We are required to charge an assessment, also called a “user fee” or “service charge,” when making a direct fee payment to an eligible representative, or an eligible entity if there is a valid assignment (see GN 03920.021). The Social Security Protection Act of 2004 provided for:

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  capping the assessment at a flat-rate dollar amount or at 6.3 percent of the fee payment, whichever is lower; and

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  adjusting the flat-rate cap based on annual cost-of-living adjustments rounded down to the next lower $1.

For information on processing the assessment in Title II cases and for guidance on calculating an assessment in special situations, such as when there is more than one representative, see GN 03930.066.

The claims specialist (CS) is responsible for calculating the assessment and coding the assessment on the Supplemental Security Record (SSR) through the automated one-time payment (A-OTP) process. The assessment is a flat rate cap based on the cost-of-living adjustment or 6.3 percent of the fee payment, whichever is lower.

The procedures in GN 03930.032 identify when to apply the assessment. When we make direct payment from the claimant’s and the claimant’s eligible spouse’s past-due benefits to pay the representative’s fee, the total assessment deducted from both cannot exceed the flat rate cap based on the cost-of-living adjustment.

The maximum assessment we will deduct from fees paid directly from Title II and Title XVI past-due benefits is the flat rate cap based on the cost-of-living adjustment. When the CS makes direct payment from Title XVI withheld past-due benefits, the CS will query the Single Payment System (SPS) to determine the amount of the assessment deducted from the Title II direct payment amount.

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  If we deducted the flat rate cap based on the cost-of-living adjustment, the CS will not deduct an assessment from the portion of the fee payable from the withheld Title XVI past-due benefits.

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  If we deducted less than the flat rate cap based on the cost-of-living adjustment, the CS will deduct 6.3 percent of the amount payable, up to a maximum of the difference between the flat rate cap based on the cost-of-living adjustment and the assessment we have already collected.

To determine the assessment deducted from the Title II direct payment amount:

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  Select number 27 on the SSA Main menu in PCOM.

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  Select number 1 – SPS, on the Payments Outside Title II System (POTS) screen.

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  On the Single Payment System Menu (SPSM) screen enter the claimant's social security number and select #1-Attorney Fee Payment to access the screen with the direct fee payment and assessment deducted amounts.

(See SM 00834.000, Single Payment System.)