To process nonreceipt of a paper check issued more than 12 months ago, follow these procedures

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  GN 02401.901 Limited Payability for Title II and Title XVI

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  SM 01315.151 How to Handle a Nonreceipt Claim for a Paper Check Issued More Than Twelve Months Ago

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  GN 02401.905 Beneficiary or Recipient Contacts SSA Concerning a Limited Payability Notice

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  SM 00545.300 Unnegotiated Check Events

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  SM 01315.085 Stages of the Limited Payability Process

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  SM 01315.095 Kinds of Unnegotiated Check Indicator (UCI) Codes

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  SM 00624.400 How the Returned Check Action (REACT) Program Processes Limited Payability Files

When an individual requests the status on an initial nonreceipt claim, attempt to respond immediately via phone call. If an immediate reply is not possible, make every effort to provide the information within one week. Do not refer the requestor to the Department of the Treasury (Treasury). This section provides instructions on how to conduct a follow-up on most checks.

When SSA did not issue a courtesy disbursement or replacement check:

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  Obtain a Payment History Update System (PHUS) query to confirm that the action on the original check was transmitted to Treasury and that the appropriate event (nonreceipt - 069) was created on PHUS.

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  Check to see if Treasury received the original nonreceipt action by reviewing the disposition code posted in either the interim disposition field (TDDC) or the final disposition field (TDSC) on the PHUS query for the nonreceipt in question.

  The TDDC field represents codes received from the Regional Financial Services (RFC) and the TDSC field represents codes received from Financial Management Service (FMS) in Philadelphia, PA. An entry in either field indicates the condition which caused the code to be generated and what action should be taken by the technician. For more information on Treasury disposition codes, see SM 00609.610B.

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  Take appropriate action based upon the disposition code. If the code indicates Processing Center (PC) action needed, the Field Office (FO) or Teleservice Center (TSC) will notify the PC via MDW for processing.

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  If reinput of the original nonreceipt was necessary, inform the beneficiary that the check should be received in 7 to 10 days.

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  Query the nonreceipt input in 4-9 days to ensure that it transmitted properly.

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  If the delay is causing a hardship or a public relations problem, see GN 02406.200D. for specific instructions.

The beneficiary/recipient may inquire for a second time concerning the status of the initial nonreceipt claim.

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  Obtain a PHUS to determine, based on Treasury disposition codes, whether the corrective action taken after the first inquiry transmitted properly.

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  If the nonreceipt input was transmitted properly and the courtesy disbursement, replacement check, or settlement check was issued but not received, follow instructions in GN 02406.200D to correct the specific problem. Follow this section also if the delay is causing a hardship or a public relations problem.

If queries indicate payment processed and was issued, make sure 10 calendar days have elapsed before considering nonreceipt. EXCEPTION: Mass Loss. See GN 02406.700.

FO/TSC:

PC:

If a claimant who has a history of abusing the nonreceipt reporting system alleges nonreceipt of a Title II courtesy disbursement or replacement check:

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  SM 00609.610 Treasury RFC and CSD Disposition Codes

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  GN 02406.700 General Information on Mass Loss of Checks and the Payment Delivery Alert System (PDAS)

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  GN 02408.020 Stop-Payments for Checks

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  GN 02401.910 Handwriting Analysis Needed on a Limited Payability Case

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  GN 02406.310 Request for Reconsideration of DCN Overpayment or Forgery Determination

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  GN 02406.150 When to Request Payment After Status – C-Stop – Normal and Dire Need Situations

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  RS 02801.010 Immediate Payment (IP) Criteria and Process

The TSC/FO must follow these procedures to resolve a nonreceipt of a title XVI courtesy disbursement or replacement check (type 9 payment):

When a known abuser of the nonreceipt reporting system alleges nonreceipt of the original check, a C-Stop is input to obtain status of the original check before a replacement (type 9 payment) is issued. Therefore, it may take 3-5 weeks for status of the original check to show on the Treasury status query for:

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  the replacement to be issued if the original was not cashed, and

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  the replacement check to be considered a nonreceipt.

