Effective Dates: 07/27/2023 - Present Previous | Next

TN 89 (07-23)

GN 02607.830 Correctional or Mental Health Institution Problems Involving Incentive Payments

A. Prisoner incentive payment (IP) notices

We send correctional institutions (CI) and mental health institutions (MHIs) information for each incentive payment (IP) that we pay. We provide the reporter with a notice of the amount of the incentive payment, the payment date, the total number of suspended individuals, and a list of the individuals suspended. We include on the notice only the minimal identifying information from the prisoner record that is necessary for the agency and the Reporter to account for payments made under their Incentive Payment Memorandum of Understanding (IPMOU) prisoner reporting agreement.

1. CIs or MHIs monthly prisoner IP notices

Each correctional institution (CI) or mental health institution (MHI) that participates in the agency’s Prisoner Incentive Payment Program (PIPP) receives a notice providing information about the institution’s monthly IPs. We send a notice to a CI or MHI for each month the CI or MHI receives an electronic funds transfer (EFT) deposited to its bank account for an eligible IP.

For a description of the contents of the IP notice, see GN 02607.800D.

We place a copy of each CI or MHI’s IP notice on the Online Retrieval System (ORS) under the Folder Name, “PRISONERS.”

For instructions on accessing and viewing the CI or MHI’s IP notice, see GN 02607.830A.2. in this section.

2. Reviewing a CI or MHI’s IP notice in ORS

You can view individual copies of a CI or MHI’s IP notices in ORS, go to the Folder Name, “PRISONERS.” Obtain the facility identification number (FID #) from the facility’s Incarceration Report and Controls System (IRCS) Reporter screen labeled, FACILITY ID NUMBERS ASSIGNED TO REPORTER QUERY (QRI2) screen, or from the facility’s Incentive Payment Identification Query (QPID) screen, FACILITY ID NUMBER field.

For information on the QRI2 screen, see MSOM PRISON 002.011, and for information on the QPID screen, see MSOM PRISON 002.014.

The Facility ID code is also located on the actual Prisoner Update Processing System (PUPS) record on which we paid the IP. You will need the full Social Security number (SSN) to locate that specific prisoner record on PUPS. Use the six-digit Facility ID number in ORS to recall and view a facility’s IP notice.

B. Institutional questions or problems involving IPs

CIs or MHIs generally contact the local field office (FO) with questions about the IP notice. Specifically, an institution may question an inmate’s identity, confinement information recorded on the IP notice, or the IP amounts listed on the notice. For instructions on responding to CI or MHI questions on IP notices, see GN 02607.830B.1. in this section.

1. Responding to inquiries about the IP notice

Use the information in this section to respond to any inquiries you may receive from CIs or MHIs regarding an IP notice.

a. FO procedure in resolving IP questions on the notice

Request the CI or MHI to provide you with precise details (SSN, name, pertinent dates, specific IP in question and the IP amount, bank account information, etc.) to assist your IP investigation. The CI or MI should provide:

  • •

    the last 4 digits of the alleged SSN, the inmate identification number of the inmate for whom the CI or MHI did not receive payment; or, the correctional institution’s name of their incarcerated inmate (i.e., the name the inmate gave the correctional institution when they were arrested and booked or the name they subsequently found after incarceration), and

  • •

    an allegation from the CI or MHI on the date they reported the confinement to us via mail, fax or Government Services Online (GSO); and

  • •

    banking information needed to resolve the inquiry; and

  • •

    if the inquiry is regarding a missing or reduced EFT deposit, obtain the date Treasury deposited the IP money into the CI’s or MHI’s bank account and the missing amount of the deposit.

After obtaining the precise information regarding the IP notice inquiry:

  • •

    review the CI’s or MHI’s IP notice on ORS,

  • •

    obtain any necessary PUPS or IRCS records that provide insight into the question or problem with the IP notice contents and;

  • •

    compare the questioned or disputed IP notice issue with the PUPS or IRCS records, banking records, or other information or documents provided by the CI or MHI. To find responses to questions or disagreements with the general content on an IP notice, see GN 02607.830B.1.a. in this section; and

  • •

    contact the institution and provide them with the results of your investigation after you complete your review of the question or dispute and obtain an answer to the CI’s or MHI’s question or problem. Remember not to provide PII on a beneficiary or recipient to the CI or MHI beyond that which we provided in the notice. This includes but is not limited to a beneficiary’s full SSN and benefits information.

b. Most common IP notice questions and our responses

FOs will use the information in the chart to respond to the most commonly asked IP notice questions received from a CI or MHI.

