provides for partial withholding from *1017 monthly benefits where it has been determined that full withholding would defeat the purpose of Title II, does not apply here, as the Secretary has already determined that…”
Dominick M. BARONE, Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, M.D., Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Appelle (1989) ca2 “§ 404 (a) (1982); 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (1988). However, the Secretary must waive recovery of any overpayment if the individual was “without fault” and recovery would defeat the purposes of the Social Security Act or be against equity and good conscience.”
Elliott v. Weinberger (1974) hid “It is permitted (not mandated) by 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (a) if certain conditions are met.”
Thigpen v. United States (In re Thigpen) (2018) illinoised “502"> 20 C.F.R. § 404.502 (a)(1) (requiring SSA to reduce benefits to account for overpayments); <extracted-citation index="43" url="https://cite.”
Wanda CONNELL, Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Appellee (1989) ca8 · cites it 2× “Consequently, we remand the case to the district court with instructions that it be remanded to the Secretary for a determination whether the Secretary’s present practice of deducting a substantial amount of Connell’s monthly benefit to recoup the overpayment defeats the purpose…”
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— 20 C.F.R. § 404.502(c) — 1 case
Sarah E. Healea v. Otis R. Bowen, M.D., Secretary of Health and Human Services (1988) ca7
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.