If recovery is not possible from the spouse who caused the overpayment, hold the contingently
liable spouse responsible for repayment. If the contingently liable spouse is without
fault and the overpayment happened after separation, waive recovery of the portion
of the overpayment that the contingently liable spouse did not receive.
Regular waiver rules apply for the amount of the overpayment that the contingently
liable spouse did receive. For basic requirements concerning SSI overpayment waivers,
see SI 02260.001. For information regarding overpayment waiver for an SSI couple, see SI 02201.022A.3.
See the following examples where we may determine that overpayment recovery is against
equity and good conscience. These examples are just for consideration and they may
not fit every case:
If
|
Then
|
We notified Mr. Brown that he was eligible for SSI payments. He signed a lease on
an apartment that will require him to pay more rent than he previously paid. Upon
further review, we discovered that Mr. Brown should not have received SSI and now
he is overpaid.
Mr. Brown filed a request for a waiver. We determined he was without fault in causing
the overpayment.
|
We may grant a waiver. Recovery of Mr. Brown’s overpayment would be against equity
and good conscience.
Justification: Mr. Brown relied on SSI payments and changed his financial position for the worse.
|
Mr. and Mrs. Washington received SSI as an eligible couple. The Washington’s began
living apart on September 2, 2013. On September 28, 2013, Mrs. Washington won $4,000
in the lottery and failed to report her winnings to us.
In 2014, through an IRS interface, we discovered that Mrs. Washington won $4,000.
We overpaid Mrs. Washington for the month of September 2013. In addition, she has
excess resources and is ineligible for continuing SSI payments starting in October
2013.
Mr. Washington received an SSI overpayment notice based upon Mrs. Washington’s September
2013 lottery winnings.
Mr. Washington filed a waiver request. We determined he was without fault in causing
the overpayment.
|
We may grant Mr. Washington’s waiver request. Recovery of the overpayment is against
equity and good conscience.
Justification: Mr. Washington was living in a separate household from Mrs. Washington when she won
the lottery. He did not receive the lottery money.
|
John receives SSI payments. He chose not to take advantage of a private charity and
relied on his SSI payments to support himself. We later notified him that he was overpaid
SSI benefits because we did not timely process his pay slips and post the verified
earnings to his record in time to preclude him from being overpaid.
John filed a request for a waiver. We determined he was without fault in causing the
overpayment.
|
We may waive John’s overpayment. Recovery of his overpayment is against equity and
good conscience.
Justification: John relinquished a valuable right to receive assistance from a charitable organization
because he relied on his SSI payments to support himself.
|
Mr. and Mrs. Smith separated on July 3, 2013. On July 15, 2013, Mr. Smith started
working, which resulted in an overpayment. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are both liable for
repayment, as they were an eligible couple in the month of July 2013.
Mrs. Smith filed a waiver request. We determined she was without fault in causing
the overpayment.
|
We may grant Mrs. Smith’s waiver request. Recovery is against equity and good conscience.
Justification: Mrs. Smith was living in a separate household when Mr. Smith started working.
|