HA 01320.012 Obtaining Earnings Information and Queries

A. General

1.
Analysts will evaluate whether additional earnings information may be an issue in a particular case. For example, updated earnings information may be necessary to:
- •
  Determine whether insured status is met at a certain date;
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  Verify reporting of lag earnings;
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  Determine deductions in retirement or survivor's insurance cases; or
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  Ascertain work activity after onset.
Evaluating earnings information is especially important when an analyst recommends that the Appeals Council (AC) issue a favorable or partially favorable decision.
2.
Analysts will also check the queries to verify that the claimant's address in the case processing system is current and accurate, and whether there have been any other changes via direct contact with a Social Security office.

B. Necessary Queries

In all cases, analysts are required to secure, review, and associate in the Queries section of the claims file the following queries before forwarding a recommendation to the AC:

•
Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) - Full MBR (FACT)
•
Supplemental Security Income Detailed (SSID) (Complete Record Request)
•
Disability Determination Service Query (DDSQ)
•
Summary Earnings Query (SEQY)
•
Customer Service Record (CSR)
•
National Directory of New Hires (NDNH)

NOTE 1:

Do not use NDNH queries in Retirement & Survivors Insurance (RSI) cases. Only certified earnings records, such as the Informational/Certified Earnings Records System (ICERS), may be used to verify Date Last Insured (DLI) and work-related income in RSI cases. See Program Operations Manual System (POMS) at GN 01010.009.

NOTE 2:

Utilization of the NDNH query should be consistent with the instructions set forth in POMS SI 00810.550 in all cases. Additionally, for information about certified and uncertified earnings, please see GN 01010.009.

NOTE 3:

The NDNH query should only be associated with the Non-Disability Development section (D section) when it is exhibited in a partially favorable or fully favorable AC decision, or in cases that involve substantial gainful activity or other work-related issues (but not RSI cases; see Note 1 above). The NDNH query should only remain part of the record in eView or in a paper file when it is exhibited in the D section. Therefore, when the NDNH query is not exhibited in an electronic case, the analyst will move the query to the Current Development/Temporary section (C section) of eView so that it will be deleted from eView upon case closure. Similarly, when the NDNH query is not exhibited in a paper case, the analyst will place the query in the C section of the paper file to ensure removal upon case closure.

If there are recent earnings that may change the DLI or Date First Insured, the analyst will also obtain and associate a Disability Insured Status Calculator Online (DISCO) query in the Queries section of the claims file. Instructions for using the DISCO query can be found in the DISCO user guide.

NOTE 4:

Information on insured status and work history will be on the SEQY. Information on reading and interpreting the SEQY is found in the POMS at SM 00345.000. For more details on the places and periods of work and non-covered work, see the Detailed Earnings Query (DEQY) (See POMS SM 00344.000). Additionally, the Work History Assistant Tool (WHAT) is also helpful in retrieving DEQY data and displaying it in an easy to read format.

NOTE 5:

The CSR is particularly helpful to check the claimant's address. For additional instructions on how to locate the claimant's address, follow the procedures in the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law manual HA 01380.030A.2.

C. Unposted Earnings

When unposted earnings are an issue in a case, the analyst will discuss the matter with the branch chief. In some situations, the branch chief may determine it is necessary to contact the servicing field office for further assistance.

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/2501320012

HA 01320.012 - Obtaining Earnings Information and Queries (I-3-2-12) - 02/06/2020
Batch run: 01/28/2026
Rev:02/06/2020