TN 5 (10-09)

A. Policy for notifying overpaid individuals

All individuals liable for repayment of an overpayment receive a notice of our determination that they are overpaid.

An overpayment does not exist until the initial notice of overpayment is released.

Each initial notice of overpayment, whether computer generated by the Automated Overpayment Notice System (AONS) or produced manually in a field office (FO), must include the following:

• The cause of the overpayment, the amount of the overpayment and the months it occurred;

• A monthly list of the amounts that were paid and that should have been paid for all months of incorrect payment;

• A request for refund of the full amount of the overpayment;

• If the overpaid individual continues to receive title XVI payment, a proposed 10% rate of adjustment of payments if the individual does not make a full refund. The notice must state a date (month and year) at least 60 days in the future on which adjustment will begin;

• The right of the individual to request a waiver of overpayment collection and/or a reconsideration of the facts of the existence of the overpayment; and

• How to request a waiver and a reconsideration;

• Except for Ellender class members in New York State, when the overpaid individual is not currently receiving SSI payments, but does receive Social Security benefits, the notice discusses the mandatory recovery from the individual’s title II benefits.

B. Procedure for production of manual overpayment notices

1. If the system cannot produce an AONS notice, you must produce and send an initial notice of overpayment.

   Your notice must address the entire period of excess payments and additional amounts due, if any.

   To determine which overpayment notice to use, see SI 02220.010.

2. Prepare an overpayment notice in the Document Processing System (DPS). Print and send the notice to the Online Retrieval System (ORS). NOTE: If using the Web SSI Overpayment Notices Program to prepare the overpayment notice, print and send the notice to ORS (a 2-step process). If you are unable to send the notice to ORS, fax a copy into the Non-Disability Repository for evidentiary documents (NDRed).

3. Document your overpayment disposition determination using the instructions in SI 02220.005.

C. Content of a manual overpayment notice

Manual overpayment notices must include all of the following.

• The cause of the overpayment, the amount of the overpayment and the months it occurred;

• A monthly list of the amounts that were paid and that should have been paid for all months of incorrect payment;

• A request for refund of the full amount of the overpayment;

• If the overpaid individual continues to receive title XVI payment, a proposed 10% rate of adjustment of payments if the individual does not make a full refund. The notice must state a date (month and year) at least 60 days in the future on which adjustment will begin;

• The right of the individual to request a waiver of overpayment collection and/or a reconsideration of the facts of the existence of the overpayment; and

• How to request a waiver and a reconsideration;

• Except for Ellender class members in New York State, when the overpaid individual is not currently receiving SSI payments, but does receive Social Security benefits, the notice discusses the mandatory recovery from the individual’s title II benefits.

The determination of liability for repayment is part of the initial determination of overpayment. The notice of liability is implied in the Notice of Overpayment. If there is no representative payee or eligible spouse, a separate notice of liability is not required.

For information on determining liability for repayment when the overpaid individual is alive, see SI 02201.020.

For information on determining liability for repayment when the overpaid individual is deceased, see SI 02201.021.

D. References

• NL 00801.005 - Automated Overpayment Notice (AONS)

• SM 01310.300 - System Generated Notices Related to Overpayments

• SM 01311.451 - When to Send a Manual Overpayment Notice and How to Enter a Notice Date

• SI 02201.020 - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Overpayment: Who is Liable for Repayment? Living Overpaid Individual

• SI 02201.023 - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Overpayment Recovery From A Representative Payee

• SI 02201.021 - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Overpayment Liability: Overpaid Individual is Deceased

• SI 02220.005 - Documenting the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Overpayment

• SI 02220.010 - SSI Overpayment – Notifying the Individual