I'm on Benefits…But Could I Lose Them?

Undoubtedly, it is harder to take benefits away from a claimant who is receiving them than to deny them in the first place. Nevertheless, benefits may stop for a variety of reasons. That's why it is so important to report changes to the Social Security office promptly.

Claimants receiving benefits should be aware of the following possibilities:

• Continuing Disability Reviews: Periodic checkups by the SSA to confirm that the claimant is still entitled to benefits.
• Cessation Decision: A determination by the SSA that benefits should be stopped.
• Overpayment: An accumulation of benefits to which the claimant is not entitled— usually resulting from a change in the claimant's circumstances—that the SSA may attempt to recover from the claimant.

Claimants on benefits can receive a cessation decision (have their benefits stopped) for a number of reasons, both medical and non-medical.