Getty Images, alphaspirit.it Thousands of Americans on alert over a major question about SSA: this affects many
Social Security is becoming more serious than ever: If you haven't fulfilled your duty, this is very important for you
Thousands of people in the United States are wondering if the Social Security Administration (Social Security, SSA) is investigating them. All this noise comes from the Department of the Treasury's Offset Program, known as TOP.
SSA has clarified in detail what it means, which debts are included, and what happens if your debt is from before a specific date. TOP is basically a way to collect non-tax debts, meaning those that aren't related to taxes.
If you have a debt with SSA in the United States, pay attention to this
The program allows Treasury to secure federal or state payments directed to the person with debt, to use them to pay what they owe. SSA has explained that this mechanism is used to recover debts related to Social Security, especially for OASDI (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) or SSI (Supplemental Security Income).
For a debt to be referred to the TOP program, SSA sets clear conditions. The person must be the primary responsible party for the debt and be at least 18 years old when it originated. In addition, they must not be receiving benefits at this time, must not be deceased, and must owe at least $25.
Not all debts are referred to the TOP program
In addition, a key date is indicated: if the debt is from before May 19, 2022, it won't be referred to the TOP program. SSA also detailed that debts accumulated before March 2020 were subject to a high level of collection prior to the pandemic.
The TOP program had suspended its actions during the emergency, but resumed them in March 2025. It affected about 280,000 people with a collective balance of $2.7 billion. This has caused a kind of euphoria or concern among those with outstanding debts, since many are wondering if they're already subject to the TOP program.
This is how this program many people don't know about works
We know that this program works as follows: if you enter TOP, Treasury intercepts federal or state payments that were going to be made to you. For example, a refund or a benefit, and uses it to pay what you owe. Before this, the Agency must send you letters informing you about the debt, at least 60 days in advance, and give you the opportunity to pay, negotiate, or dispute what you owe.
Remember that SSA clarifies that there are certain debts that aren't eligible for the TOP program, which means they won't intercept any payment under this system if your debt is from before that date.
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