SSA - POMS: DI 13010.675 - The Verify/Update Earnings (VERN) Screen

A. When to use the VERN screen

Use the VERN screen to document earnings, work incentives, and Title II work issue determinations in the Disability Control File (DCF). In addition, the Office of Central Operations (OCO), Center for Security and Integrity (CSI) use the VERN screen to suspend payments during the trial work period (TWP) after conviction by a Federal court for fraudulently concealing work activity (see DI 13010.035D).

If you use eWork to process Title II work issue determinations, most inputs to the VERN screen are automated. If you cannot use eWork, or you need to input entries manually to resolve edits, follow the procedures outlined in the above.

B. How to get to the VERN screen

From the SSA MAIN screen, select option 32, then:

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Select option 13, Verify/Update Earnings, from the Continuing Disability Review Selection Menu (MCDR) screen; select a claim from the Entitlement Selection (ESEL) screen; and
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Enter past the Entitlement Summary (ESUM) screen, to the VERN screen; or
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Select 11, Ticket to Work, from the MCDR screen. From the Ticket Submenu (TMEN) screen, select option 4. Enter through the ESEL and ESUM screens prior to receiving the VERN screen.

C. How to read and complete the VERN screen

Each VERN screen contains information for one month, beginning with the first month requested from the MCDR screen. When you complete inputs for the month: use thePF8 function key, or, the REPEAT indicator option to access the VERN screen for the next month. The REPEAT function copies work information entered on the current screen to the next VERN screen.

VERN screens are in a sequence for a maximum of 48 months. When all necessary screens are completed, hit ENTER to return to the MCDR screen to save your entries.

Refer to MSOM CDR 002.002 for a complete description of the input and display fields.

D. Field descriptions

The following are display fields on the VERN:

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DCF ID, CAN, UNIT, and NAME: are pre-filled.
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TWP CMPL DATE: Provides the last month of the TWP. The data only propagate if all months within the TWP are documented within the VERN screens as “verified”.
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CUR ENT: Indicates whether the individual’s benefits are under Title II, Title XVI, or are concurrently under both Title II and Title XVI.
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DATE: Provides the requested month and year of the associated earnings information.
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ALLEGED: Provides posted alleged earnings (unverified) input by the Ticket to Work Program Manager. The OCO/PSC/FO staff does not use this field.

All Title XVI earnings information fields on the bottom of the screen are for display only. Verified Title XVI earnings information propagates from earnings and work incentive information which you input to the Supplemental Security Record (SSR).

E. Input fields

1. Earnings information

Document Title II earnings, work incentives, and work issue determination information in the following fields:

NOTE: Negative inputs to the earnings and work incentive fields are not accepted.

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GROSS: Gross wages from employment.
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NET SE: Net earnings from self-employment field.
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VRFD: Possible entries are Y (verified), N (not verified), and F (fraud).
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  N - The default value indicating earnings are not verified.
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  Y - Input Y if earnings information is verified or if no further development is necessary (e.g. verified Title XVI earnings from the SSR are used as Title II verification, or, enough information is available to average earnings without further development).
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  F - Input F to suspend payments for TWP months if the beneficiary has been convicted by a Federal court of fraudulently concealing work activity-see DI 13010.037 for detailed instructions. (NOTE: Only OCO, CSI should initiate or change an input of “F” in the DCF.)

Other possible invalid entries are: C (conversion) and Q (questionable). These values represent conversion TWP data taken from the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR). Both entries represent verified data but are not valid entries.

IMPORTANT: Verify all earnings information that you input to the VERN screen as the result of a final work issue determination. For procedures on the verification of earnings, see DI 10505.005C.

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SE HOURS: Self- employment hours. Input the number of hours worked in self employment during the month.
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AMOUNT NOT COUNTED: Input the amount of any applicable work incentives. May only be used if earnings information is present in the GROSS or NET SE fields.
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TYPE: Type of work incentive information input in AMOUNT NOT COUNTED fields. Possible entries are:
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  WE- Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE). The amount of IRWE displayed in the AMOUNT NOT COUNTED field is deducted from the GROSS field if present, and from the NET SE field if there is no entry in the GROSS field.
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  SB- Subsidy (Title II only): The amount of subsidy displayed in the AMOUNT NOT COUNTED field is deducted from the GROSS field only.
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  SC- Special Conditions (Title II only): The amount of subsidy displayed in the AMOUNT NOT COUNTED field is deducted from the GROSS field only.
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  BE (Un-incurred Business Expenses): The amount of the unincurred business expenses displayed in the AMOUNT NOT COUNTED field is deducted from the NET SE field only.

