TN 6 (12-93)

A. Policy

1. When required

An advance notice is used to:

1. Inform a person of a planned action to terminate, suspend, or reduce benefits, and explain the reason for the action;

2. Advise a beneficiary of the consequences of continuing to fail to provide SSA with needed information;

3. Inform entitled beneficiaries when entitlement of a new beneficiary will adversely affect their benefits;

4. Give a beneficiary and/or representative payee a chance to dispute the validity of a third party report (See GN 03001.015); or,

5. Notify the beneficiary (or the person authorized to act on his/her behalf) before an initial or subsequent representative payee is appointed. (See NL 00601.100.)

Details concerning the situations that require advance notices can be found in GN 03001.005, DI 13010.185, GN 01010.310, and GN 00503.100.

EXCEPTION: Advance notice is not required for beneficiaries living in foreign countries (see GN 00503.130 and GN 00505.044.). Also, in certain situations, an advance notice is not sent to a parent (See GN 00503.100E.2.).

2. Required content

An advance notice must:

• Summarize the evidence used to make the determination to terminate, suspend, or reduce benefits.

• In representative payee cases, include appeal rights (GN 00503.100).

• Inform the beneficiary and/or representative payee that he/she has a certain number of days from the date of the notice in which to respond and present any information to rebut the evidence used before the action is taken.

• In most cases the time frame is 10 days but the FO or PC waits 15 days before taking action to allow for variations in mail delivery.

• In cases involving potential suspension or termination based on information obtained through matching of State or other Federal agency records against SSA records, the timeframe is 30 days. The FO or PC generally waits an additional number of days before taking action to allow for variations in mail delivery.

• In adverse claims, where entitlement of a new beneficiary will cause termination of the present beneficiary the time frame is 30 days. (See GN 01010.325.)

• In foreign cases the time frame is 30 days but OIO waits 45 days.

• Refer the individual to any FO for assistance. Samples for adverse disability determinations are shown in DI 13010.185 and DI 27525.005. Exhibit letters for several advance notice situations are in NL 00703.120.

B. Procedure

Send a copy of the notice to the beneficiary. Folder documentation is not necessary for notices that are available on the Online Retrieval System (ORS).