Effective Dates: 3/21/2025 - Present

Identification Number:
GN 02408 TN 89
Intended Audience:See Transmittal Sheet
Originating Office:DCBFM OFPO
Title:Stop Payments and Reclamations
Type:POMS Full Transmittals
Program:All Programs
Link To Reference:
 

PROGRAM OPERATIONS MANUAL SYSTEM

Part GN – General

Chapter 024 – Checks

Subchapter 08 – Stop Payments and Reclamations

Transmittal No. 89, 03/21/2025

Audience

PSC: BA, CCRE, CS, DS, IES, ILPDS, IPDS, PETE, RECONR, SCPS, TSA, TST;
OCO-OEIO: BIES, BTE, CCRE, CR, FCR, PETL, RECOVR;
OCO-ODO: BTE, CCE, CR, CST, CTE, CTE TE, DSE, PAS, PETE, PETL, RCOVTA, RECOVR;
FO/TSC: CS, CS TII, CS TXVI, CSR, CTE, FR, OA, OS, RR, TA, TSC-CSR;

Originating Component

OFPO

Effective Date

Upon Receipt

Background

International Direct Deposit (IDD) service is a joint effort between our agency and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC). The policies in this control are part of the three year cycle review conducted by OFPO.

 

Summary of Changes

GN 02408.940 Refund to SSA While International Direct Deposit (IDD) Reclamation Is Pending at a Foreign Bank

We provided the full definition of NPCE before the acronym to follow plain language guidelines.

 

GN 02408.945 Partial Recovery or No Recovery of International Direct Deposit (IDD) Payments

Subsection A, we replaced the DT acronym with Treasury for accuracy and consistency.

 

GN 02408.950 Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) Reflects an Entitled Survivor on the Deceased International Direct Deposit (IDD) Beneficiary's Record

We made the statement to always include the claim number as a NOTE and we placed it at the end of the instructions.

 

 

GN 02408.940 Refund to SSA While International Direct Deposit (IDD) Reclamation Is Pending at a Foreign Bank

If someone other than the financial institution (FI) refunds the incorrect payment amount directly to the Social Security Administration (SSA) while a reclamation request is pending at the FI, then the component that sent the reclamation letter advises the foreign bank to abandon its reclamation efforts.

When someone refunds an incorrect payment directly to SSA, after the Office of Earnings and International Operations (OEIO) has sent the National Payment Center Of Excellence (NPCE) a request for reclamation, OEIO notifies NPCE. NPCE then notifies the FI that the money has been returned, and cancels the diary.

CAUTION: If both the FI and the other party send back the money to SSA, follow the instructions for Dual Recovery in GN 02408.720.

GN 02408.945 Partial Recovery or No Recovery of International Direct Deposit (IDD) Payments

A. Process for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) after partial recovery

If the reclamation request results in a partial recovery, FRBNY compares the returned payments with the amounts sent to the beneficiaries. For payments that were converted to local currency and returned in local currency, FRBNY converts the amounts to U.S. dollars. If this is a partial payment return, FRBNY uses a pseudo trace number to return the amount and notifies the Office of Earnings and International Operations (OEIO) of the return. FRBNY forwards all returned payments and partial payments to SSA through the Department of the Treasury (Treasury).

B. Process for FRBNY after no recovery

If the financial institution (FI) does not respond, or if FRBNY does not receive the money, FRBNY:

  • •

    Notifies OEIO that the case is closed; and

  • •

    Forwards to OEIO any information from the FI regarding the estate or survivors.

C. Process for OEIO after partial recovery

If the reclamation request results in partial recovery, OEIO takes the following actions.

1. Partial payment return

If the returned amount includes an amount that is less than a full payment amount, OEIO does the following.

  • •

    Enters information regarding the returned partial payment amount on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR)/Payment History Update System (PHUS) record, using the information provided by FRBNY. IMPORTANT: If OEIO does not enter the partial return, it will not show on the record, and later diaries may cause OEIO to request reclamation of the same funds.

  • •

    Places this message on the MBR: “FRBNY closed reclamation (date).”

2. Remaining incorrect payment less than tolerance

If the remaining incorrect payment amount is less than $30, OEIO processes any manual return resulting from the partial refund, and takes no further action.

3. Remaining incorrect payment exceeds tolerance

If the remaining incorrect payment amount is $30 or more, OEIO:

  • •

    Places this message on the MBR: “FRBNY closed reclamation (date).”

  • •

    Processes any manual return and determines whether there is an entitled survivor who did not share the same direct deposit arrangements.

  • •

    Sends a letter to the highest ranking beneficiary on the record. The letter should contain language similar to that included in GN 02408.950.

  • •

    Diaries the case for 60 days. If they receive no refund, they take similar actions with other entitled beneficiaries on the record, in descending order.

D. Process for OEIO after no recovery

If no refund is forthcoming from entitled survivors (or if there are no entitled survivors), OEIO does the following:

  • •

    Places this message on the MBR: “FRBNY closed reclamation case (date)”;

  • •

    Sends a letter requesting refund to the last known residence address of the deceased beneficiary, addressed to the "Executor of the Estate of (name of the beneficiary)." When the letter is directed to the Executor of the Estate, OEIO eliminates paragraph 4 from the sample letter in GN 02408.950;

  • •

    Diaries for 30 days;

  • •

    Suspends further recovery efforts if the letter is returned as undeliverable; and

  • •

    Deletes the overpayment from the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) and reduces the overpayment amount on ROAR to zero.

GN 02408.950 Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) Reflects an Entitled Survivor on the Deceased International Direct Deposit (IDD) Beneficiary's Record

When the MBR reflects an entitled survivor on the deceased IDD beneficiary's account, the Office of Earnings and International Operations (OEIO) prepares a letter requesting a refund of the incorrect payment. The language is patterned after the following:

"We're writing to give you new information about the Social Security benefits on the record.

“We paid ($ amount) too much in benefits. This overpayment happened because we deposited (name of deceased, possessive) benefits for (date) through (date) into a bank account in (country). These payments were incorrect because we can not pay benefits to (name of deceased) for the month of death, (month and year of death), or later.

“You should refund this overpayment within 30 days. Please make your check or money order payable to Social Security Administration, and send it to us in the enclosed envelope. On the check or money order, always include the claim number.

“If we do not receive your refund within 30 days, we plan to recover the overpayment by withholding your full benefit each month, beginning with the payment you would normally receive on or about (date). We will continue to withhold your benefits until the overpayment has been fully recovered.”

(Follow the above information with standard appeal language.)

NOTE: 

Always include the claim number.


GN 02408 TN 89 - Stop Payments and Reclamations - 3/21/2025