CI’s or MHI’s IP Notice Questions Responses to Questions and Actions
Can you change the mailing address on my IP notice?

Response:

We cannot change the address on the IP notice unless we receive the request directly from the correctional or mental health agency or authority that signed the Incentive Payment Memorandum of Understanding (IPMOU) reporting agreement between your agency or institution and SSA.

 

Action:

Do not change the address for the IP notice unless you receive a request from the CI or MHI agency or authority that signed the IPMOU reporting agreement with SSA. The CI or MHI agency or authority that signed the IPMOU is the entity listed on the Reporter Identification Data (IRID) screen on the Incarceration Report and Controls System (IRCS). If you receive a request for an address change from the CI or MHI agency or institution that signed the IPMOU, email the change of address to your Regional Prisoner Coordinator (RPC). For information on the name of your RPC, see GN 02607.990.

Can you tell me more information about inmate XYZ identified on our IP notice’s payment chart?

Response:

We cannot provide more PII about an incarcerated beneficiary or a recipient to you than we currently provide in your incentive payment notice.

 

Action:

None.
What is the full SSN of inmate XYZ listed on the attachment to our IP notice?

Response:

We do not provide the full social security number on the incentive payment notice. We only provide the last four digits of a social security number on your incentive payment notice because of our agency’s mandate to protect and safeguard PII. We can only supply this information to you during our discussion.

 

Action:

None.
How can I get a copy of our last IP notice?

Response:

Are you the official contact or representative of the correctional or mental health institution identified on the incentive payment notice? Can you provide us with the name and address of the institution printed on the IP notice?

Since you are the official contact for the institution based on your responses to my questions, I will print a copy of the notice and mail it to you.

NOTE: The IP notice contains PII information and you must determine the affiliation of the inquirer to the institution before mailing the IP to the institution’s official contact.

 

Action:

Print a copy of a CI’s or MHI’s IP notice from ORS and mail it to the inquirer. For information on viewing reporter notices on ORS, see GN 02607.830A.2. in this section.

My bank changed their routing number. How can I get SSA to update the new routing information to my IP bank account? or

 

I changed banks. What do I have to do to get SSA to update my new bank account for my IPs?

Response:

We will refer your request for banking changes to the RPC for action.

 

Action:

Email all CI or MHI requests for banking changes to your RPC. For information on contacting your RPC, see GN 02607.990.

Our bank incorrectly returned the IP direct deposit payment. How can we get the IP money back from SSA?

Response:

You can contact our Payment Inquiries Services via email at Payment.Inquiries@ssa.gov, or by calling (410) 965-0607. Our customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday between 8:00am and 4:30pm Eastern Standard Time.

 

Action:

None.

The direct deposit payment made to our bank account this month is less than the amount stated in our IP notice that we received from SSA. Why didn’t we receive the entire IP deposit in our bank account?

 

Response:

SSA authorized the full amount of incentives that we provided in our IP notice to you. If your deposit was less than what we authorized, your payment was offset by the Department of Treasury for a debt your agency or institution owed another agency. You can call the Treasury Debt Offset Help Desk at 1-866-606-8220 for information about the reduced direct deposit amount.

 

Action:

None.

We want to receive our IP money as a paper check instead of a direct deposit to our bank account. Can SSA cut us a check versus sending the IP money to our bank account?

 

Response:

We pay all incentive payments via electronic funds transfers (EFT) (i.e., direct deposit) directly into your institution’s bank account.

 

Action:

Verify that IRCS has the correct direct deposit data on file for the CI or MHI. You can find the CI’s or MHI’s bank account information on the PUPS Facility Identification Query (QFID) screen. For information on IP disbursements, see GN 02607.800C.1., and for information on the QFID screen, see MS PRISON 002.013.

The IP payment you just sent us did not include payment for inmate XYZ that we reported on last month’s prisoner report. Why wasn’t the IP money for this inmate included in my recent bank deposit?

 

Response:

There is no connection between your monthly inmate report and payment of an incentive payment. Our incentive payment system generates an incentive payment only after we develop a beneficiary’s or recipient’s inmate report and suspend their monthly benefits or payments. We do this in accordance with the Incentive Payment Memorandum of Understanding your institution signed with our agency. Sometimes it takes us several months to legally suspend or stop a beneficiary’s or recipient’s monthly benefits as a “prisoner.”

 

Action:

None.

On our last IP notice, you stated that our jail confined inmate John Doe beginning with March 2018. Our jail never had custody of inmate John Doe. Based on John Doe's court record, the court ordered John Doe confined to ABC County Jail beginning March 2018. What should we do with the IP money you sent us for this inmate?

