Ohio widow’s $70,000 Social Security nightmare: SSA’s mistake could cost woman her home

A 65-year-old Ohioan widow says she’s worried she may have to sell her home, after being told by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that she owes nearly $70,000 in Social Security overpayments.

“It was their mistake”

Ruth Podmanik, a retiree from Sheffield Lake, a city located just outside Cleveland, has revealed to News 5 Cleveland that she’s been ordered to repay $69,087.50.

The five-figure debt stems from Social Security benefits received by Podmanik’s late husband, Ed, who died from Leukemia in 2012.

She explained to News 5 Cleveland that Ed was paid benefits when he spent five months out of work, but the SSA continued sending him checks even after he resumed employment.

“He called them constantly,” Ruth told the media outlet. “[He] said ‘I’m back to work. Why am I getting this?’ They said because you have Leukemia.”

After retiring recently, Podmanik was given the green light to begin claiming her husband’s Social Security benefits - but is now on the hook for his overpayments.

“I feel scared,” she said. “Am I going to have to sell my house?”

Podmanik added: “It wasn’t my mistake. It wasn’t my husband’s mistake for the overpayment. It was their mistake.”

SSA steps up overpayment recoveries

As Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues its drive to achieve savings in federal spending, the SSA announced in March that it was seeking “an increase in overpayment recoveries”.

In a statement, the agency said it aimed to recoup around $7 billion over the next decade.

“We have the significant responsibility to be good stewards of the trust funds for the American people,” claimed the SSA’s acting commissioner, Lee Dudek.

Significantly, the SSA added it would begin recovering overpayments by withholding 100% of affected recipients’ monthly benefits, rather than the previous 10%.

The body now appears to have lowered that rate to 50%, but this remains a daunting reduction in benefits for many Americans.

Many seniors struggling financially

Last year, a survey by the senior-citizens organization AARP found that 20% of over-50s in the U.S. have no retirement savings.

Meanwhile, a study by the National Council on Aging revealed that 45% of people aged 60 or above had an average monthly income “below what they needed to afford basic living needs”.

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