IMPORTANT: The following instructions do NOT pertain to nonreceipt of a settlement check (check issued after Treasury determines original was cashed over a forged signature). For nonreceipt of a settlement check, see GN 02406.202.

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) generates Form FMS-1133 when the Social Security Administration (SSA) inputs a nonreceipt or stop payment request for Title II or Title XVI checks. The form contains questions the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee must complete in order to assist Treasury in determining if the check in question is forged.

If the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee does not receive the form from Treasury, access the Payment History Update System (PHUS) for Title II or the Treasury Status Query for Title XVI to ensure the appropriate stop code is input. If the appropriate stop code is input the field office (FO) or program service center (PSC) may do a one-time print of the FMS-1133 from the Treasury Check Information System (TCIS) and send it to the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee. Since the TSC Customer Service Representative cannot print from TCIS, they will send an MDW to the FO instructing them to print the form from TCIS.

If the form cannot be printed, the FO and TSC should contact the Regional Office through normal communication (vHelp); PSC personnel can contact their Operations Analysis Staff (OAS); or contact Treasury at 855-868-0151directly.

The FO, TSC or PC will immediately scan all pages of the form into the Evidence Portal, and forward the completed FMS-1133 claims package to Treasury for review.

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  Treasury makes a forgery determination when the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee files non-receipt timely and the check is 12 months or less.

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  Treasury makes a handwriting analysis determination when the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee’s non-receipt claim is not timely filed and the payment is over 12-months old (limited payability involved).

If a beneficiary, recipient or representative payee inquires about the status of a forgery or handwriting analysis determination, review TCIS or contact Treasury at 855-868-0151.

Treasury reviews the FMS-1133 package and provides a specific determination based on the age of the check.

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  A forgery determination occurs when the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee files a timely non-receipt and the age of the check is 12 months or less. If Treasury determines that a forgery is involved, their analysis staff will reclaim the funds from the financial institution and issue a payment to the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee. Treasury will also update TCIS with the repayment information. For more information on Forgery Determination, see GN 02406.310.

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  A handwriting analysis determination occurs when the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee’s non-receipt claim is not timely filed and the payment is over 12-months old Treasury cannot reclaim the money from the FI because of the age of the check. Treasury will inform the FO or PC of their determination and the technicians will take the appropriate action. For more information on Handwriting Analysis Determination, see GN 02401.901.

If the beneficiary, recipient or representative payee inquires about the status of a forgery or handwriting analysis investigation, the FO or PC will query TCIS or contact Treasury’s customer service staff at 855-868-0151 to obtain a status.

All technicians will query TCIS to check the status of the FMS-1133 claims package.

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  If sent, it will take five business days to receive the claims package.

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  If five business days have elapsed and no claims package received, contact Treasury’s customer service staff at 855-868-0151 and ask them to send another claims package.

1. a. 

   Query TCIS for status of the claims package or forgery claim.

2. b. 

   If query does not provide necessary information, contact Treasury at 855-868-0151 for assistance.

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  GN 02401.908 Description of Forms or Letters Used or Reviewed By the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) Questioned Documents Branch (QDB)

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  GN 02401.910 Handwriting Analysis and Checks Older than 12 Months

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  GN 02406.001 Glossary of Non-Receipt Terms

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  GN 02406.160B.2. When to Use Forms FMS-1133 and FMS-3858

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  SM 01315.132 How the SSI Nonreceipt/Stop Payment System Works

By keying in specific stop codes, the Social Security Administration (SSA) requests Treasury to either issue a courtesy disbursement check prior to obtaining status of the original check (B-stop) or investigate the status first and issue a replacement check if the original check is still uncashed (C-stop). Refer to GN 02406.125 for a description of the nonreceipt codes on POS screens for Title II inputs and their relationship to the stop codes used by SSA and Treasury.

