Reconsideration of Debt Waiver Denial

Reconsideration was requested of the Claims Division's denial of waiver of debt to the United States in the amount of $1,260. The debt arose from erroneous annuity payments made to the claimant by the Navy under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). The denial of waiver was based in part on the fact that the claimant indicated an awareness of the possibility of overpayments. In view of the large amount of the overpayments, it was concluded that the claimant should have been aware that she was being overpaid and should have pursued the matter further to determine the reason for the excess payments. In the request for reconsideration, the claimant stated that repeated telephone calls were made to the Finance Center to get the matter corrected and that it was through these efforts that the error was corrected. Although it was commendable that the claimant advised the Navy of the overpayments, this did not relieve the obligation to retain the overpayments for refund to the Government. One who knowingly receives excess payments from the Government cannot expect to retain them. Accordingly, the action taken by GAO Claims Division was sustained.