Since a person usually does not know exactly how much his or her total earnings will be before the end of a year, benefits are paid based on an estimate.
(My Case.... SS anticipated based on my 2022 earnings that I will go over the cap in 2023 and put a STOP on my checks to prevent overpayments in 2023. After 4 months they will take monies owed from 2022 and Medicare payments due)
BTW.... If the actual earnings are less than estimated and the worker is underpaid, we pay the additional amount due as quickly as possible..
IMO they are telling me I owe my own money to them? Yet, Government continues to borrow from SS to pay themselves and in the next breathe say SS may run out of money soon.... They know SS will never go dry, it's the Governments pockets that are too big
As part of our effort to reduce overpayments, we withhold at least the benefit of one full month when a person estimates that earnings will be more than the allowable amount for the year. This approach is consistent with the law and regulations that permit a total monthly benefit to be withheld until it can be decided that the benefit is due.
After the year is over, if a worker’s actual earnings are more than estimated, we withhold any overpayment from his or her future benefits. Before we withhold those benefits, we notify the beneficiary of the overpayment and the right to appeal if the beneficiary does not agree. If the actual earnings are less than estimated and the worker is underpaid, we pay the additional amount due as quickly as possible.
It is important to estimate earnings accurately. When in doubt, it is better to estimate a higher rather than a lower amount. If, during the year, a person finds that earnings will be different from the previous estimate, he or she should notify us so that benefit payments can be changed
