When an individual requests a waiver, we review the information that the individual,
their representative payee, or their attorney or other representative gives to us
to support the individual's waiver request. If we cannot approve the waiver after
our initial review, we must offer the individual an opportunity to review their case
file and appear at a personal conference with an independent decisionmaker.
The independent decisionmaker must be a neutral party who independently reviews the
case. A technician who participated in the initial waiver review and made the preliminary
recommendation not to approve the waiver cannot be the personal conference decisionmaker.
For more information on who may be a personal conference decisionmaker, refer to GN 02270.003C.
We must notify the individual in writing of our proposal to deny the waiver request
and schedule a file review and personal conference. We cannot take any recovery actions
until the individual has had an opportunity for a personal conference.
For more information on scheduling the file review and personal conference, refer
to GN 02270.007
NOTE: We do not need to schedule a file review or personal conference if the independent
decisionmaker can approve the waiver based on the evidence in file.
NOTE: If we are unable to locate information about the overpayment, the independent decisionmaker
must find the overpaid individual not at fault and approve the waiver under the against
equity and good conscience provision, refer to GN 02250.011