Social Security can take half your check — here's how to stop it

Hi there,

A quick note before we start. This week's lead is one I wish more people understood before a frightening letter ever lands in their mailbox — because if Social Security tells you it overpaid you, you have far more power to push back than almost anyone lets on. I'll walk you through exactly how, then point you toward money that may already have your name on it, and one phone call that's worth hanging up on mid-sentence.

If Social Security says you were overpaid, it can take up to half your check — but you have three ways to stop it

Here's the number to know: 50%. Since an internal rule change in April 2025, Social Security's default is to withhold up to half of your monthly benefit to claw back an "overpayment" — money it decided it paid you in error (KFF Health News). On a $2,000 check, that's $1,000 gone in a single month, often with little warning. That's the scary part — so let me get straight to the part nobody tells you: that 50% is a default, not a final answer, and you can change it.

First, understand what an overpayment usually is. In most cases it is not something you did wrong — it's Social Security's own error, or a slow update to your record after a change in your work, marital status, or other benefits. But by law the agency still has to ask for the money back. What matters is that a notice arrives with a big number and a 50% withholding attached, and too many people either panic and ignore it or quietly accept it. Both are mistakes.

You have three moves, and you can use more than one:

• Ask for a lower repayment rate. You do not have to accept 50%. File Form SSA-634 or call and ask to pay back a smaller amount each month that you can actually live on (SSA: Resolve an overpayment).
• Ask for a waiver — to pay nothing. If the overpayment wasn't your fault and you can't afford to repay it (or it would simply be unfair), file Form SSA-632 to have it forgiven. There's no deadline to ask, and if your balance is $2,000 or less you can often request the waiver right over the phone (SSA: Ask us to waive an overpayment).
• Appeal, if you think they're wrong. If you don't believe you were overpaid, or the amount looks off, file Form SSA-561 (a "reconsideration") within 60 days of the notice.

Here's the single most important thing, and my honest take on why to act fast: Social Security does not keep collecting while an appeal or a waiver request is pending (SSA). So the moment you file, you can stop the 50% grab and buy yourself time. The default only sticks to the people who stay silent. Don't be one of them.

Money You're Owed: a free 5-minute search — plus $60 with an August 11 deadline

Before the warnings, some good news you can act on today. Two ways money may be sitting out there with your name on it:

• Unclaimed money — search free, right now. States and companies are holding onto billions in forgotten cash: old paychecks, utility and rental deposits, insurance payouts, refunds, dormant accounts. There's no deadline and no catch to looking. Search your name (and your spouse's, and a late parent's) free at missingmoney.com, the official search run by the state treasurers' association, then follow the claim steps for any hit. It is always free to claim — never pay a "finder" a percentage to hand you your own money.
• Flagstar Bank breach settlement — about $60, file by August 11, 2026. If you were among the roughly 2.19 million people notified that your information was exposed in Flagstar Bank's 2021 and 2022 data breaches, you can claim an estimated $60 cash with no proof of loss required — plus 3 years of free credit monitoring — from a $31.5 million settlement. The one catch: you need the Class Member ID from the notice you were mailed, so this is for people who got that notice. File free at the official site, flagstarsettlement.com, by August 11, 2026.

The rule that covers both: a real government office or court settlement will never charge you a fee to claim what you're owed. Anyone who wants a cut to "release" your money is the scam.

Scam of the Week: the "you missed jury duty" arrest call

Right on cue, here's the threat wearing a badge. The jury-duty scam is surging again, and it's gotten slicker: you get a call — now often from a spoofed court phone number, sometimes with an AI-cloned "officer" on the line — telling you that you failed to appear for jury duty, that a warrant is out for your arrest, and that you can make it go away by paying a "fine" right now with a gift card, prepaid card, wire, or payment app (FBI). The pressure and the fear are the whole trick — victims have handed over hundreds to thousands of dollars before the panic wore off.

→ Do this: hang up. Don't pay, don't confirm your Social Security number or birthdate, don't "stay on the line." If you're worried it's real, look up your county Clerk of Court yourself on a .gov site and call them directly — they'll confirm in seconds that courts don't work this way. Then report the call (with the number and any name/badge they gave) to the FBI at IC3.gov and to ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Every report helps get the number shut down before it reaches your neighbor.

Your turn: have you ever gotten one of these "warrant" or "you owe us" calls — and what did they say to try to rattle you? Hit reply and tell me. The exact wording helps me warn the next person, and I read every reply.

And if this was useful, forward it to someone who'd sleep a little easier knowing a real court never calls demanding a gift card — and that a scary letter from Social Security is a starting point to push back, not the final word.

Talk soon,

— Ellen Marsh, Editor, Retirement Shield

Retirement Shield is educational information only — not financial, tax, or legal advice. We will never ask you for an account number, Social Security number, password, or payment.