The MBR contains current information about any benefit changes. Interpreting this information is essential when interviewing beneficiaries in problem situations. Review fields such as payment cycle indicator (PCI), special messages, recent changes in direct deposit data or address and transaction data, so you have a clear picture of what is happening on the record. Before processing an immediate payment, examine any CPS data to determine whether a prior immediate payment was issued to the beneficiary less than 30 days ago. (At least 30 days must elapse between immediate payments.) The STATUS line of the MBR indicates whether CPS is involved. If the CPS record is not appended to the MBR (i.e., the CPS record is archived), see SM 00635.605 for instructions about obtaining a CPR.

Always obtain a current online account query (FACT - see SM 00510.010) before taking any critical payment action. Request the entire record rather than a particular beneficiary. If a beneficiary has a record on more than one SSN, query all records.

If the MBR query results in a NIF response, check for information on MDW and PCACS or the Evidence Portal (EP) before deciding to process the action via CPS or Critical Case Request.

Check PCACS or EP for all disability cases when the number holder is age 54 or older regardless of the PCOC designation on the MBR. The majority of disability claims are transferred when the number holder attains age 54; however, if action is pending in ODO, the claims folder will not be transferred until action has been completed. PCACS or EP indicate whether the claim is still in ODO. PCACS or EP also indicate whether a claim is in OIO. (See MSOM PCACS 001.001 for instructions about accessing PCACS.)

PHUS data are often helpful in resolving critical issues because PHUS contains valuable information about the status of prior nonreceipt input, actual payment dates and amounts, etc. See SM 00545.001 ff. for instructions about obtaining and interpreting PHUS queries.