This section assists technicians in handling inquiries received from the public about Online Bill Pay. Online bill pay is offered free of charge by many banks, credit unions, and bill-pay services to transmit payments electronically. Individuals who have an active overpayment in Recovery and Collection of Overpayment Process (RECOOP), will receive a RECOOP billing notice with language that includes a newly created Remittance ID and an updated Payment Stub that provides repayment methods.

 

 

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  What happens when individuals cannot find the “Social Security Administration” option through their financial institution’s online bill pay tool?

Inform individuals to contact their financial institution.

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  What happens if a financial institution does not offer the option for “Social Security Administration”?

Provide individuals with the option to use Pay.gov to repay their programmatic overpayments electronically. (See GN 02220.100)

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  Why did my payment return after I successfully paid SSA?

 

SSA returns funds if we cannot identify the account number as a valid Remittance ID. Advise individuals to update their account number to their most recent Remittance ID and use the correct payee name: Social Security Administration.

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  For all other inquiries, advise individuals to contact their financial institution.

 

 

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  Do individuals have to enter the correct Remittance ID?

Yes, in order for individuals to use online bill pay, they must enter the correct Remittance ID. If the Remittance ID is entered into the financial institution’s online bill pay service incorrectly, the payment may be applied to the wrong SSA record or returned to the remitter.

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  How will the payment be displayed on the ROAR and SSR?

Online bill pay transactions will appear on the record (SSR or MBR) with an OLBP code for identification in the ADN field of the SSR and the DTN field of the MBR/ROAR.

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  What happens if the debtor claims to have repaid, but the payment is not posted?

Refer individuals to their financial institution’s customer service team.

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  Can the debtor use the same remittance ID?

For recurring payments to the same debt, the remittance ID can be re-used. If a new debt or multiple debts are involved (ex. TII and TXVI), a different ‘payee’ should be established by individuals using the corresponding remittance ID for each debt.

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  What happens if we do not match remittance IDs?

Funds will be returned to the individual’s bank account back through the online bill pay system.

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  What happens if the debtor picked the wrong payee when they searched for payees?

SSA cannot take an action to correct this payment error. Refer individuals to their financial institution’s customer service team.

 

 

GN 02220.400 Online Bill Pay for Programmatic Overpayments