The following description of these stop codes also explains the circumstances that may lead to a payment over cancellation (POC).

When Treasury cancels the original check, issues a courtesy disbursement check, and the original is later cashed, this is a possible payment over cancellation (POC), as well as a double check negotiation (DCN). For additional information on DCNs, see GN 02406.300.

The following events take place when this action occurs:

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  Treasury debits SSA when the original check was cashed after being replaced.

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  SSA's system posts a debit on PHUS for Title II and a “U” (credit reversal for either the original or replacement; dependent on the circumstances and timing of the Treasury transactions) in payflag 3 for Title XVI.

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  REACT generates an alert for the PC technician to input an F-Stop on the courtesy disbursement or replacement check.

  When Treasury's final disposition for the stop payment is posted to the PHUS record, REACT takes the appropriate action. If the courtesy disbursement or replacement check is uncashed, no further action is taken by REACT. If the check has been cashed, a DCN overpayment now exists and REACT establishes the overpayment on ROAR and the MBR.

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  If REACT cannot automate the notice, it will generate an alert for the PC technician to send an overpayment notice to the beneficiary about the DCN overpayment. The REACT alert will show a remark "BOUD NOTICE REQUIRED".

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  GN 02406.150 When to Request Payment after Status C-Stop - Normal and Dire Need Situations

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  GN 02406.235 Holder in Due Course (Theft, Loss or Destruction of Check After Negotiation by the Original Payee)

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  GN 02406.300 Original and Courtesy or Replacement Check Cashed – Double Check Negotiation (DCN) – Potential Overpayment

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  GN 02406.310 Request for Reconsideration of DCN Overpayment or Forgery Determination

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  GN 02406.700 General Information on Mass Loss of Checks and the Payment Delivery Alert System (PDAS)

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  SM 00609.610 Treasury RFC and CSD Disposition Codes

The FMS-1199 Form is a multi-purpose Regional Financial Center (RFC) document used to initiate the process of debiting the agency for incorrect credits and reversing credits for cancelled checks.

The following examples are scenarios of reasons the Processing Center’s (PC) may receive FMS-1199s:

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  When the RFC fails to locate the Courtesy Check Disbursement items although a check cancels, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issues a replacement check based on the nonreceipt procedures.

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  Treasury reverses erroneous cancelled check issuances and notifies the RFC responsible for the cancellation. The RFC prepares an FMS – 1199 form and submits it to the Debt Management Branch; the Accounting Technicians receives this information and completes the SF-224 Form (Statement of Transactions) for courtesy check disbursements.

There is a possibility that duplicate payments exist for items appearing on the FMS-1199 form. Treasury issues a replacement check when the original payment is cancelled. However, the PC may also issue another check for the original cancelled check.

PC personnel will send a photocopy of the Form FMS-1199 to the Customer Service Representatives (CSR), Benefit Earnings Technician (BET), or Development Support Examiner (DSE) for processing as follows:

1. 1. 

   Examine the beneficiary’s Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) and Payment History Update System (PHUS) records for indications of original check status such as “held,” “returned,” or “cancelled.” If any of these indications exist, annotate the MBR with the remark “VOID--FMS-1199 RECEIVED FOR CANCELLED CK--(MO/YR).”

   Any PC action resulting in a beneficiary’s held, returned, and cancelled check action is erroneous due to Treasury's reversal of the check cancellation (reflected by Form FMS-1199).

2. 2. 

   Submit cases with the erroneous actions to the Benefit Authorizer (BA), via Form SSA-559 (Transmittal Slip for Claims Folder), and indicate pertinent data. When incorrect actions are nonexistent, send the Paperless ACR to FIN.