Plan to achieve Self-Support (PASS) and SI (Student Earned Income Exclusion) are applicable only to Title XVI. You can view them as “TYPE codes for Title XVI earnings information” on the VERN screen, but are not valid input entries.

WORK DET: Work issue determination information. Possible entries are:

CODE	MEANING	RELEATED POMS REFERENCE
1-9	The designated TWP month	DI 13010.060
S	SGA month and for months of the grace period	DI 10505.010
N	Non-SGA month	DI 10505.015
U	Unsuccessful Work Attempts	DI 24005.001
O	Non-service month during the TWP	DI 13010.060
E	Expired TWP months; TWP completed (outside of the designated rolling 60-month period)	DI 13010.060B
I	Non-SGA during the IRP for EXR cases	DI 13050.066; DI 13050.067
W	SGA during the IRP for EXR cases	DI 13050.035C.3
X	Non-payment months during the IRP	DI 13050.066A

NET EARNINGS and TOTAL fields are not input fields. They display the countable earnings after deduction as calculated by the gross earnings and work incentive information input on the VERN screen.

a. Suspension of TWP months after fraud conviction

The FRAUD DECISION DATE field, along with the VRFD field input of “F”, is used by OCO/Center for Security and Integrity (CSI) to suspend benefits during the TWP for beneficiaries who are convicted by a Federal court of fraudulently concealing their work activity. See DI 13010.037 for detailed instructions.

NOTE: Do not over-key the “F” without proper documentation that the fraud conviction has been amended or reversed on appeal by the court. The input of “F” in the VRFD field effectuates a suspension action.

2. Rules for input of TWP months

The VERN screen contains edits to help ensure the integrity of the earnings information. Most earnings input edits pertain to the TWP. Rules for input of TWP months are:

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TWP months must be in sequence.
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Duplicate TWP months are not allowed.
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Months one through nine must be within 60 months if the TWP was completed in or after 01/92.
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WORK DET code of “E” cannot be input for any month in or after TWP CMPL DATE
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WORK DET codes of one through nine cannot be input for any month outside of the period of disability.
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TWP months must be associated with GROSS or NET SE earnings entries or SE HRS above the appropriate TWP level.
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You cannot input entries in the AMOUNT NOT COUNTED and TYPE fields during the TWP.

F. How to avoid edits

While eWork automates most inputs to the VERN screen, if incorrect TWP data is already present in the DCF, the automated input will fail. To avoid edits, follow these steps:

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Review all DCF postings prior to effectuation.
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If all postings appear correct, and none of the edit conditions listed above are present, select “No” on pop-up question within eWork to erase all postings and proceed with effectuation.
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If any of the edit conditions are present in the current review period, select “Yes” on the pop-up question to erase all postings and proceed with effectuation.
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If any of the edit conditions are present in the prior review period, correct them manually prior to effectuation. Follow the steps outlined below to correct TWP entries:
1. 1.
  
  Review the edits on the QERN screen via the ESEL and ESUM screens to determine where the error is. If you received an edit, use the edit messages to help you determine where the problem lies.
2. 2.
  
  Ensure correct postings by obtaining information from the prior TWP determination. Review queries, eWork, prior MRTW and PC CDR Determinations, or notices stored within ORS.
3. 3.
  
  Delete or over key the months that need correction by using PF7 and PF8 to navigate through the series of months.
4. 4.
  
  Use the ENTER key only when all corrections are completed.

G. Edits for fraud conditions

Edit conditions are also present for input of fraud information to suspend benefits during the TWP, see DI 13010.035. In addition to the edit conditions listed above for TWP months, use of the “F” VRFD indicator must meet the following conditions:

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All months must be in or after 03/2004 and before the date in the FRAUD DECISION DATE field
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An entry must be present in the FRAUD DECISION DATE field for each TWP fraud month.
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The “F” indicator in the VRFD field must be for a TWP month.
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The “F” indicator must be input with a WORK DET code of one through nine.

H. Title XVI cases

The final section of the VERN screen displays Title XVI earnings and work incentive information. It includes the same fields as the Title II section. The verified earnings and applicable SSI work incentive information input to the SSR automatically propagates to the DCF. The information is display only. If the information is not correct, correct it via an EN field input to the SSR (see SM 01305.101B). Document the reasons for differences in Title II and Title XVI countable earnings on the CDR REMARKS INPUT SCREEN (IRMK) (see MSOM CDR 001.009 and DI 13010.630) if the reason is not apparent. Documentation is not necessary if the sole reason is due to the difference is the result of paid vs. earned.

Social Security

Program Operations Manual System (POMS)

DI 13010.675 The Verify/Update Earnings (VERN) Screen