Direct payment of an authorized fee from past-due benefits, including the calculation and deduction of the assessment, is fully automated in most Title XVI only and concurrent Titles II and XVI fee agreement cases. In addition, the Supplemental Security Record (SSR) automatically passes the fee and assessment information to the Single Payment System (SPS).

The direct payment of an authorized fee is not generally not fully automated when:

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  there are multiple representatives,

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  it is necessary to manually calculate the fee to authorize,

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  there is a prior period overpayment, or

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  the issue pertains to post-eligibility (e.g., disability cessation).

In these situations, it is necessary to manually calculate the assessment and then use the A-OTP process to pay the authorized fee directly to the claimant's representative or entity (see MS 00303.025).

In concurrent Titles II and XVI cases that are not automated, it is necessary to query the SPS (SSA Main Menu, item 27) to determine the assessment amount that we have already deducted from the fee amount(s) paid directly to the representative or entity from the Title II past-due benefits, as well as the Title II authorized fee, to ensure that the total assessment does not exceed the flat rate cap based on the annual cost of living adjustment. See GN 03920.019 for the dollar amount of the flat-rate assessment cap.

Refer to SM 01901.950, One Time Payment (OTP) Processing for Direct Payment for Manual Fee Agreements and Fee Petitions for Appointed Representatives, and MS 00303.025, One-Time Payment Fees (UPOF) for information on the A-OTP process to pay the authorized fee.