The Division of Benefit Accounting and Systems Requirements (DBASR) compiles documents to include into the SF-224 for Agency Location Code 28-04-0004 SSI. They send copies of this form to Treasury Operations Branch (TOB) for review or processing. The analysts in TOB reviews the Supplemental Security Record (SSR) and the Treasury Status Query Control Record for check status information and any subsequent actions related to that payment month. After reviewing and collecting the information, TOB updates the SSR or initiates field contact for case resolution.

When nonreceipt is transmitted as a B-stop, “payment before status,” The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issues a courtesy disbursement check to replace the missing original check. A courtesy disbursement check is issued before the status of the original check is known and bears a different check number from the original check. The bottom of the check will also have a statement “Replaces check #12345678 dated MM/DD/YY.”

An A-stop for mass loss works the same way as a B-stop – payment before status, because SSA’s system changes it to a B before sending it to Treasury. Therefore, if the original check is cashed after a courtesy disbursement check is issued and cashed, a DCN will occur and Treasury will send out claims packages for both checks. DCNs in mass loss situations should be processed as any other DCN situation. See instructions below. If a C-stop (“payment after status”) is input and the original check has not been cashed, DT will issue a replacement check.

Although the beneficiary/recipient is advised not to cash both the original and courtesy disbursement, or replacement check, the original may be subsequently cashed and is a potential overpayment situation. This section explains what occurs when Treasury determines that the original and a courtesy disbursement or replacement check are cashed for the same benefit month.

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  Debit and credit information is posted to the PHUS, SSR, and the Treasury status query control record when the original check is cashed, and reflects each credit given or overpayment being charged to SSA. See SM 00545.295H.4. for debit and credit codes for Title II and SM 01315.200 for Title XVI.

A credit will usually be posted to PHUS, SSR, and ARS when Treasury has refunded money in stop payment cases.

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  SSA treats the courtesy disbursement or replacement check as an overpayment and initiates recovery action, and

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  SSA sends the claimant a notice of overpayment that explains the 60-day appeal period and the right to request reconsideration by SSA, waiver, personal conference, or a different rate of adjustment. It also explains that overpayment recovery will begin in 90 days unless a request for reconsideration is received.

IMPORTANT: Double check negotiations should NOT be waived as they indicate an intention to commit fraud by falsely stating that the check was not received. Similarly, the $1,000.00 waiver tolerance does not apply because the beneficiary or claimant is not “without fault.”

When the original and courtesy disbursement or replacement check are negotiated:

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  Treasury debits (charges) SSA for the amount of the original check. Any credit previously given SSA by Treasury based on a nonreceipt report is reversed. (See Payment Over Cancellation procedures in GN 02406.245; SM 00609.380 for DCN system processing.)

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  If the original check had not been cashed at the time of the initial report of nonreceipt, but is later negotiated, SSA treats the courtesy disbursement check as an overpayment. For Title XVI, the system automatically creates an F-stop (nonentitlement) to determine the status of the replacement check before posting an overpayment.

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  For Title II, Treasury forwards the claims package (FMS-3858, FMS-1133, and photocopy of original check) to the PC for action.

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  For Title XVI, Treasury sends the claims package (described above) to the Division of Benefit Certification and Systems Analysis (DBCSA) in Central Office. DBCSA then forwards it to the FO of jurisdiction as shown on the FMS-3858 for action (see GN 02406.300D.1.).

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  SM 00630.210 Event 010 DUP CHECK

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  SM 00545.295 Nonreceipt, Stop-Payment, and Photocopy Events

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  SM 01315.200 How to Respond to Treasury Process Messages

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  SM 00609.380 Double Check Negotiation (DCN) Process

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  GN 02406.245 Payment Over Cancellation (POC)/Credit Reversal

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  GN 02210.000 Methods of Recovery for Title II, Title VIII, Title XVI, and Title XVIII Overpayments - Part I

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  GN 02301.001 Definition of an Underpayment

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  GN 02201.013 Administrative Tolerances Title II Overpayments

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  GN 02301.030 Title II Underpaid Beneficiary is Deceased – Statutory Order of Payment and Good Acquittance