A. Background

The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is an annual payment to residents of the State of Alaska. The State of Alaska funds the payment with interest on oil revenue earned by the State. Individuals are eligible to receive the payment if they reside in the State of Alaska for the entire year prior to applying for the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). For example, an individual is eligible to receive the PFD payment in 2018 if they lived in Alaska for all of 2017. The State of Alaska also pays the PFD to residents who temporarily reside outside the State because of work, military service, or to receive medical treatment. A parent, guardian, or State authorized representative may apply for a minor or someone unable to apply on his or her own behalf.

Most individuals who qualify for the PFD payment receive their check in October. The dividend amount varies from year to year based on the amount in the dividend fund and the number of individuals who apply. The State of Alaska may attach up to 50 percent of the payment due to a lien or garnishment. The State of Alaska may take one hundred percent of the payment to satisfy court ordered child support or a decision by the child support enforcement agency.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) sends a listing of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who received the PFD payment to the Seattle Regional Office in the first quarter of each calendar year. DHSS creates the list by cross matching the PFD Division’s list of recipients with the State Data Exchange (SDX) system to identify SSI recipients who also received the PFD in the prior calendar year.

To verify receipt of the PFD payment, for general questions about the payment, or if an individual no longer living in the State of Alaska reports receipt of the PFD, contact the Seattle Center for Disability and Program Support at ||SEA CPS.

B. Definitions

1. PFD

The Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is a dividend paid to most Alaska residents each October.

2. PFD Processing Period

Every PFD payment has a unique PFD Processing Period. The PFD, which is paid every October, has a PFD Processing Period which normally begins the following January and ends when the Seattle Regional Office sends the final bill to the State of Alaska.

3. PFD Processing Period

The PFD Overpayment is any overpayment caused by receipt or retention of the PFD, for a period of up to four months (SI SEA00830.510G.3). The period of four months includes the month of receipt of the PFD payment. The Social Security Administration (SSA) bills the State for this amount for each individual (SI SEA00830.510D).

4. PFD Listing

The PFD listing is a list of PFD recipients that DHSS identifies as also receiving SSI. DHSS sends the PFD listing to the Seattle Regional Office in the first quarter of each calendar year.

5. Alaska PFD Website

The Alaska PFD website is a web based application created by the Seattle Center for Automation. The Anchorage District and Seattle Regional office uses the web application to monitor the workload and post the PFD overpayment for each individual on the PFD listing.

C. SSA Treatment of PFD Payments

The full amount of the PFD payment counts as income to the SSI recipient or deemor in the month received, even though the payment might be reduced by a lien or garnishment. Each year, the Anchorage District posts the PFD income to the Dividend (IDIV) page for each recipient or deemor with “AK PFD” posted in the ID field.

Any PFD funds retained by a recipient or deemor in months subsequent to the month of PFD payment count as a resource.

D. Agreement between SSA and Alaska

Under an agreement between SSA and the state of Alaska, the state will repay an individual’s overpayment resulting from the receipt or retention of the PFD payment for a period of up to four months.

1. Overpayments Due to Receipt of the PFD Payment

Under SSA’s agreement with DHSS, an overpayment is due to receipt of the PFD payment if the overpayment causes the recipient to be ineligible for payment in the month the PFD payment is received (N01). An overpayment is also due to receipt of the PFD payment if receipt of the PFD causes changes in the Transitional Computation Cycle (TCC) solely because of the interruption of payment due to receipt of the PFD payment.

2. Overpayments Due to Retention of the PFD Payment

Under SSA’s agreement with DHSS overpayment is due to retention of the PFD payment if:

1. The recipient or a member of the recipient’s household whose resources are deemed to the recipient, retains the dividend, or a portion of the dividend; and

2. The value of the recipient’s countable resources exceeds the applicable SSI resource limit; and

3. The value of countable resources remaining after the full amount of the dividend is subtracted is less than the applicable SSI resource limit (SI SEA00830.510G in this section).

3. PFD Receipt Prevents Payment

If an SSI applicant received the PFD payment prior to the completion of their initial claim allowance and the applicant is ineligible in the month of application and/or any subsequent months due to receipt and/or retention of the PFD payment, refer him or her to the local DHSS office to apply for general assistance for those months. If the applicant is ineligible in their protective filing month due to receipt or retention of the PFD, explain to the applicant that she or he could choose a later filing date in order to establish SSI eligibility (see SI 00601.009).

E. PFD Payments Paid to Children in the Care of the Office of Children’s Services (OCS)

The Alaska Department of Revenue directs PFD payments made to minor children in the custody of the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) to a trust account. OCS holds the funds in the trust account until the child attains age 18 or until the child is released from OCS custody. SSA does not count the PFD payments as income to the child in the month received or as a resource in the months following. When the child reaches age 18, or is no longer in the custody of OCS, OCS releases the funds to the recipient. The funds count as income in the month OCS releases them from the trust. If the recipient retains the funds in months following the release from the trust, the funds count as a resource to the recipient. We do not bill the State of Alaska for any overpayments that result.

