Social Security Eases Rules on Repaying Benefit Overpayments

Social Security recipients will now only have to pay back 10% of any inadvertent overpayments, capped at $10, instead of the full amount
There will be some exceptions where the full overpayment amount must still be paid back, such as in cases of fraud
This change applies to new overpayments going forward, but those already paying back more can contact Social Security to reduce the rate
Beneficiaries can request a payback rate lower than 10% if the overpayment can still be fully recovered within 60 months
An independent audit found "significant deficiencies" in how Social Security documents, calculates, records, and tracks overpayments