 

Response:

Return the incorrectly paid incentive payment back to SSA. We will mail you a letter describing how to return the incentive payment.

 

Action:

Prepare an SSA-L4020 , Prisoner Incentive Payment Recoupment Form and mail it to the institution. SSA-L4020 provides instructions for returning the IP. For instructions on completing SSA-L4020, see GN 02607.832C.1.

SSA shorted my jail $200 on last month’s IP deposit. We included all our September 2018 inmate admissions when we submitted our monthly report to SSA on October 5, 2018. SSA only paid us $200 instead of $400 for inmate John Doe, who we admitted on September 1, 2018. Why did we only receive $200?

 

 

Response:

We pay incentive payments to participating institutions if their timely inmate information leads to suspension of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments and Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance (Social Security) benefits. We pay:

For stopping SSI payments,

$400 for reported inmate information received within 15 days after an inmate’s date of confinement; or

$200 within 90 days after an inmate’s date of confinement.

 

For stopping Social Security benefits*,

$400 for reported inmate information received within 30 days after an inmate’s date of confinement; or

$200 within 90 days after an inmate’s date of confinement.

*Social benefits require conviction information and confinement information to suspend benefits.

 

We do not pay anything for inmate reports submitted 91 days or more after and inmate’s admission.

 

If we paid you $200 instead of $400, we did not receive your report within 15 or 30 days after an inmate’s admission or confinement date, depending upon the type of payment or benefit.

 

You should send us your inmate report every 15 days. Revising your reporting obligations will help you qualify for the maximum incentive payment of $400 per each beneficiary’s or recipient’s suspension.

 

Would you like to receive more information on our incentive payment program? We have a fact sheet that explains how our program works, it is called, “‘Incentive Payments to State and Local Institutions," If you have access to the internet, you can get a copy of the fact sheet on our website, www.socialsecurity.gov . Go to the search field and key in the term, “EN-05-10088,” or “Incentive Payments to State and Local Institutions.”

 

Action:

If the inquirer cannot locate the SSA public website, www.socialsecurity.gov , obtain the inquirer’s email address and send them the hyperlink, Incentive Payments to State and Local Institutions. This hyperlink directs the inquirer to the publication on SSA’s public website.

 

If the inquirer does not have access to the internet, copy the fact sheet and mail it to them.

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2. FO cannot resolve the CI or MHI IP notice inquiry

You may receive an inquiry that you cannot answer without further guidance from your RPC. For information on contacting your RPC, see GN 02607.990.

To process these types of inquiries:

  • •

    Contact your RPC via email and relay the inquiry to the RPC for further action. The email should clearly state the nature of the IP inquiry and the initial results of the FO investigation.

  • •

    RPC will resolve the inquiry and notify you via email or phone of the outcome.

  • •

    Contact the CI or MHI and provide them the results of our investigation.

NOTE: The RPC may contact Central Office (CO, i.e., Office of Income Security Programs, Office of Representative Payee and Due Process Policy) for assistance in resolving questions or disagreements regarding the contents of IP notices, if necessary.

C. CI or MHI is due additional IP money

If the CI or MHI inquiry requires us to pay additional IP money, the FO will forward all incoming information from the CI or MHI and the results of the IP investigation to the RPC. The FO prepares a manual IP request and emails it along with the IP inquiry information to the RPC.

For information on preparing a manual IP request, see GN 02607.820B.1

The RPC will review the request for a manual IP and the accompanying investigation materials. If payment of the additional IP monies is valid, the RPC forwards the manual IP request to CO for final authorization and payment.

For information on forwarding manual IP requests to CO, see GN 02607.820B.2.

CO will review and evaluate the request and any evidence of the investigation that explains the circumstances for the additional payment. CO authorizes a manual IP, if appropriate. CO notifies the RPC of the outcome of the additional IP investigation.

D. Processing Center (PC)/Office of Central Operations-Office of Disability Operations (OCO-ODO) receives a question about an IP from a CI or MHI

If the PC/OCO-ODO receives a report from a CI or MHI concerning a question or a dispute with the amount of an IP, forward the CI or MHI’s questions or IP dispute to the FO that services the address of the CI or MHI via a Modernized Development Worksheet (MDW). The FO will investigate the dispute and resolve the question or problem per the instructions in GN 02607.830B. in this section.

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0202607830
GN 02607.830 - Correctional or Mental Health Institution Problems Involving Incentive Payments - 07/27/2023
Batch run: 11/06/2024
Rev:07/27/2023