In order to document receipt of the PFD funds, the Anchorage District offices will post the PFD income to the IDIV page for the child recipient. Because the income is not countable until the trust funds are released to the child upon their release from foster care or attainment of age 18, the funds will be shown as excluded from income.

NOTE: If an individual was released from OCS custody, but alleges that they did not receive the PFD funds from the PFD trust, refer the individual to the DHSS, Office of Children’s Services, so that OCS can process the funds for release. Inform the individual that she or he must notify SSA when they receive the funds from the trust.

F. Handling Allegations of PFD Receipt and Retention

1. Handling allegations of PFD receipt outside of the Anchorage District

Field Offices outside of the Anchorage District may receive allegations of PFD receipt or encounter AKPFD tickles. Regardless of your region or the time of year, contact Seattle CDPS at ||SEA CPS to ensure all cases are captured in the bill to State of Alaska.

2. Handling allegations of PFD receipt before the PFD processing period

Document allegations of PFD receipt and retention on the Development Worksheet (DW01), using the issue “AKPFD” with a tickle date of July 1st of the following year. In addition, post the PFD on the IDIV page and exclude it. Document retention of the PFD on Financial Institution Account (RFIA) and exclude it for up to three months (through January).

For example, John Doe received a PFD payment on October 2017 and reports this to SSA during a Preeffectuation Review Contact (PERC) on December 2017. The technician creates a tickle on the DW01 to show “AKPFD” with a tickle date of July 1, 2018 and a remark to indicate the year of PFD receipt. The technician also posts and excludes the income on the IDIV page.

3. Handling allegations of PFD receipt during the PFD processing period

If the IDIV page in the SSI claim system (i.e., MSSICS/SSI Claim) does not reflect receipt of the PFD, and the claimant reports receiving it, check the PFD listing. If the individual is listed, process the case following the instructions in SI SEA00830.510G in this section. If the individual is not listed, determine whether the receipt or retention of the PFD will cause an overpayment

1. If receipt of the PFD will not cause an overpayment (for example, we have not made payment for October yet), post the PFD, even if it prevents payment for October that would have been otherwise due. Follow SI SEA00830.510D.3 in this section to refer the individual to DHSS

2. If receipt of the PFD will cause an overpayment, do not post the PFD to the Supplemental Security Record (SSR), and document the PFD receipt on the DW01 and IDIV page, following the instructions in SI SEA00830.510G.1 in this section.

4. Handling allegations of PFD receipt after the PFD processing period

If the IDIV page in the SSI Claim System does not reflect receipt of the PFD, and the claimant reports receiving it, determine whether the receipt or retention of the PFD will cause an overpayment.

1. If receipt of the PFD will not cause an overpayment (for example, we have not made payment for October yet), post the PFD, even if it prevents payment for October that would have been otherwise due. Follow SI SEA00830.510D.3. in this section section to refer the individual to DHSS.

2. If receipt of the PFD will cause an overpayment, do not post the PFD to the SSR, and document the PFD receipt on the DW01 and IDIV page following the instructions in SI SEA00830.510G.1 of this section

NOTE: Always follow the rules of administrative finality found in SI 04070.000 when processing changes for past periods.

G. FO Processing Instructions for PFD Listing from the State of Alaska

The Anchorage District reviews each case on the PFD listing, posts the PFD income to the IDIV page, receipts in any open DW01 “AKPFD” tickles for each case, updates the SSID, and records the PFD overpayment amount on the Alaska PFD website.

After the Anchorage District posts the PFD income to the records of individuals on the PFD listing, the Seattle Regional Office sends a bill to the State of Alaska for all of the overpaid SSI recipients. The Seattle Center for Materiel and Automation Resources (CMAR) runs an automated process that posts a remittance to each individual’s record. The remittance posted on each record equals that individual’s PFD overpayment.

1. Field Office Instructions - Step by Step

Follow the steps below for each case on the PFD Listing. When all cases are complete, pull the office’s “AKPFD” DW01 tickles, and ensure that all allegations of PFD receipt are correctly documented and pending tickles are receipted in the DW01.

1. Post the PFD amount to the IDIV page (and/or remove any PFD exclusions from the IDIV page and RFIA page.

2. Use Direct SSR Update to select Notice Suppression.

3. Review the Simulated SSR and calculate the PFD Overpayment.

4. Review the DW01 and receipt in any AKPFD items.

2. The PFD is Already Posted to the SSR

If a case is on the PFD Listing, and the PFD is already posted to the SSR, determine whether the PFD caused an overpayment. If it did, we will bill the State for that full overpayment, even if we have already begun collection of that overpayment.

Note: If the PFD did not cause a PFD overpayment, do not bill the State.

3. The “Hold Harmless Provision”

SSA will compute an individual’s overpayment resulting solely from the receipt or retention of the PFD payment for a period of up to four months. The four-month period includes the month of receipt of the PFD payment.

