Social Security

A. Purpose

The purpose of this emergency message (EM) is to inform technicians of a new verification requirement for financial institution (FI) accounts and Access to Financial Institutions (AFI). The new policy applies to all SSI Aged 65+ (SSIAI) allowances, including SSIAI claims that require a disability or blindness determination (multicategory eligibility), aged spouse claims, SSIAI initial claim reopenings, and initial claim appeal reversals processed on or after 8/1/2025. We expect to expand the scope of this new policy beyond SSIAI allowances, which serve as a starting point given the relatively low number of cases.

AFI verification in SSIAI claim allowances is now required regardless of the claimant’s liquid resource or FI account ownership allegations.

For all non-SSIAI claims and workloads involving resource verification, technicians must continue to follow current policies in SI 01140.010 and SI 01140.206 to request AFI verifications and apply the $400 liquid resource tolerance, when applicable.

B. Background

AFI improves our efficiency in obtaining evidence related to FI accounts in claims and post eligibility workloads. AFI also reduces SSI payment errors and improper payments related to financial account balances and undisclosed accounts. We generally request AFI verifications when an individual alleges $400 or more in liquid resources during initial claims, redeterminations, and limited issues. However, for redeterminations and limited issues in which a resource-related diary is present, we request AFI verification without regard to the liquid resource verification tolerance.

C. Field office instructions for the new FI account verification requirement in SSI Aged 65+ claims

1. Verify FI accounts using AFI.




Effective 8/1/2025, when processing SSIAI claims with at least one month of potential eligibility:




· request AFI verification prior to adjudication and payment of the allowance, and




· verify FI accounts using AFI regardless of the claimant’s liquid resource or FI account ownership allegations.





To request FI account information, follow AFI procedures in:




· SI 01140.206E for electronic cases; or




· SI 01140.206F for non-SSI Claims system cases.





Requests must include all alleged FI accounts (if applicable), a geographic search, and applicable relationship-related searches. To minimize processing delays, initiate verification requests as early as possible in the application process once there is a reasonable expectation that the claim will be approved. Do not delay adjudication of claims if the only outstanding AFI responses are for Sub-Requests or geographic searches (SI 01140.206H.1).




Note: Do not verify FI accounts for technical denials.





2. Determine whether verification of other liquid resources is needed, given results of FI verification.




The $400 liquid resource verification tolerance described in SI 01140.010B.2.a and SI 01140.010C may still apply to all other types of liquid resources if:




· the claimant alleges liquid resources below the $400 tolerance; and




· the FI account verification corroborates that allegation (i.e., AFI verification combined with alleged values of other resources do not exceed the $400 threshold in any month subject to verification.)





If FI account verification indicates liquid resources are over the $400 tolerance, verify liquid resources according to SI 01140.010B.1.




Example: During an initial claim for an aged individual, the SSI applicant alleges they have $20 in a checking account, and a $100 Certificate of Deposit (CD). The total liquid resource allegation is $120. Under the new bank account verification rules, the CS must run AFI to verify the bank balances, since it is now required in all aged claims. The AFI response verifies the checking account balance was $19, and no other accounts were found. After considering the verified bank balance, liquid resources are valued at $119 ($19 in the checking account and $100 CD) and still under the $400 tolerance. Therefore, the CS does not need to verify the Certificate of Deposit value.




If the AFI verification showed $350 instead of $19, the CS would need to verify the Certificate of Deposit. Liquid resources would be valued at $450 ($350 in the checking account and $100 Certificate of Deposit) and the $400 liquid resource verification tolerance no longer applies.





3. FI account verification reminders:









· Financial Permission: Obtain the claimant’s (and, as appliable, deemor’s) financial permission before verifying FI account balance information, following SI 00515.001.




· Alternative verifications: After requesting AFI, if a claimant provides alternative documentation of all alleged account balances for the entire verification period, do not delay adjudication of the claim.










Use the “received alternative documentation” checkbox on the eAFI subsystem “View Request” screen to clear the SSI Claims system edit. Process any eAFI or e4641 responses received post-adjudicatively as a stand-alone post-eligibility event. See SI 01140.200C.3 for acceptable alternative evidence.