(MOBILE, Ala.) Thousands of area retirees may have gotten a big surprise in their mailbox Friday: two social security checks instead of one. But Social Security officials say they shouldn't be too quick to celebrate.
Mobile retiree Freddie Sigler already had a good reason to celebrate Friday. He planned to enjoy a cook-out with friends to kick off the holiday weekend. But when he checked his mail, he thought the government might have given him another reason to rejoice.
"I went to my post office box this morning and I had two checks," Sigler says. "'I'm thinking the government is looking out for the retirees. It made me feel good."
Sigler thought it was good to get twice as much money from Social Security this month, but possibly too good to be true. "I wanted to cash them both but I said I better wait and see about it," Sigler says. So he called up his local Social Security office and he says they told him that Mobile was one of several areas where people were receiving duplicate checks.
Social Security officials say more than 19,000 people in Alabama and Tennessee got an extra check, accidentally printed by the U.S. Treasury Department. With an average monthly payment of $1,100 per person, that's more than $20 million extra circulating.
"We are working with the post office and the post office is trying to determine if someone got a duplicate check and only deliver one," says Patti Patterson with the Social Security Administration.
"I was glad to receive it but I've got to turn it back," says Sigler. "My conscience wouldn't let me keep it anyway."
Patterson says that anyone that does receive two checks should return one to their local Social Security office. They can also return it by mail by just placing "Return to Sender" on the front of the envelope.
For those who decide to cash it instead, Patterson says they can expect a call from Social Security and the money will be deducted from future checks.
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