Example: Ms. James received the PFD payment in October 2017. The PFD amount for 2017 was $1,022.00. Ms. James is ineligible due to income for the month of October 2017 (PSY N01). A review of Ms. James’ bank statements shows that she retained the PFD payment in her bank account until March2018. Because of the PFD payment, her total resources exceeded the countable resource limit for an SSI eligible individual of $2,000.00 from November 2017 through March 2017 (PSY N04). Ms. James’ SSI record will show the total overpayment amount for October 2017 through March 2018 in the OPSQ segment of the SSID.

Based on the “hold harmless” provision, the State of Alaska will repay SSA for overpayments caused solely by receipt or retention of the PFD payment for a period of up to four months. Therefore, when we send the billing to the State of Alaska, we include the amount of Ms. James’ overpayment for October 2017, the month of receipt of the PFD payment, as well as the months of November 2017, December 2017, and January 2018, for a total of four months. Ms. James is responsible for repayment of the overpayment for February and March 2018.

4. The “Hold Harmless Provision” and the Transitional Computational Cycle (TCC)

Due to the TCC

The “hold harmless” provision applies to overpayments caused by changes to the TCC under the following circumstances:

• The individual has other income in the month of PFD receipt and/or in the month immediately following the PFD receipt; and

• The income received in the month immediately following receipt of the PFD is higher than the income received in the month used as the budget month prior to the posting of the PFD payment to the record; and

• The change in the budget month due to ineligibility (N01) from receipt of the PFD payment creates an overpayment; then

The overpayment for up to two months immediately following receipt of the PFD is included in the amount billed to the State under the “hold harmless” provision.

NOTE: The “hold harmless” provision does not apply if the income in the month immediately following receipt of the PFD payment causes ineligibility due to excess income.

NOTE: The receipt of the PFD may cause an individual to be underpaid for some months during the four-month period, due to the TCC. We should only charge the State for the overpayment balance after netting (SI 02201.015) during the four-month period. If the PFD receipt causes a net underpayment, we will not bill the State for that case.

Example 1: Mr. Jones receives SSI and reports his wages to SSA every month. He reports that he received $600.00 in wages per month in September and October 2017. In November 2017, he received $800.00 in wages. Under the rules of Retrospective Monthly Accounting (RMA), using a 2 budget month, Mr. Jones receives $477.50 in SSI per month in November 2017 and December 2017 based on his wages for September and October. See the chart below:

In February 2018, SSA posts the PFD payment to October 2017, which makes Mr. Jones ineligible due to excess income (N01) for October. Receipt of the PFD causes a transitional computation cycle (TCC). Mr. Jones’ payments for November and December 2017 are recomputed using the income from November 2017. Because Mr. Jones received $800.00 in wages in November 2017, the system computes an overpayment of $100.00 per month in November 2017 and December 2017. See the chart below:

Because the overpayment is caused solely by the change in the computation cycle resulting from receipt of the PFD payment, the overpayments for November 2017 and December 2017 fall under the “hold harmless” provision and should be included in the amount billed to the State.

Example 2: Ms. O’Brien receives SSI and reports that she received $600.00 in wages per month in September and October 2017. In November 2017, she received $400.00 in wages. Under the rules of Retrospective Monthly Accounting (RMA), we use a 2 budget month, and Ms. O’Brien receives $477.50 in SSI per month in November 2017 and December 2017 based on her wages for September and October. See the chart below:

In February 2018, SSA posts the PFD payment to October 2017, which makes Ms. O’Brien ineligible due to excess income (N01) for October. Receipt of the PFD causes a transitional computation cycle (TCC). Ms. O’Brien’s payments for November and December 2017 are recomputed using the income from November 2017. Because Ms. O’Brien received $400.00 in wages in November 2017, the system computes an underpayment of $100.00 per month in November 2017 and December 2017. See the chart below:

Because the overpayment and underpayment are caused solely by the change in the computation cycle resulting from receipt of the PFD payment, we will net the underpayments for November and December against the overpayment for October and will bill the State $277.50.

5. Reductions in Underpayments and Excess Overpayments

1. The month of PFD receipt (October) and hold harmless months may have already been computed but not paid. If the receipt of the PFD reduces a previously computed underpayment, do not bill the State for that underpayment reduction. Follow SI SEA00830.510D.3 of this section to refer the individual to DHSS.

2. The system may perform automated netting to collect the PFD overpayment from an existing underpayment. If the existing underpayment is unrelated to the receipt of the PFD, we will bill the State for the full PFD Overpayment. See SI SEA00830.510F in this section if the underpayment is related to the receipt of the PFD.

3. If there is an excess overpayment decision (OPX) on the record prior to posting the PFD, we must determine whether the OPX was caused by overbilling the State in prior years. If it was clearly caused by overbilling the State, then use that OPX to correctly reduce the amount we bill the State in the current year. If the OPX is unrelated to a prior year’s PFD, or it is unclear, resolve the OPX before posting the PFD.