Social Security is the lifeline for millions of Americans, and every month they wait with bated breath for the check to come in. Now imagine, what happens when you are being told that not only Social Security is cutting your benefits but you are also expected to pay the administration $100K.
Something similar happened to a woman living in Raleigh. She received a letter from SSA stating that since she has been earning a six-figure salary and claiming Social Security too, she owes the agency some ‘petty’ change.
According to the letter received by Audrey Richardson, between January 2024 and Dec 2024, she earned more than $114K in salary. This claim was not just a shock to Ms. Richardson but was nothing less than a cruel prank.
“I just busted out laughing, and I said, ‘This is a joke,’ because I have not worked since 2019.” claims Richardson.
Richardson claimed that she had not worked for years. She has been climbing disability since 2019 and then started to receive survivor’s benefits. Now, since she is 65 years old, she has received Social Security benefits.
According to Richardson, there have never been any problems with her monthly benefits, and this letter from SSA came as a shock. And now she is among thousands of Americans in danger of losing her benefits.
“I will only get $163, period. I live alone, and that is the only income that I receive.”
However, Richardson was not ready to give it all up so easily, and she contacted the SSA to understand and rectify the problem. Upon enquiry, the SSA agent told her that they have a record that states she has worked for a company in 2024 and made $114,572.
However, what came as a twist to the story was that not only did Richardson not work in the company, she hadn’t even heard of them. The SSA representative shared the details of the said company with her, and as a next step to unravel this twisted ball of yarn, Richardson reached out to the human resource representative of the company.
Upon inquiry, the HR personnel told her that not only did she not have any records of Richardson ever being employed with them, but they have never paid that exuberant amount of money to any of their employees.
Richardson claims that even after re-telling this ordeal to SSA agents, she was asked to file a formal complaint, and that’s when she reached out to ABC Troubleshooter.
At 65, Audrey is an old woman who is tired of fighting a battle she unknowingly found herself in.
Diane Wilson of ABC Troubleshooter came to the help needed and reached out to the Social Security Administration on behalf of Audrey Richardson, and finally got everything sorted out.
Former SSA Commissioner @MartinOMalley: DOGE is taking money from beneficiaries, slowing down customer service, and laying off essential employees. pic.twitter.com/tDJOTRDLro
— Social Security Works ❌👑 (@SSWorks) March 21, 2025
Even though Richardson did not realize it, this could be a case of stolen identity, or this is an example of faulty file work on the part of SSA. With thousands of agents and workers laid off, there is a crunch at the administration, and every day, some new case of an older American fighting for their right to the benefits they so clearly deserve comes forward.
In a hurry to save billions of dollars from several federal agencies, DOGE has inadvertently put millions of retirees at risk. Not everyone is capable or even healthy enough to fight a short battle to reclaim their benefits.
It is now left to see how many more such cases of mistaken identities or miscalculated benefits come up on the horizon.
