SSA - POMS: SI 02003.003 - Interim Assistance Reimbursement (IAR) Period

A. Determining the IAR period for initial claims

For initial applications and associated appeals, the IAR period:

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begins with the first month the recipient is eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments; and
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ends with (and includes) the month recurring monthly SSI payments begin.

B. Determining the IAR period for post-entitlement (PE) situations

For PE suspensions, terminations, and associated appeals, the IAR period:

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begins with the first day we suspend or terminate the recipient’s SSI payments; and
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ends with (and includes) the month we reinstate the recipient’s recurring monthly SSI payment.

C. Determining the months a state may be reimbursed by IAR

We reimburse the State for months in the interim assistance period as follows.

1. Initial applications and associated appeals

We reimburse the State:

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beginning with the first month the recipient is eligible to receive SSI benefits, and
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ending with (and including) the month the recurring monthly SSI payment begins.

2. Suspensions, terminations, and associated appeals

We reimburse the State:

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beginning with the first day we suspended or terminated and subsequently reinstated the recipient’s SSI benefits, and
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ending with (and including) the month the recurring monthly SSI payment begins.

3. Proration of benefits

The State:

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may recoup only the prorated interim assistance (IA) amount for any month in which we prorate the SSI payment;
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cannot recover the difference between the total IA amount and the prorated IA amount from any other month; and
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must use the same formula we use to prorate the SSI payment.

For more information about processing IAR reimbursements for claims with prorated SSI payments, see SI 02003.024.

4. Final interim assistance (IA) payment

The State may recoup the amount of the last IA payment if the State:

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prepared the last IA payment; and
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cannot stop delivery of the last payment to a recipient when the State received either a payment or a notice from us.

D. Determining the months a State will not receive reimbursement by IAR

We will not reimburse a State for any month:

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prior to the month the IAR period began;
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that does not include a dollar payment amount for both SSI and IA;
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after the release of the recipient’s first payment of retroactive SSI benefits (unless the exception applies in SI 02003.003C.4. in this section);
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after the release of the recipient’s first PE payment of retroactive SSI benefits (unless the exception applies in subsection SI 02003.003C.4. in this section); or,
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for any month not reported to us by the State.

E. IAR reimbursement when the claimant files more than one application

If an SSI case involves two or more separate applications, we can reimburse the State for each interim period when:

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a grant reimbursement (GR) code is on the earliest record;
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a separate IAR authorization is in the file for each of the applications; and
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we have not released an initial retroactive SSI payment to the State or the claimant for any part of the prior eligibility periods involved.

If after an SSI denial we determine that a claimant is eligible for SSI based on a subsequent application, we can reimburse the State when there is an IAR authorization in file for the subsequent claim. Reimbursement begins with the first day of the month of eligibility based on the subsequent application.

F. Paying IAR to the State

The policy for paying IAR to the State is as follows.

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We will withhold the first retroactive payment of SSI benefits and Federally-administered State supplementary payments due a recipient to reimburse the State for interim assistance (IA) the State paid while the recipient’s application for SSI benefits was pending or while the recipient’s SSI benefits were suspended or terminated.
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After we make the initial IAR payment to the State, we must pay the SSI recipient any additional retroactive amounts determined to be due the recipient following SSI payment rules. These amounts include amounts determined to be due the recipient because of computation errors, revised payment or eligibility determinations, or a final determination after partial payment pursuant to a court order. We refer to these payments as “corrective payments.”
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If we pay an incorrect payment to the IAR agency, we cannot correct the error by paying the difference to the IAR agency if there are no additional retroactive payments due the recipient. We cannot issue money from recurring payments to the IAR agency to resolve the error. However, the IAR agency can pursue reimbursement directly from the recipient.
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If the State receives too much IAR money from us, the State should return the excess amount to us for re-issuance to the recipient. When we do not know that the State sent the excess IAR money to us prior to the field office (FO) receiving the money, follow the instructions SI 02003.003G in this section.
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We will make an eligibility determination if an SSI applicant who authorized reimbursement to a State dies while their eligibility decision is pending. In addition, we will make an eligibility determination if the applicant disappears while their eligibility decision is pending.

See Details

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DI 23510.001 Cases Involving Death - Title II and Title XVI
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SI 00603.033 Preeffectuation Review Contact (PERC) Procedures - General
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SI 02101.001 SSI Underpayment Definitions and General Rules
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SI 02101.003 SSI Underpayment Due - Individual Deceased - General

G. State receives excess IAR money from us

When a State or State IAR agency receives excess IAR money from us, and we have no knowledge of the excess payment, the State must:

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refund the excess money to us; and
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provide information that ensures that we can credit the refund to the appropriate recipient’s SSI record.

In these situations, the State should not send the excess IAR payment to the recipient since we would not know that the State made a payment to the recipient. Without this information, the recipient’s SSI record will still show the incorrect IAR payment and the incorrect payment to the recipient. Also, the possibility exists that the State will send an amount of money that should be paid under the installment policy or to a dedicated account.

NOTE: Since the implementation of the electronic Interim Assistance Reimbursement (eIAR) application, we rarely have these types of excess reimbursements.

1. When the remittance instructions apply

The remittance instructions in this subsection apply only to excess IAR payments that the State recognizes on its own without our knowledge of the excess money (i.e., we first learn of the excess IAR payment when the State makes the refund to the FO).

2. When the remittance instructions do not apply

These instructions do not apply to all other, more commonly encountered, situations where the State has received excess IAR money, and we know about the excess money.

3. How the State submits IAR remittances to us

To submit IAR remittances to us, the State:

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sends the remittance check to our FO that services the recipient;
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records on the check the recipient’s social security number (SSN) and “excess IAR payment” as the reason for returning the money;
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attaches to the check, a cover note with the recipient’s name, SSN, the reason (excess IAR payment) for returning the IAR money, the agency name, the agency GR code, the address where we should send the receipt for the check(s) received, State contact information (e.g., staff contact, phone number, email address, fax number); and any other helpful information; and
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sends a separate remittance check and cover note for each recipient to the servicing FO of the affected recipients if the refund involves more than one SSI recipient.

NOTE: The Government Services Online (GSO) website provides instructions for State personnel in the “IAR State Handbook.” The instructions for State personnel similarly describe the process for submitting remittances for these types of excess IAR money cases.

4. How the FO processes the IAR remittance from the State

To process the IAR remittance from the State, the FO will take the following actions.

a.

Input the remittance into the Debt Management System (DMS) using the Field Office Remittance Input (RFOR) screen, input the reason code of “N,” generate the payment coupon, and send the refund to PC 2, the Mid-Atlantic Program Center (MATPC).
b.

Send a receipt for the remittance check to the address provided by the State.
c.

Control the case to make sure that we credit the State’s refund to the correct recipient’s record. When the MATPC does not verify FO remittances within 20 days, see instructions in GN 02403.050.
d.

Pay the recipient the refund money based on regular SSI payment rules (e.g., installment payment rules).

If an FO other than the servicing FO receives the check and cover sheet, the non-servicing FO should process the remittance following the instructions in this section.

See details

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GN 02403.003 The Field Office Remittance Input
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GN 02403.006 Processing Remittances Received in the Field Office (FO)

H. Reference

MS DMS 01103.001 Debt Management System Remittance Process - Overview, Common Fields

MS DMS 01103.006 Field Office Remittance Input (RFOR)

MS DMS 01103.009 Unverified FO Receipt Alert Listings

Social Security

Program Operations Manual System (POMS)

SI 02003.003 Interim Assistance Reimbursement (IAR) Period