TN 1 (12-14)

Citations:

Social Security Act §201

A. Documenting and processing monetary gifts or bequests

1. Donors offer gifts or bequests

Donors who offer gifts or bequests must take the following actions

1. You must obtain a written statement from the donor that states the following:

   • The gift is unconditional,

   • The amount of the gift, and

   • The fund designated by donor, if any (Retirement Survivors Insurance, Disability Insurance, Health Insurance, or Supplementary Medical Insurance trust fund), to credit the donation.

2. Deposit undesignated gifts or bequests into the RSI trust fund.

3. When the PSC receives a gift or bequest, forward the funds and send all corresponding documentation via the SSA-124 to the Mid-Atlantic Program Service Center (MATPSC) Remittance and Accounting Unit (RAU) for deposit. For more information about the SSA-124, see SM 00610.291.

4. Refer donors who offer gifts to the general fund (gifts not specifically designated as gifts to the Social Security Administration) to the Treasury Department. The general fund of the Treasury Department, not the Social Security Trust Fund, pays for Supplemental Security Income. For processing instructions, see GN 02413.002.

5. Treat any unidentified remitted cash, check, or money order without the donor’s information (no name, address, or Social Security number) as an anonymous gift. For processing instructions, see GN 02403.005C.5.

6. Convert cash received to a money order. (For processing cash remittances see GN 02403.009B.2.)

2. Field office (FO) procedures when receiving a gift or bequest

When you receive a gift or bequest, do the following:

1. When processing monetary gifts received in the FO, enter the gift into the debt management system (DMS). For detailed instructions for processing monetary gifts received in the FO, see GN 02403.011.

2. When we cannot process an automatic receipt, complete an SSA-1395-BK (Manual Receipt). For procedures on the SSA-1395-BK, see GN 02403.130. For processing automated receipts, see MSOM DMS 003.006 and MSOM DMS 003.007.

3. Send an acknowledgement letter to the donor. For sample acknowledgement letters, see GN 02413.004.

3. Payment Center (PC) procedures when receiving a gift or bequest

When you receive a gift or bequest, do the following:

1. For depositing monies designated or undesignated to the appropriate trust fund, follow instructions in SM 00610.291.

2. After deposit, send correspondence to:

   Office of Financial Policy Operations
   Office of Finance, P.O. Box 17042
   Baltimore, Maryland 21235

3. Ensure that the amount of the gift is on the correspondence.

4. Send an acknowledgement letter to the donor. For sample acknowledgement letters, see GN 02413.004.

B. Accepting a benefit check as a gift

Use the following procedures for accepting a benefit check as a gift:

1. Advise the beneficiary that:

   1. We cannot automatically deduct gifts from benefit checks;

   2. Benefit checks must be endorsed by the donor; and

   3. We prefer a single yearly donation by money order or check.

2. Obtain a statement similar to the one in GN 02413.003A.1.a specifying money amount of the donation.

3. If the beneficiary offers a benefit check(s), have the beneficiary endorse the check(s). Enter the check into DMS or prepare an SSA-1395-BK. For processing instructions, see GN 02403.011 and GN 02403.130.

C. References

• GN 02403.011 Processing Money Gifts Received in the FO

• GN 02403.130 Completing Form SSA-1395-BK (Manual Receipt)

• GN 02413.002 Determining the Acceptability of Gifts to the Government

• GN 02413.004 Sample Letters to Donors – Gifts to the Government

• MSOM DMS 003.006 Field Office Remittance Input (RFOR)

• MSOM DMS 003.007 Automated Receipt, Field Office Payment Coupon and Forwarding Instruction Sheets

• SM 00610.291 Completion of SSA-124-U3 for Misrouted Remittances