how many false overpayment notices does social security send out?

There isn’t a reliable public count for “false overpayment notices” from Social Security, because the agency does not appear to publish a separate number for notices that were later found to be wrong versus all overpayment notices sent. The closest public figures say SSA issued overpayment notices to about 1.03 million people in fiscal year 2022 and about 987,000 in fiscal year 2023, while official SSA guidance says people can dispute, appeal, or request a waiver if the notice is incorrect.

What the public data shows

SSA and reporting focus on total overpayment notices , not a clean “false notices” count. One reported figure says SSA issued overpayment notices to 1.03 million people in fiscal year 2022 and 987,000 in fiscal year 2023. SSA’s own overpayment page explains that recipients can ask for reconsideration or a waiver, and collection generally waits at least 30 days after the notice is sent.

Why the number is hard to pin down

A notice can be wrong for several reasons: a payment calculation error, outdated income information, a change in eligibility, or a dispute over the facts. Public sources also note that many overpayments stem from government error, not just beneficiary mistakes. Because of that, there is no simple public dataset that labels each notice as “false” or “correct.”

Practical read

If someone gets an overpayment notice, the key question is not “how many are false?” but “is this specific notice accurate?” SSA says people can appeal, request a waiver, or ask for a repayment adjustment. In other words, the system is built for case-by-case review rather than a blanket count of bad notices.

Bottom line

The best available public answer is: millions of overpayment notices have been sent over recent years, but SSA does not publicly report how many were false notices specifically. If you want a number for a post, the safest phrasing is that the exact count is not published, while annual overpayment notices have been around the one-million mark.