Fiscal Service sends a series of letters to the debtors telling them about the planned
offset of their Social Security benefits. As explained above, Fiscal Service sends
a 60-day warning letter, a 30-day warning letter, and an offset notice.
The purpose of the warning letters is to give the debtor adequate advance warning
about the possible offset, and provide them with the opportunity to settle the debt
with the creditor agency. The offset letter tells the debtor that the Social Security
benefit was reduced as payment toward a debt they owe to another agency.
In addition, the Fiscal Service warning letters and notices of offset tell beneficiaries
not to contact SSA with questions about BPO. In some cases, however, beneficiaries
will still contact SSA. See GN 02410.300H in this section for more information about how to handle situations involving beneficiary
contact with SSA.
IMPORTANT: Due process notices (i.e., notices to the debtor describing appeal rights) regarding
the delinquent debt are the responsibility of the creditor agency. The creditor agency
sends due process notices to the debtor before sending information on the delinquent
debt to Fiscal Service for collection via BPO.