The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of property without due process of law.  An individual's interest in continuing to receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income benefits constitutes a statutorily created “property” interest. The Fifth Amendment protects that interest.

The Social Security Administration has long maintained a policy of protecting a beneficiary's right to constitutional due process before taking any adverse action affecting benefits. A series of Supreme Court decisions; e.g., Goldberg v. Kelly and Matthews v. Eldridge, have primarily governed the evolution of this policy and the operating procedures.

For additional guidance on due process requirements for processing first/third party reports for Title II, see GN 03001.000.