Beginning September 8, 1995, field offices (FOs) must adjudicate the Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) claim before authorizing payment of the retroactive Title II
benefits in concurrent Title II/XVI claims. In addition to initial claims, these instructions
apply to hearings and reconsiderations as well, where neither Title has been previously
adjudicated. This ensures that the Title II benefits, when great enough to cause ineligibility
for an offset month if paid first, will not cause ineligibility. As a result, SSI
claims that previously would not have been paid now will be, although only for the
retroactive period.
Full development of these additional SSI allowances would significantly increase FO
workloads. However, since any SSI benefits paid for an offset month will be reimbursed
from the Retirement and Survivors Disability Insurance (RSDI) Trust Funds, with no
effect on total Trust Fund expenditures, full development is not necessary to safeguard
the integrity of the General Revenues or the Trust Funds in certain cases as explained
in B. below. For this reason, adjudicators will have the authority to forego full
development under certain conditions, intended primarily to minimize the risk of Medicaid
coverage based on an incorrect SSI allowance.