Social Security

Woman asks NBC6 Responds for help after she stops receiving her retirement check

A South Florida woman asks NBC6 Responds for help after she stops receiving her retirement check following the death of her husband.

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About 70 million Americans receive some kind of Social Security benefit, and many of them are retirees who rely on those checks to make ends meet.

That is the case of a woman in Miami who contacted the NBC6 Responds team when she stopped getting her retirement check. 

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Maria Correa Villalba was married to her first and only love for 57 years. She says she was 15 when they met and waited 10 years while he was a political prisoner in Cuba to marry him. They did everything together; even had a single bank account where they received their retirement checks.

Ofelia Correa, Maria's sister, spoke on her behalf because Maria developed speech and mobility problems following a liver transplant.

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Maria’s husband passed away in July of last year, and shortly after, Maria lost her own retirement benefits. 

“The salary of the Social Security in July was deposited on August…but the following day, they subtracted the check from the bank,” Ofelia said. 

Ofelia told the NBC6 Responds team that as soon as the retirement check disappeared from Maria's account, she contacted the Social Security Administration. 

“They told us OK, wait one week more or less and your check is going to be in your account againone week passed, and no check in the bank. We decided to go to the Social Security Administration office directly and spoke with a representative,” Ofelia said.

Again, she said they were told the issue would be resolved, but it wasn’t.

“We went to the Social Security office three times without success,” she said.

After trying for over a month on their own, Maria and Ofelia decided to contact the NBC6 Responds team and we reached out to the Social Security Administration.

“They called me the same day. In the afternoon. It was the supervisor the one who contacted me,” Ofelia said.

She said she was told the agency would send her a new check, and if she didn’t receive the funds in a week, she was instructed to contact the local Social Security office manager. 

This time, Maria received the missing $1,059 check she says she desperately needed.

“You know, the retired people, we live check by check. One month without the check is terrible,” Ofelia said.

In a statement, Patti Patterson, the Regional Communications Director for the Social Security Administration, told us, “Due to privacy laws we are unable to speak about individual cases. However, we ask anyone who has not received their scheduled Social Security benefits to reach out to our National Toll Free Number 1-800-772-1213 or their local office for assistance.”

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