Ruth Podmanik, a 65-year-old widow from Sheffield Lake, Ohio, is facing a nearly $70,000 bill from the Social Security Administration (SSA) more than a decade after her husband, Ed, passed away in 2012 following a battle with leukemia. While Ed was undergoing treatment and out of work, he received disability payments. However, when he eventually returned to work, the checks continued to come, despite his efforts to notify the SSA.
“Yes, he called them constantly,” Ruth confirmed. “He said, ‘I’m back to work. Why am I getting this?’ They said because you have leukemia.”
No action was taken until Ruth recently retired and applied for her husband’s Social Security benefits.
That’s when she was blindsided with a notice from the SSA demanding $69,087.50 back. “Not once did they say anything to me about, ‘Hey, you know you still got an overpayment here?'” she told WEWS, pointing to the document. Now, she’s stuck in bureaucratic limbo, still waiting for clarity and fearing the future.
“I feel scared,” she admitted. “Am I going to have to sell my house?”
While Ruth’s case is deeply personal, it highlights a broader issue: how do these overpayments occur and why are some discovered so long after the fact? The SSA has a high payment accuracy rate of over 99%, but when things go wrong, it’s often due to administrative delays, outdated systems, or communication breakdowns inside the agency.
Facing unexpected Social Security debt
In Ruth’s case, the system may have failed to properly flag her husband’s return to work despite his reported efforts to notify the agency. Legal aid groups say such scenarios are more common than the public realizes, often not due to fraud but bureaucracy.
While the mistake occurred years ago, the collection effort is still legally sound. The SSA generally has four years to reopen or revise a previous benefits decision under Title II (Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability). For Supplemental Security Income, the timeframe is two years.
However, these periods, outlined in SSA regulations, are intended to limit the window for reassessing benefit determinations. Once identified within these timeframes, the SSA can pursue recovery indefinitely. This policy has led to situations where beneficiaries are notified of overpayments long after the fact.
The SSA does provide an appeal process, waiver options, and payment plans—but often, the burden is on beneficiaries to prove they’re not at fault. For Ruth, the paperwork, confusion, and stress keep mounting. She’s grieving, retired, and now confronted with a substantial bill.
And she’s not alone in questioning why, if her husband called “constantly,” she is the one left to resolve the issue.
