Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices may only collect cash to repay
programmatic overpayments, conserved funds, gifts to the Social Security Trust Funds,
Medicare premiums and overpayments, or misapplied funds, when either of the following
exceptions exist:
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•
Customers who do not have access to a bank account, credit card, or government issued
ID
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•
Situations where obtaining a money order would cause additional hardship for the
individual including those with a disability
SSA field offices will not accept cash to pay non-program standard fees for services.
For more information on standard fees, see GN 02403.012.
Convert all cash remittances received in the FO to money orders or cashier's checks
and then forward for deposit to the Mid Atlantic Program Service Center (MATPSC) or
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The conversion of the cash remittance
to a money order, must occur within 1 business day from when the FO received the cash
remittance. FO management will decide who purchases the money orders, though typically
it is the remittance clerk. When exchanging cash from one FO employee to another,
a cash log must be completed. A facsimile of a cash log is shown in GN 02403.010B, that you should reproduce locally. You do not need to prepare a cash log if you
did not receive cash. While SSA prefers non-cash remittances, you must accept cash
remittances.
For information on completing the cash log, see GN 02403.010.
NOTE: You must convert foreign cash to money orders in U.S. dollars prior to sending
to MATPSC or CMS. For information on how to handle foreign currency, see GN 02403.005D.
IMPORTANT: Cash remittances, or the subsequently obtained money order or cashier’s
check, should not be processed through the Social Security Electronic Remittance System
(SERS). Processing through SERS and the Debt Management System (DMS) causes duplication
of the remittance transaction and causes unverified remittances.